Information AboutKororareka |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT RUSSELL, NEW ZEALAND | |
| cities, towns and communities in new zealand | |
| history of new zealand | |
| northland, new zealand | |
| former national capitals of new zealand | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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Russell, formerly known as '''Kororareka''', was the first permanent European settlement and sea port in New Zealand . It is situated in the Bay Of Islands , in the far north of the North Island . When European and American ships began visiting New Zealand in the early 1800s the Maori quickly recognised that there were great advantages to be gained by contact and trade with these strangers. The Bay of Islands offered a safe anchorage and had a high Maori population. To attract ships the Maori began to supply food, timber and girls. Very quickly Grog was added to the list. What the Maori wanted was firearms and prestige in equal amounts and also other goods of European manufacture. Kororareka developed as a result of this trade. It soon earned a very bad reputation, a community without laws. European law had no influence and Maori law was seldom enforced within the town's area. Kororareka became known as the "Hell Hole of the Pacific". By 1840 it was an important mercantile center and served as a vital resupply port for Whaling and Sealing operations. When the Colony of New Zealand was founded in that year, Governor Hobson was reluctant to choose Kororareka as his Capital . Instead he purchased land at Okiato , situated seven kilometers to the south, and renamed it Russell in honour of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord John Russell . A year later he moved the capital to Auckland . Kororareka was part of the Port of Russell and after Russell (Okiato) was virtually deserted, Kororareka gradually became known as Russell also. In January 1844 Governor Robert FitzRoy officially designated Kororareka as part of the township of Russell. Today the name Russell applies only to the erstwhile Kororareka while the former capital is known either by its original name of Okiato or as Old Russell. At the beginning of the Flagstaff War in 1845 , the town of Kororareka was burnt by Hone Heke . The car ferry across the Bay of Islands, the main tourist access to Russell, runs between Okiato and Opua . EXTERNAL LINKS
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