HISTORY, MYTHS IN NEW ZEALAND

The “Race for Akaroa”

A grace note to this aspect of the myth by the so called “Race for Akaroa”. A French colonising expedition, led by C. F. Lavaud, in fact arrived in New Zealand in July 1840; its leaders were disappointed to find that the annexation of the South Island had already been proclaimed by Governor Hobson. The settlers were taken on to Akaroa, but the assertion that Hobson dispatched a vessel post haste to raise the flag before the French could arrive has no foundation. The Britomart was, in fact, dispatched to assert a sovereignty already proclaimed.

• HISTORY, MYTHS IN NEW ZEALAND

• The Establishment of Sovereignty

• The Wakefield Myth

• The “Race for Akaroa”

• Villains and Heroes

• Self-government

• The First Premier

• The Maori Wars

• Political Fallacies

• The Moriori

• The “Great Fleet” Myths

Warning

This information was published in 1966 in An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock. It has not been corrected and will not be updated.

Up-to-date information can be found elsewhere in Te Ara.