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Story: Northland region

American whalers

American whalers

American whaling vessels began visiting New Zealand in the 1790s and were conspicuous in Northland waters by the 1830s. This extract from the US Journal of the Senate for 9 December 1840 describes measures taken to protect American citizens working in the whaling industry in various parts of the Pacific, including New Zealand.

Using this item

Library of Congress, Journals of Congress

Reference: Journal of the Senate 31 (December 1840): 19

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How to cite this page

Claudia Orange, Northland region – First Māori–European encounters, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/7596/american-whalers (accessed 9 June 2026).

Story by Claudia Orange, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 May 2015.

Comments

Maihi Mahanga
19 August 2024
I am looking for information about my great great grand father who arrived on a whaling ship from Massachusetts USA late 1800s His name was Amos Ryland he left the ship settled in Ngunguru and had a family with a maori woman one of their daughters was my great great grandmother. Is there any way I can find out what ship he came on or any other information about him regards Maihi Mahanga