Worser Heberley and Te Wai Nahi

Worser Heberley and Te Wai Nahi

Many whalers married Māori women, who washed, mended and kept house at the stations. Edward Jerningham Wakefield reported that: ‘whalers’ wives are generally distinguished by a strong affection for their companion; are very quick in acquiring habits of order and cleanliness; facilitate the intercourse between whalers and their own countrymen; and often manage to obtain a strong influence over the wild passions of the former.’ One prominent whaler and trader who married a Māori woman was Worser Heberley, who lived and worked at Te Awaiti in the Marlborough Sounds. His first wife Te Wai Nahi was a prominent Te Āti Awa woman from Waikanae. They had two daughters and six sons.