Te Waimate Mission House, where James Hamlin's horses got the better of him.
Te Waimate Mission House, where James Hamlin's horses got the better of him.
Maintaining a sense of humour at all times was something early missionaries to the Bay of Islands probably learned on the job.
When it came to humour, puns were the safe stand-by that missionaries could use without lowering the tone – a bit like dad jokes today. They also served as a way of having a giggle at others without being nasty.
One example was Rev. William Cotton, an eccentric clergyman with an overwhelming passion for beekeeping, who would sometimes refer to British Resident James Busby in his journals as Buzz-bee.
Missionary James Hamlin, who helped establish Te Waimate Mission in 1830, was a bit the same. Hamlin had two horses – one he called Gilbert and the other The Mare.
"On the face of it, that all seemed pretty straightforward until you read that the trader Gilbert Mair was a well-known identity in the Bay of Islands, and would have been familiar to the community of missionaries," Kerikeri Mission Station manager Liz Bigwood said.
Gilbert Mair was well in with Henry Williams at the Paihia Mission, eventually working for Williams as the sailing master for his missionary ship, the Herald.
"Mair married Elizabeth Puckey, daughter of missionaries William and Margery Puckey who were stationed at Kerikeri at that time," Bigwood said.
"In a moment of whimsy it looks like James Hamlin may have named his horses after the trader. It seems you took your laughs wherever you could find them in frontier New Zealand."
Bullocks haul logs past the Ngunguru sawmill of which Gilbert Mair was part owner, 1905-06.
Humour was probably in short supply at times as neither Gilbert nor The Mare were exactly thoroughbreds.
In his diary, James Hamlin records ongoing ''staff'' issues with his horses; principally their reluctance to do what they were told.
Horse power was needed to haul logs, timber and other materials for the various construction projects the missionaries were engaged in, though it seems that the nags' performance might best be described as variable.
Just some of Hamlin's diary entries from November 1830:
"Saturday to return to the Kerikeri the mare behaved very bad …"
"Monday prepared to go inland tried the horse Gilbert, to see how he would act in the cart, could not get him to move for a long time and at last were obliged to take him out and lead him and let the mare pull which she did very well without leading."
From this stellar performance, however, it was downhill all the way for The Mare. Sure enough on November 20: "Saturday morning put Gilbert into the cart for the first time. On the whole he went very well – afterwards put the mare in the cart and she was exceedingly sulky from first to last when we came to a place a little steep we were obliged to take her out and pull the cart up ourselves. We got home with difficulty."
Apparently devoid of any kind of work ethic – Protestant or otherwise – the horses must have got on Hamlin's last nerve. On November 27, he finally broke: "Saturday about 10 o'clock put the mare in the cart, she was sulky at first, but after a good beating she went very well."
"Horse whisperers, and indeed anyone with any kind of respect for animals, would no doubt be horrified at Hamlin's response today," Bigwood said.
"Missionaries, however, depended on horse power for survival. Hamlin probably felt that hitting the horse was the only way to make it obey."
The mare had the last laugh, however. It seems Hamlin finally got the message: "Monday loaded the cart with shingles about 700 weight, put the mare in the cart and she pulled it as far as Waiwakata and up that hill she would not go, we were obliged to take her out and pull the cart up the hill ourselves."
Neither Gilbert nor The Mare feature prominently in Hamlin's diary again. Instead, there is a reference to "Nancy" and the "new horse".
It seems Gilbert and The Mare had finally succeeded in training their master.
