Page:Reminiscences of Earliest Canterbury 1915.pdf/54

 man, Billy Simpson, may be regarded as the first settlers in Canterbury. They went to Peraki in the autumn of 1835. Mr. Joseph Price was actually here before Hempelmann, but only as a visitor—as a settler he succeeded him. Captain Hempelmann, like all the others of his class, occupied himself entirely with the whaling industry for a time, taking no interest in farming or stock-breeding. Eventually he purchased, with a fully equipped whaleboat and some gear, a large tract of land on the Peninsula, but the Government would not ratify the transaction.

Many of those whalers, allured by the Maori damsels, left their ships and married, and settled down rearing families of half-castes. They took up trades (notably boat-building and coopering) in which, from their intelligence and versatility, they succeeded. They were, however, not ambitious, for although they had excellent facilities for acquiring large and valuable tracts of land there were but few of them who availed themselves of this opportunity. They were mostly content with small holdings, and their love for the sea kept them near the beach for the pastimes of boating and fishing. On sheep stations they were good workers,