Russell, 'hell hole of the pacific' it certainly isn't!
Looking to discover a little of New Zealand’s history with a visit to its first capital city. Russell was once been described as the ‘hell hole of the pacific’ and I therefore wasn’t too sure what to expect. It certainly wasn’t the sedate and peaceful little town I encountered. Back in the 1830’s and known then as Kororareka it was the outpost for fleeing British convicts, whalers, outlaws and sailors shamed for their drunkenness and debauchery. This savage behaviour led to the arrival of European missionaries who went on to build the towns two oldest surviving buildings, Pompallier Mission which was named after Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier and the oldest standing church in New Zealand named Christ Church. A tour of Pompallier Mission allowed me access to the former print works that I discovered is still used to this day to produce handmade books. When it was built in 1842 it produced dozens of Roman Catholic titles and over a prosperous period of eight years it also printed some of the first books available in the Maori language. A short stroll from Pompallier is Christ Church which dates back to 1836. Its walls still bear the scars of bullet holes from muscat and cannonball - a legacy left by the Maori and British sieges that dominated the township during 1845. The sieges central character is Hone Heke a name synominous with these parts. He was Maori Chief at the time and felt despondent when the financial benefits from the Treaty of Waitangi failed to materialise. In his anger he took to cutting down the Union Jack that had been raised on Flagstaff Hill overlooking Russell. Hone Heke succeeded in cutting down the flag no fewer than four times in the space of a year causing enough provocation to start what was proclaimed the first New Zealand war. Today a flag is still raised on the hillside but only on a select twelve days of the year, one of them being the anniversary of Hone Heke’s death.