Boyd massacre

In December 1809, the British brigantine Boyd, a 395-ton vessel that had earlier transported convicts to New South Wales, arrived at Whangaroa Harbour on New Zealand's Northland Peninsula to collect kauri spars. The ship, commanded by Captain John Thompson, carried around 70 people, including passengers and several Māori returning home, among them Te Ara, son of a Whangaroa chief. During the voyage, Te Ara was accused of theft aboard the ship — accounts differ on whether this concerned onboard theft or a refusal to work his passage — and was punished by Captain Thompson, who had him tied to a capstan and whipped with a cat-o'-nine-tails. This humiliation, a serious affront to his status and his father's mana under Māori custom, led Te Ara to seek utu (revenge).

Three days after the Boyd anchored at Whangaroa, Māori invited Captain Thompson and four others to follow canoes to locate kauri trees; once out of sight of the ship, the group was killed with clubs and axes. Some attackers then disguised themselves in the victims' clothing, returned to the Boyd by longboat at nightfall, and were let aboard, where they killed the remaining crew and subsequently the passengers, who were killed and dismembered on deck. Five people escaped detection by hiding in the ship's rigging.

The following morning, chief Te Pahi of the Bay of Islands arrived to trade and attempted to rescue survivors, but pursuing Whangaroa canoes caught and killed all but one of those fleeing along the beach. Five people ultimately survived the massacre: Ann Morley and her baby, apprentice Thomas Davis (or Davison), the second mate (later killed after his fish-hook-making skills proved unsatisfactory to his captors), and two-year-old Elizabeth "Betsey" Broughton, who was held for three weeks before being rescued.

Māori towed the grounded Boyd toward their village, looting its cargo. An attempt to extract gunpowder ignited an explosion and fire, destroying the ship down to its copper sheathing; the wreck was then declared tapu. News of the massacre prompted Alexander Berry to mount a rescue from the City of Edinburgh, recovering the four remaining survivors; Berry also briefly detained two Māori chiefs before releasing them after the ship's papers were returned.

In March 1810, whalers attacked Te Pahi's pā in mistaken retribution, believing he had ordered the killings; between 16 and 60 Māori and one European died. Te Pahi was later killed by Whangaroa Māori after retaliating against them. The massacre delayed missionary visits to New Zealand until 1814 and caused a sharp decline in shipping to the region in subsequent years.