John Milsome Jury was born in Wapping, England in 1816 and as a young man with a qualification from nautical school - he was rumoured to be a good navigator - he set sail for lands anew.
The journey aboard a whaling ship was arduous, the work hazardous and many crew members fled upon arrival to shores en route. John Jury and a friend deserted the whaling ship ‘Mary Ann’ and swam ashore in the northern region of New Zealand in 1836.
Armed with a few possessions thrown into a tub, they swam to the nearest beach & hid in the bushes. Once they were safe, John travelled around his new country for the next few years seeking work on in-shore whaling & trading ships. It was during this time, family folklore suggests that John first saw the young, beautiful chiefainess (princess) Te Aitu-o-te-rangi.
Te Aitu was born in 1820 to the local chief Te Whatahoronui and his first wife Aromea near the modern day township of Martinborough. As a young woman, she had been taken captive by another tribe and moved to the west coast of the North Island (Kapiti) which was frequented by whaling & trading ships.
As reported by Frank Fyfe in the Wairarapa Times Age, “It is said that the first pakeha (white person) to settle in Wairarapa was a come-ashore whaler by the name of John Jury…. due to his years whaling around the coast of New Zealand he was fluent in the Maori language, and during the course of fleeting meetings as could be arranged, Te Aitu made it plain she would go with him.”
Under the cover of darkness, the pair stole a boat and with the help of a sail, sailed from Kapiti, swiftly past the entrance of Wellington Harbour and beyond into Palliser Bay. This was Te Aitu’s ancestral home and she directed John and the boat to the comparative safety of the Ruamamhanga River.
When the Kapiti chief found his captive & boat were missing, he despatched 60 of his most ferocious warriors and they gave chase. The warriors in the war canoe made quick progress and upon hearing the warriors triumphant songs as they were heading up the Ruamahanga River, Te Aitu directed John to leave the main channel of the river and pull into a quiet back-water where they hid their boat in amongst fallen trees and quickly hid in the thick bush.
It is said that the lovers waited for 3 days without moving or lighting a fire for fear of being discovered. With the danger past, the pair continued further up the river to a clearing. Te Aitu went to an aged tree stump and took from it a flax kit containing a greenstone hoe which her people had hurriedly placed there before fleeing 10 years earlier. This was a tangible symbol of family ownership of the land. It was this area off the Ruamahanga River that John and Te Aitu found refuge and where John would subsequently build their home.
Today Ponatahi House is located close to the Ruamahanga River on a small gravel road named Foreman Jury Road where John and Te Aitu’s descendants have farmed for generations. The Ruamahanga River, Foreman Jury Road & Ponatahi House: All synonymous with refuge, peace and tranquility where John and Te Aitu created and established their own piece of paradise.
With thanks to M. J. Parsons for his research and information in his book: “John Milsome and Te Aitu Jury. The Jurys of the Wairarapa.”
