L'anglais sanglant

Sat 22nd Oct; a trip to Akaroa. In 1838 a French whaler, Captain Langlois decided that Akaroa would make a good settlement to service the whaling ships, and "purchased" the Peninsula in a dubious land deal with the local Maori. He returned to France, floated the Nanto-Bordelaise company, and sailed for New Zealand with a group of French and German families aboard the ship Comte de Paris, with the intention of forming a French colony on a French South Island of New Zealand. However, by the time Langlois and his colonists arrived at Banks Peninsula in August 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi had already been signed and New Zealand's first (British) Governor, Hobson, had declared sovereignty over the whole of New Zealand.

On hearing of the French plan for colonisation, Hobson quickly dispatched the HMS Britomart from the Bay of Islands to Akaroa with police magistrates on board. While Langlois and his colonists sheltered from unfavourable winds at Pigeon Bay on the other side of the Peninsula, the British flag was raised at Greens point between Akaroa and Takapuneke and courts of law convened to assert British sovereignty over the South Island.

You've got to laugh!

Despite France's failed attempt to colonise NZ, Akaroa retains a gallic influence...both street names (Rue Jollie) and the esplanade. We had had one of our best meals ever here, a simple tapa's of meats, fish, bread and salad with a very tasty nut and chilli mixture on the salad (now have a jar in the cupboard) and Akaroa bay is just beautiful. We ventured onto the Lighthouse Road, VERY steep (1 in 4 at least with spectacular drops off the side), and not wanting to scare the pants off anyone I turned around before the rutted mud bits...maybe another time.

[if you need help with translating the heading, I did, try http://babelfish.altavista.com/]