The Hellhole of the Pacific

Russell is a charming town a short ferry ride away from Paihia that belies its reputation, earned during the whaling days of the early 19^th century, as the Hellhole of the Pacific.

In those days it was called by its Māori name, Kororāreka, meaning ‘sweet blue penguin’ after an ailing Māori chief drank some blue penguin broth and declared it ‘sweet’. It was at one time the largest whaling port in the southern hemisphere, and its deep bay was filled with ships from around the world. It was renamed Russell in 1844 after Lord John Russell, Secretary of State for the Colonies and later Prime Minister of Britain.

Charles Darwin spent nine days in the Bay of Islands during his voyage on the Beagle in 1835, visiting both Paihia and Kororāreka, and said of the latter: ‘This little village is the stronghold of vice’ and its British residents were ‘of the most worthless character. There are many spirit shops and the whole population is addicted to drunkenness and all kinds of vice.’

Now, it is a quiet tourist destination and we spent a relaxing day there strolling the Strand lined with Victorian era hotels and houses.

We visited both the local museum and Christ Church, the oldest surviving church in New Zealand, built in 1835. Darwin was impressed by the then brand new church when he visited, calling it a ‘a bold experiment’ in such as dissolute place. He, along with the crew of the Beagle contributed £15 to the building fund, a princely sum at the time.The churchyard is English garden meets South Pacific and contains many interesting gravestones of sailors lost at sea, Englishmen lost in the Māori wars, Māori and colonial notables, and as always in such places, the graves of many children.

The museum is a quaint affair, as such local establishments often are, with a rag-tag collection of memorabilia including Zane Grey’s camping and fishing gear and a 1/5 size model of Captain James Cook’s Endeavour.

We ended our afternoon with a snack at the French Café on the grounds of the French Pompallier Mission fanned by the warm breezes coming off the bay, our view of which was framed by brightly blooming hibiscus bushes. Tropical living at its best.

We didn’t see any little blue penguins while we were there, nor drink penguin broth. But last year, the NZ government agreed to consider restoring the Māori name Kororāreka to Russell. Its present day charm certainly suggests that ‘sweet penguin’ is a much more appropriate name for the town than Russell- Hellhole of the Pacific.