Barnet Burns - Initial Appearances of Pahe-a-Range in England

Initial Appearances of Pahe-a-Range in England

By mid-1835 Barnet Burns had left the ship Bardaster and returned to London. On 1 June 1835 Barnet Burns married Bridget Cain at the Christ Church Greyfriars opposite St Paul's Cathedral but little else is known about this union.

Barnet Burns soon published a booklet about his experiences in Australia and New Zealand. Copyright for the booklet was obtained at the Worshipful Company of Stationers’ Hall at Ludgate Hill, London on 1 September 1835. Burns' publication had the lengthy title: A Brief Narrative of the Remarkable History of Barnet Burns, an English sailor; who has lately been exhibiting at the Surrey Zoological Gardens and other Places of Amusement. With a faithful account of the way in which he became a chief of one of the tribes of the New Zealanders: together with a few remarks on the manners and customs of the people, and other interesting matter.

Barnet Burns commenced a career of showman and lecturer. His initial appearances in London included the Surrey Zoological Gardens (later the Royal Surrey Gardens), Victoria Theatre (now the Old Vic), Surrey Theatre and Astley's Amphitheatre. Introduced as Barnet Burns, The New Zealand Chief, he performed various Māori songs and dances, including the haka, and he described customs of the Māori. Upon obtaining an opportunity to appear at the Surrey Zoological Gardens, Barnet Burns had made merry in honour of his engagement. The tattooed Englishman was brought before the Police Magistrate at Union Hall, London but Burns was soon discharged and, out of spirits, taken to water.

An edition of Burns' booklet was published at Southampton in 1836 and in April Thomas Morgan wrote to the Foreign Office suggesting that Burns could lead a colonisation of New Zealand or the new colony of South Australia. Burns proposed the establishment of a small colony of artisans and tradesmen under his protection, and offered to supply the British government and merchants with timber and flax. There is no record of the British government accepting Burns' proposal. Later in April 1836, Burns entertained in the Portsmouth and Portsea Theatre at the conclusion of a romance play.

Barnet Burns had styled himself as Pahe-a-Range and in May 1836 he appeared at the Chichester Mechanics' Institution, where his lectures were described as one incongruous jumble of impudence, of ignorance, of low wit, and bare-faced presumption. This description was criticized by a reporter who attended lectures by Burns at the Town Hall of Brighton and recommended that Burns obtain the assistance of someone to help arrange the lectures. Despite Burns' shortcomings, the reporter stated that those who go to a lecture to obtain information, without caring by what means it is conveyed, could, notwithstanding the rambling and unconnected nature of his address, gather sufficient to remunerate them for the money and time expended in attending it.