Destruction of The Boyd
The Whangaroa Māori towed the Boyd towards their village until it grounded on mudflats near Motu Wai (Red Island). They spent several days ransacking the ship, tossing flour, salt pork, and bottled wine overboard. The Māori were interested in a large cache of muskets and gunpowder.
About 20 Māori smashed barrels of gunpowder and attempted to make the muskets functional. Chief Piopio sparked a flint, igniting the gunpowder causing a massive explosion that killed him and nine other Māori instantly. A fire then swept the ship igniting its cargo of whale oil. Soon all that was left of the Boyd was a burnt-out hull. Māori declared the hull tapu, sacred or prohibited.
Read more about this topic: Boyd Massacre
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—Fannie Barrier Williams (1855–1944)
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