Beneath the McLachlan memorial lies a place of serene beauty. That place is Lady Bell Point. This unassuming point holds tales of early European settlement. It also echoes with the chants of welcome from centuries past.
Lady Bell Point extends from the Karangahape Peninsula. This 2.7 km peninsula stretches south from the Kakamatua Inlet. It runs to Puponga Point and northeast to Mill Bay.
Before European settlers arrived, the area was known as Karangahape. It means “Hape’s chant of welcome” in Māori. It was named after the tohunga of the Tainui waka. The area was a significant coastal settlement. It was part of the traditional rohe of the Te Kawerau ā Maki iwi.
Imagine the scene before 1835. Picture Apihai Te Kawau, paramount chief of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, settling on this peninsula. He established the Karangahape Pā. This pā stands as one of the few examples of earthwork ditch defenses in West Auckland.
Now, let’s jump to European settlement. In 1835, timber merchant Thomas Mitchell negotiated with Apihai Te Kawau for a vast tract of land. The deal involved less than 166 pounds sterling. It also included 1,000 pounds of tobacco, 100 dozen pipes, and six muskets.
Mitchell became the first permanent European resident in Auckland. Sadly, he drowned shortly after establishing his timber mill. Captain William Cornwallis Symonds then purchased the land from Mitchell’s widow. He named the area Cornwallis. It was named after his late uncle, Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis.
Te Kawau was not happy with the purchase. Māori became more aware of the inequalities between the land value and the compensation they received. The tobacco arrived moldy. Mitchell and Symonds never compensated them for this.
Symonds formed a company to create a large-scale settlement. He was helped by Theophilus Heale and Dudley Sinclair. They aimed to establish Cornwallis Settlement in 1839. It would be a logging, trading, and shipping hub.
Advertisements touted Cornwallis as an idyllic place for Scottish settlers. The settler ship Brilliant left Glasgow in 1840. However, the colonial government questioned Symonds’ pre-treaty deal. They only allowed settlers rights of occupancy for two years. Logging was prohibited.
Thirty-one settler families arrived after a ten-month journey. They found no settlement. Māori from the Anglican mission on Āwhitu Peninsula helped them build whare. Symonds and Māori members supplied wood and supplies. Yet, land grants were not made, causing anger.
After Symonds drowned in 1841, Lachlan McLachlan took over. He had little knowledge of Symonds’ plans. Timber milling proved unsuccessful due to high costs and government restrictions. Many settlers left.
In 1909, John McLachlan gifted the land to the Auckland region as a public park. A memorial was erected in 1919 to honor his mother Isabella and the Cornwallis settlers. Lightning damaged it badly in 1927.
Today, Lady Bell Point offers a place to reflect on these layers of history. It reminds us of the Māori heritage and the struggles of early European settlement. Stand here and imagine the chants of welcome. Think about the dreams of those early settlers. They hoped to build a new life in this beautiful, challenging land. Lady Bell Point is a place where the past whispers to the present.