It was then a great blow to him when she went to pieces on rocks at Whangapoua on the eastern coast of Aotea (Great Barrier), near dawn on 5th September 1883. Not only was it a financial loss, but it was also a loss to his mana. But worse was to come.
Five people were aboard Rangatira when she went ashore, the skipper Tenetahi, the mate his wife Rahui te Kiri, two seamen, unnamed, but either Portuguese or Spanish, and the steward, James Walker, a 16-year-old Pakeha lad from Eden Crescent, Auckland. All five got ashore safely but their possessions were scattered all over the beach.
The of 6th October 1883 carries the narrative on: “Returning to Maori Bay (now Katherine Bay) on the 10th instant [September], Capt. Tenetahi, with his wife and the crew of the wrecked cutter, set out in a whaleboat with a view to reaching the
