Russell in the Bay Of Islands is now a nice little town but at the turn of the 19th century it was a shore station for whalers. Whaling was a greasy, smelly and dangerous occupation and when members of the crew got to shore they liked to drink, fight, and generally let off steam so Russell, or Kororareka as it was known then, gained a reputation as the Hell-hole of the Pacific. Manganui lay further north. Captain Butler had run away to sea when he was 14, preferring a life at sea to following his reverend father's and grandfather's footsteps, and
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