Personal details
Full Name:
- Elizabeth Guard
Lifetime:
- 3 Dec 1814–16 Jul 1870
Biography
Betty Guard
Betty Guard is believed to be the first European woman to settle in the South Island. In 1834 she was taken hostage by a group of Taranaki and Ngati Ruanui Māori before being rescued several months later by her husband Jacky and a detachment of 60 men from the 50th Regiment.
Read more...Events In History
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21 September 1834Rescue of Harriet survivors beginsBetty Guard and her children were rescued from Ngāti Ruanui (who had held them captive in Taranaki since April) by troops landed from HMS Alligator and the Isabella. It was the first clash between British forces and Māori. Read more...
Articles
A frontier of chaos?
In the years before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, relations between Māori and Europeans were marred by a number of high-profile incidents.
- Page 6 - The Harriet affairThe rescue of Betty Guard and her two children from Ngāti Ruanui in the spring of 1834 involved the first use of British troops on New Zealand soil.
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Main image: Betty Guard's comb
This tortoiseshell hair comb belonged to Betty Guard, the wife of whaler Jacky Guard. She was allegedly wearing it when she was attacked by Taranaki Māori after the ship on which she and her husband were returning from Australia was blown ashore.
