In 1839 a whaling ship, the Caroline under Captain John Blenkinsop, had visited Wairau and taken on board water and wood. He then sailed to Kapiti Island seeking out the chief, Te Rauparaha to pay for the wood.
He got Te Rauparaha to sign a receipt for the sale and then left hurriedly. Te Rauparaha showed the receipt to another trader who told him he had been defrauded, that the receipt was in fact a bill of sale for the whole of the Wairau Plain.
