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According to an entry in the Cambridge Police Charge Book, Robert Barlow, alias Tanete, was imprisoned at 4pm on 8 February 1871 “for stealing from a ‘whare’ at Maungatautari certain articles of clothing also a Revolver.”
Barlow had served as a soldier with the 3rd Waikato Militia in Cambridge, so I was curious as to why this man, who had been allocated a Crown grant of an acre in town and 50 acres outside the town belt, was compelled to steal from a Maungatautari whare. His story turns out to be surprising.
Background
In around 1847, Robert Stanley Barlow was born in Te Awamutu. He was baptised by John Morgan in Te Rore, on 9 October 1849, as Robert Stannet Barlow. He was known as Tanete, which may have been the Māori version of his middle name.
The first Europeans to settle in the Cambridge area were the 3rd Regiment of the Waikato Militia, during the New Zealand Land Wars of 1860-1866.
Artwork (portrait): Hand-coloured portrait of Michael Hanlin who enlisted with the 3rd Waikato Militia in 1863 when he was 24 years of age. He was a member of the Cambridge Cavalry Volunteers for 7 years and farmed his 50 acre allotment on the Hamilton Road just outside of Cambridge. Died 1904.
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