Hūria and the sinking of the Delaware

The brig Delaware was new and had 11 people on board when it left Nelson heading to Napier on September 3, 1863.
It was a windy day but initially the weather was good enough.
It didn’t last. As night fell the weather picked up and the American built ship was in trouble.
The captain, Robert Baldwi,n headed the ship for Pepin Island off the South Island and dropped the anchor hoping to ride it out but had to drop the second anchor, neither of which held.
The ship was driven on to rocks about 200m from shore. One of the sailors tried to swim ashore to fix a rope but was injured and died.
On the nearby shore stood a group of Māori. One was Hūria Mātenga. She and her husband and two others knew that something had to be done.
She and one of the others headed into the steep seas, swimming out in appalling conditions to get hold of a rope to secure the ship.
They managed to fasten it but the storm was getting worse and she and the others plunged back into the surf to help each of the crew of the ship back to shore. They only just made it, the rope broke at the last man got to shore.
The captain later said that but for their actions, he did not think anyone would have survived the wreck.
Hūria was celebrated as a heroine, praised for her bravery and beauty. She was presented with a gold watch, portraits were painted of her and is celebrated even now, a Nelson Harbour Board tug was named for her in 1983.
Hūria was born in 1842 in Wakapuaka, Nelson, the daughter of Wikitōria Te Amohau Te Keha (Ngāti Te Whiti) and Wīremu Kātane Te Pūoho. She inherited land rights from them to over 17,000 acres of land around Wakapuaka.
She was also known by her European name of Julia Martin.
She entered an arranged marriage to Hēmi Mātenga Wai-Punahau (also known as James Martin) in 1858.
While they had no biological children, they did have an adopted daughter.
Hūria, along with being considered a woman of great mana and business acumen, was a weaver and two of her woven items are in the collection at Te Papa.
She died on April 24, 1909, in the Old Maori cemetery in Nelson.​