State Library of NSW
[Page 143]
139 Febry. 1770 Totara nue
"from the hills were realy a passage into the Eastern Sea that the Land to the South consisted of 2 Islands or several which might be saild round in 3 or 4 days in their canoes that he knew of no other great land than that we had been upon Aehia no Mauwe of which Terawhitte was the southern part that he beleivd his ancestors were not born there but came originaly from Hêawye (the place from whence Tupia & the Islanders also derive their origin) which lay to the Northward where were many lands - that neither himself his father or his grandfather ever heard of ships as large as this being here before but that have a tradition of 2 large vessels much larger than theirs which some time or other came here & were totaly destroyd by the inhabitants & all the people belonging to them Killd' This Tupia says is a very old tradition much older than his great grandfather & relates to two large canoes which came from Olimaroa one of the Islands he has mentiond to us whether he is right or whether this is a tradition of Tasmans ships whose size in comparison to their own they could not from relation conceive a sufficient Idea of & whoom their Warlike ancestors had told them they had destroyd is dificult to say Tupia all along warnd us not to beleive too much any thing these people told us
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