The British soldier and the Maori princess
The British soldier and the Maori princess
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Following a battle between British soldiers and Maori warriors, David Hall (a British soldier) was left wounded on the battlefield. That night, Harata Te Auetu Paraone, a Maori princess, who made a habit of nursing wounded soldiers from both sides, rescued David Hall and nursed him back to health. Friendship developed into love and David decided to marry Harata and adopt her culture. He quoted to her Ruth 1:16-17 ("...whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried." For the rest of his life he was true to that promise.
This story was told to Julene Hall Reid by her father William L.Hall, grandson of David Hall.