Bully Hayes Restaurant & Bar is being accused of "romanticising" its namesake, who was a Pacific slave trader, alleged rapist and paedophile. Photo / Google
Bully Hayes Restaurant & Bar is being accused of "romanticising" its namesake, who was a Pacific slave trader, alleged rapist and paedophile. Photo / Google
As statues depicting racist figures come down across the globe a New Zealand restaurant named after a Pacific slave trader, alleged rapist and paedophile is being urged to change its name.
Bully Hayes Restaurant & Bar in Akaroa, about 40km from Christchurch, is named after a 19th century American "illegal grog trader, swindler, gun runner and slave trader", as described on the establishment's website, who spent some time in the small settlement, even establishing a pub.
The website also describes "Bully" Hayes, born William Henry Hayes, as a "colourful character" and "lovable rogue", but Pākehā historian Scott Hamilton says this is denying the "absolutely chilling history" and horrific deeds he inflicted on the Pacific.
These included abducting and raping young women and children from various Pacific islands, and stealing locals and selling them to the plantations of Tahiti, Fiji, and Queensland - details Hamilton came across researching his book The Stolen Island.
"It is quite saddening to see the name being used in that way, with just a short account of Hayes' 'colourful' career, such as his exploits during the Otago gold rush, but not the slave raids that are still remembered with sorrow on islands across the Pacific.
William Henry Hayes, known as Bully Hayes, was a slave trader in the Pacific. Photo / Supplied
Hamilton said the protests across the globe were a chance for New Zealand, particularly Pākehā, to reflect on its own racial and colonial history.
"I think there is a big gap in what people remember, particularly around the Pacific slave trade and New Zealand's role in it.
"Pākehā have a strong tendency to define ourselves as not as bad as overseas, but really it is just a monumental ignorance."
Restaurant owner Wayne Jones was unrepentant about the name when approached by the Herald.
Changing the name would be "chucking away history", and he had no intention of doing so anytime soon, he said.
"It's been named that way for a long time, now just because a statue has been thrown into the river on the other side of the world there is interest."
Bully Hayes Restaurant & Bar is being accused of "romanticising" its namesake, who was a Pacific slave trader, alleged rapist and paedophile. Photo / Google
He knew Hayes' history, and said he was not trying to glorify it or erase certain aspects.
"He did all sorts of things. Slavery and Pacific exploitation are just part of a long list of things he did, around New Zealand also, he even set up a pub here in Akaroa."
But Hamilton said it was Jones who was "erasing history".
"The website description has no mention of labour trafficking, or sexual violence, all these misdeeds. [The owner] is living proof you can erase history."
In the 19th century traders swept through the Pacific seeking labour to work their sugar, cocoa and copra plantations. In many cases people were simply taken through coercion and deception, or even kidnapped, a process known as "blackbirding".
Hamilton had spent much time in the Pacific countries teaching and doing research, and said Hayes was still remembered by descendants of those he had encountered with horror.
"This guy was a rogue human, involved in trafficking, rape, paedophilia, murder, and it has all been extensively documented against him."
Hayes' deeds are detailed in the book The White Pacific, by African American scholar Gerald Horne, which also showed the slaver was protected by high-placed relatives in Washington DC, Hamilton said.
