CJB666 wrote: Whaling in early New Zealand / by A.W. Reed ; illustrations by Conrad Frieboe.

FWIW, when I was researching "Wellerman," I examined a great many books from New Zealand and tried to trace others. My best guess is that the book is not one of the Reed books (most of which are really not reliable) but The First White Born Born in Otago: The Story of TB Kennard by Herries Beattie. Unfortunately, this book is extremely hard to find in the United States, and I don't dare try international ILL these days, but anyone in New Zealand might wish to look.

I'm not saying to ignore the Reed book if you can find it easily, but I imported two Reed books (their histories of New Zealand and Otago) and frankly wished I hadn't. They weren't worth the shipping costs.