It was said that he was a grandson of Pōmare Ngātata, a chief of Ngāti Mutunga,[1] an iwi (tribe) who were living around Wellington Harbour at the time.

[2] Pōmare Ngātata, who was about 30 in 1834,[3] according to information collected by Percy Smith,[4] migrated with Ngāti Mutunga to the Chatham Islands in 1835, where he died in 1851.

In March 1846 Angas said that Pōmare had been sent from New Zealand to Sydney three or four years earlier "by a friend of mine, named Scott".

[8] In December 1846 the unnamed newspaper writer said that Pōmare was "a half-caste", his mother being Māori, and that he was "the adopted son of Mr. David Scott, by whom he was maintained, and at whose expense he was educated at Sydney.

[a] Angas exhibited his Australia and New Zealand pictures at the British and Foreign Institute[10] in London on 17 March 1846, accompanied by Pōmare, who wore Māori clothing, and impressed attendees with his intelligence.

Newspaper reports of the event said that he was "son of the chief Pomara, who, with the whole of his family [...] were killed by a hostile party", and that Angas had taken him to Sydney.

[6] Angas then exhibited his pictures at the Egyptian Hall for three months starting in April, with Pōmare being present in his Māori costume.

"[7] A woodcut depicting Pōmare was published in The Illustrated London News, 18 April 1846 edition, where he was named as "James Pomara", "a grandson of Pomara, a chief of the Chatham Islands", who "has been educated in New South Wales, speaks English fluently, and is a very intelligent person.

[20] A gale, the strongest to strike Barbados for some years, arose on 12 September and the wind and waves drove ashore some of the ships that were in the roadstead.

They sailed on the Glentanner on 1 February 1847; others on board included Major General George Dean Pitt[23] and Piri Kawau of Te Āti Awa.

They appear very hungry, and are perpetually in danger of being sucked down by the little whirlpools that eddy in the vessel's wake, whilst diving and scuffling for the morsels of food thrown overboard.