The Southern Districts of New Zealand

by Shortland, Edward

• ISBN13: 9781108040631
• ISBN10: 1108040632
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-12-03
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

The physician and ethnographer Edward Shortland (1812-93) first travelled to New Zealand in 1841, a year after the Treaty of Waitangi. He became private secretary to Governor William Hobson, and quickly learned the Maori language. First published in 1851, this book describes Shortland's experiences on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island while conducting a census of the local Maori settlements in 1843. It documents South Island Maori myths, traditions and everyday life, and includes genealogical tables and a short word-list of the local dialect. It also describes a French Company agent at Akaroa reporting the successful introduction of French vines, the Scottish settlement at Dunedin, and the productivity of several whaling stations. Shortland reminds prospective settlers of the importance of understanding the 'ideas and prejudices' of the Maori, whose many qualities including 'natural bravery and love of freedom' guarantee them continuing 'political weight in their own country'.

Table of Contents

Preface

Hakaroa

Old Pokemi

Native population of Otakou

Tuhawaiki's fleet

Pedigrees of natives

Visit Waikouaiti

Voyage in a whale-boat

Voyage to the southward

Sail to Otakou

Preparations for a journey by land to Hakaroa

Encampment on the bank of Waitaki

Travelling on a beach

Journey continued

The agent of the French Company and the natives

Second journey to Wakaoroi and Kokourarata

Appendix

Vocabulary of the 'Kaitahu' dialect

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