The Coming of the Pakeha by John Lockyer

The Coming of the Pakeha looks at what was happening in this “lawless land” after European arrival and up until 1840.

We find out about explorers other than Cook and Tasman, and early (1790’s) Europeans who married Maori and followed Maori customs and beliefs (Pakeha Maori).

Maori were trading potatoes and pork for nails, muskets and blankets and huge quantities of flax and timber were harvested for export. Five shiploads of kahikatea were shipped to England but rejected because the wood rotted in water. But kauri, of course, was a different story - from the 1820’s “Pakeha, helped by Maori communities, cut, shaped and removed almost all kauri from the Northland and Coromandel coasts”.

We find out about the burning of the Boyd in 1809, Hongi Hika’s trip to London in 1820, the early missionaries and changing Maori beliefs.

This book fills a real gap for primary school children wanting to learn more about the very early days of Maori/European contact. It will be well received, especially in school libraries.

A Raupo Publication