(c.A.D. 1350).

Captain of Te Arawa Canoe.

Tama Te Kapua was born in Hawaiki some years prior to the great immigration to New Zealand. He was the son of Houmai Tawhiti, and the grandson of Tuamatua and Karika. Among the generation of the fleet, he was regarded as being the man of supreme knowledge. He alone survived the battle of Te Karihipotae where all the other chiefs were slain.

The first canoe to be built was Te Arawa, and, at its launching, Tama Te Kapua is said to have kidnapped Whakaoterangi, the beautiful young wife of Ruaeo, and carried her with him to New Zealand. He also persuaded Ngatoroirangi, the most noted tohunga of his day, to travel with him on the Arawa. After many trials, most of which were attributed to the presence of the sacred person of the tohunga, the Arawa reached Ratanui near Cape Runaway. It then sailed northwards, past Whakaari (White Island) and Cape Colville, to the Hauraki Gulf. There Tama Te Kapua settled near Moehau Mountain (Coromandel Peninsula).

Tama Te Kapua lived many years in New Zealand, and when he died he was buried near the summit of Mount Moehau. He had two sons: Tuhoro, the eldest, became the ancestor of the Ngati Tama chiefly line; while Kahumatamomoe, the second son, became the ancestor of Ngati Rangitiki, Tuhourangi, and allied tribes.

In Maori mythology Tama Te Kapua's name is synonymous with “stratagem”. According to Taylor, he and Whiro were the gods of thieving. Ancient Maoris often referred to him as “the variegated cloud” because “like the clouds of heaven (he) constantly changed his aspect, sometimes red, sometimes black, or sometimes many hued; such was the character of the thoughts of Tama Te Kapua”.

by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

• New Zealand and its Inhabitants, Taylor, R. (1870)
• Economics of the New Zealand Maori, Firth, R. (1959)
• Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 2 (1893)
• “The Coming of Te Arawa and Tainui Canoes from Hawaiki to New Zealand”, Tarakawa, T., Smith, S. P. (trans.).

Commonly called notornis from its scientific name, Notornis mantelli, the takahe first became known to science in 1847 when fossil bones were found near the mouth of the Waingongoro River on the southern Taranaki coast. Two years later a bird was taken alive in Dusky Sound, another in Thompson Sound in 1851, a third some 9 miles south-east of Te Anau township in 1879, and a fourth on the southern shore of the Middle Fiord of Lake Te Anau in 1898. No more living birds came to light until November 1948, when G. B. Orbell, of Invercargill, discovered a small colony in an old glacial valley at the eastern end of the Murchison Mountains, which lie between the Middle and South Fiords of Lake Te Anau. The place is now known as Takahe Valley, and the range of the South Island takahe has been found to extend over much of the Murchisons and part of the Kepler Mountains immediately to the south. The North Island race had almost certainly become extinct well before the European era. Originally, the species must have had a geographical range which included a great deal of the southern half of the North Island and most of the South. However, bones of an edible species are not a fully reliable guide to its distribution.

The present habitat is areas of snow tussock and subalpine scrub between about 2,500 and 4,000 ft above sea level. Beech forest is usually close at hand and this affords cover and a feeding area, especially in winter when snow blankets the species of Chionochloa grasses, the fleshy bases of which are the species' main food. As with the moas, takahe are primarily grazing animals, though young chicks feed mainly on insects.

In spite of fairly large wings, takahe are flightless, unlike their extremely close relatives, pukekos. A bowl-like nest of snowgrass leaves is made on the ground beneath the shelter of tussocks or scrub, and the clutch of one or two eggs is incubated by both birds of a pair for about four weeks. The young are first clad in thick black down, and about a year is needed before the full adult colouration of wax-pink bill and legs, metallic olive-green back, and indigo-blue throat, breast, and thighs, and white under-tail feathers is assumed. Sexes are alike, but males are slightly larger than females. The two most characteristic calls are a short high-pitched yelp in the male, which is more of a honk in the female, and an alarm note which has a deep and resonant gulping quality.

by Gordon Roy Williams, B.SC.(HONS.)(SYDNEY), Lecturer in Agricultural Zoology, Lincoln Agricultural College.

Taihape is situated on the western bank of the Hautapu River, about 7 miles up stream from its junction with the Rangitikei River. The town occupies a small basin surrounded by hills. The North Island Main Trunk railway and the main highway between Bulls and Taupo pass through the town. By road and rail Taihape is 20 miles south of Waiouru, 43 miles north of Marton by rail, and 70 miles north-east of Wanganui by road.

Taihape is a commercial and servicing centre for a pastoral farming district. Store sheep and cattle are raised on the surrounding hill country. Dairying and intensive sheep farming are practised on the river terraces and flats, and there are two bush sawmills within 5 miles of the town. The main secondary industries of the town are general engineering, sawmilling, joinery and furniture making, and the manufacturing of concrete products. Taihape is the nearest commercial centre to Waiouru Military Camp and HMNZS Irirangi.

Originally Taihape was a small natural clearing in dense bush, somewhat isolated from a Maori route which followed the Rangitikei Valley. It was uninhabited and its full name was Otaihape, “the place of Tai the Hunchback.” The first recorded European visitor to the Taihape district was William Colenso in 1845. In 1884, when the Main Trunk railway route had been decided on, a surveyor's party cut a rough track through the district. The town is considered to have been founded in 1894 when settlers from Canterbury occupied the first 12- to 17-acre sections. Sawmills had been established earlier, and the first settlers were employed as sawmillers and roadmen. The railway line reached Taihape on 1 November 1904 and railway construction workers were able to acquire small farms near Taihape, thus helping further to consolidate the settlement. At first the settlement was called Hautapu, from the nearby river, but the name was soon changed to Otaihape to avoid confusion with other places similarly named. Later it was contracted to Taihape. Borough status was achieved in 1906.

POPULATION: 1951 census, 2,344; 1956 census, 2,464; 1961 census, 2,684.

by Brian Newton Davis, M.A., Vicar, St. Philips, Karori West, Wellington and Edward Stewart Dollimore, Research Officer, Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington.

Rising in the Lammerlaw Range, the Taieri River flows north to the Maniototo Plains, eastward around the north end of Rock and Pillar Range, and then south across Strath-Taieri distrct and Taieri Plains to enter the sea on the east coast of Otago, 18 miles south of Dunedin. Up stream and down stream from Taieri Plains the river flows through narrow, deeply incised valleys, but throughout most of its length of 125 miles it meanders widely through pastoral country. It is navigable by launches from its mouth up stream as far as Henley. Major tributaries include the Serpentine Creek, Sowburn, Wetherburn, Kyeburn, Nenthorn Streams, and Waipori River. The river is linked with twosmall shallow lakes; Lake Waihola, 20 miles south of Dunedin, is a holiday and boating resort, and Taieri Lake lies near Waipiata in the Maniototo district. Major floods include one in 1868 of 77,000 cusecs at Outram Groge, and another in July 1955 of 38,344 cusecs at Riverside. The catchment area is 720 sq. miles and a representative rate of flow measured at Tiroiti on 20 September 1955 was 887 causecs. In the early days much alluvial gold was won from the river and adjoining country-side, but little or none is obtained today.

The name Taieri may possibly be a corruption of Tai-ari which has been translated as “to smash or pound up, to pulp”. Another explanation is “the shining river” (tai, sea; aria, to appear or to resemble). It has also been suggested that the river was named Taiari because of a peculiarity in the flow of its tides on the eleventh day of the moon.

by Bryce Leslie Wood, M.SC., New Zealand Geological Survey, Dunedin.

(c. 1783–1863).

Ngai Tahu chief.

A new biography of Taiaroa, Te Matenga appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Taiaroa belonged to the Ruahiihiki hapu of Ngai Tahu and to the Ngati Moki hapu of Ngati Mamoe and was lesser chief to Tuhawai, ki. He showed remarkable skill in warfare and, in his day, was considered to be one of the most able Maori war leaders. In 1831 he led a srong relieving force into Kaiapohia pa which was besieged by Te Rauparaha. Three years later he pursued the Ngati Toa from Kaiapohia to Tory Channel and, afterwards, to Waitohi (Picton) where he fought a three-day battle against Te Rauparaha. He was present at the massacre of Te Puoho's taua at Tuturau (near Mataura) in 1836. It is said that on this occasion Taiaroa wished to spare the Ngati Matunga members of the defeated party, but that his wish was overruled by Tuhawaiki.

In 1839 Taiaroa sold to Johnny Jones a large tract of land at Waikouaiti and, later in the year, he sailed north in an unsuccessful attempt to provoke Te Rauparaha into war. Early in June 1840 Major Bunbury visited Ruapuke Island and secured Taiaroa's signature to the Treaty of Waitangi at the same time as he secured Tuhawaiki's. After the Wairau Affray, Taiaroa visited Te Rauparaha at Taupo pa and ended the hostility between them. For a time it seemed possible that these two would combine their forces against the Europeans. On 20 June 1844 Taiaroa, Tuhawaiki, and Karetai sold the Otago Block to Tuckett and in 1848, Taiaroa sold all his claims to land in Canterbury and Otago to the New Zealand Government for £2,000. In 1857 he was present, on the invitation of Te Heuheu Iwikau, at the “King” meeting at Pukawa; and in the 1860s he undertook negotiations between the New Zealand Government and Tawhiao.

Taiaroa married Kororaina, the daughter of Makore Ngatata. In 1859 he was baptised in the Methodist fait. He died at Otakou on 4 February 1863.

Taiaroa did not create a very favourable impression upon those Europeans who have left records of their meetings with him. D'UrvilleMonro, and E. J. Wakefield found him unpleasant, while Tuckett described him as being tyrannous and avaricious with “a repulsive Jewish physiognomy”. In Taiaroa's favour, however, it must be mentioned that these people met him in his later years when his long association with the whalers at the Otakou station was beginning to show its effects. This, together with his wellknown antipathy to the Pakeha, almost certainly influenced their judgment.

by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

• The History of Otago, McLintock, A. H. (1949)
• Lore and History of the South Island Maori, Taylor, W. A. (1950).

Queenstown is situated on sloping land fringing the head of Queenstown Bay and on the isthmus of the peninsula that divides that bay from Frankton Arm, on the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu in Western Otago. Immediately north-east of the town the land rises steeply to Queenstown Hill (2,958 ft). To the north-west and the north are the flanks of Ben Lomond (5,747 ft) and Bowen Peak. Between Queenstown Hill and Bowen Peak a valley gives access to the Shotover River. To the north-east the sloping land along the lakeside fans out towards the shore of Frankton Arm and the outlet (Kawarau River) to form the Frankton Flat. By steamer Queenstown is 23 miles north of Kingston and 29 miles south-east of Glenorchy. By road the town is 39 ½ miles west of Cromwell; 30 ½ miles north of Kingston. Invercargill is 121 miles south-west, and Dunedin is 206 miles south-east via Gore, and 183 ½ miles south-east via Cromwell and Milton.

The main primary industry of the district is extensive sheep farming, but in various valleys throughout the district cattle raising is important. Sheep fattening and cash cropping are carried on in localities to the north and north-east in the Lower Shotover and Arrow areas bordering the northern bank of the Kawarau River. Scheelite is mined to a limited extent on the western flanks of the Richardson Range near Glenorchy. Queenstown is essentially a tourist centre and the base for a variety of excursions in mainly mountainous country.

There is evidence that at one time the peninsula at Queenstown was the site of a Maori settlement, but when the first Europeans came to the district this headland was deserted and covered with scrub. In 1856 John Chubbin and a party in search of sheep country reached the foot of Lake Wakatipu at Kingston Bay. Donald Hay, with Donald Cameron, reached Kingston Bay in July 1859. Hay explored the lake, including the Queenstown area. In 1860 W. G. Rees and N. von Tunzelmann arrived at Queenstown Bay from Central Otago via the Crown Range and Kawarau Gorge. Rees took up land on the eastern shore and von Tunzelmann acquired a large area on the western side. Rees established himself on the present town site and brought in flocks of sheep. On 15 November 1862 Thomas Arthur and Harry Redfern, shearers at Rees' station, found gold on the banks of the Shotover River. This discovery caused a rush to the Shotover area and Rees' station became the first source of provisions for the influx of miners and his whaleboat the principal means of transport to and from Kingston. A mining settlement quickly grew at Queenstown and, by the beginning of 1863, several streets had been laid out and permanent buildings established. The population increased to several thousands, but steadily diminished as the gold-mining industry in the district declined. By 1900 Queenstown had only 190 inhabitants. The lake provided the principal means of communication. In 1863 there were four steamers and about 30 other craft in service. Most of the vessels were built locally. The s.s. Earnslaw, which is still in service, was prefabricated in Dunedin, brought overland in sections, and rebuilt at Kingston in 1912. Direct railway communication between Kingston and Invercargill via Winton was established on 10 July 1878 and, on 31 July 1880, the construction of a line between Gore and Lumsden provided a railway link with Dunedin and an alternative route to Invercargill. A highway around the lake shore between Queenstown and Glenorchy was completed during 1962 and marks the centenary of the founding of the town. Queenstown was constituted a borough in 1866. The name Queenstown is said to have been given at a local ceremony, centred on an anvil, at the town site. It is supposed that, as the majority of the diggers were Irish, the name commemorates Queenstown on Great Island in Cork Harbour. (There are several versions of this story.)

An outstanding feature of Queenstown is the park occupying the peninsula. Beautification of this reserve (now controlled and managed by the Tourist and Publicity Department) began with Bendix Hallenstein, a pioneer storekeeper and flourmiller, who was responsible for many local benefactions.

POPULATION: 1951 census, 1,003; 1956 census, 1,198; 1961 census, 1,322.

by Brian Newton Davis, M.A., Vicar, St. Philips, Karori West, Wellington and Edward Stewart Dollimore, Research Officer, Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington.

Most nursery stock falls into the last class. A prospective importer must apply to the Department of Agriculture for a plant-quarantine permit before importing the plants. A copy of this must accompany the plants to New Zealand, together with the International Health Certificate set out in the model certificate by the International Plant Protection Convention, 1951, of the FAO in Rome. On arrival at the port of entry the plants are inspected and, if found infested with any pests, are fumigated before being sent to their destination. At their destination most plants are planted into post-entry quarantine and remain there under inspection for any possible diseases for 12 months or more. If at the end of the quarantine period the plants are found clean and healthy they are released to the importer who may then propagate from them or sell them. If disease appears during post-entry quarantine they are either treated or destroyed. The cost of treatment and post-entry quarantine of goods is paid for by the importer.

When plants are considered too dangerous to be imported, they are prohibited, but if it is desirable to introduce a new variety there are special provisions to admit enough to allow for further propagation. Such plants must be grown under strict quarantine under the care of disease specialists.

The 1889 fumigation vaults have been replaced with modern fumigation stations at Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, with smaller ones at New Plymouth, Timaru, Dunedin, and Invercargill. Methyl bromide gas is used, either at atmospheric pressure or under vacuum. This gas is the most efficient present fumigant. It kills all stages of the life cycle of pests, without harming most plants or affecting foodstuffs.

by Gordon Arthur Henry Helson, M.SC., Chief Advisory Officer (Entomology), Department of Agriculture, Wellington.

The Amendment Act of 1950 brought the law up to date, led to new regulations in 1952, and enabled a full-time quarantine service, staffed by trained men, to function at all airports and ports of entry. These officers, who form the first line of defence against the introduction of diseases, meet all overseas ships and aircraft; board passenger ships in the stream, examine passengers' luggage, and inspect ships' cargoes and goods arriving by parcel post and mail. Plants growing in post-entry quarantine are also inspected for any signs of disease which might not be evident at the time of their arrival in this country.

Depending on the results of the examination at the port of entry, goods are either allowed free entry, entry under restriction of growing in post-entry quarantine, or fumigation or other treatment; or else they can be refused entry and either reshipped or destroyed. Since 1952, plants and plant products have been divided into three classes: (1) those safe to allow entry to; (2) those too dangerous to allow entry to; and (3) those which are allowed entry under certain conditions.

The purpose of plant quarantine is to protect disease-free agricultural areas by local restrictions on the movement of goods to prevent the introduction of plant pests and diseases. The underlying assumption is that the occasional inconvenience and expense of excluding a pest is better than its subsequent prolonged control.

In 1884 the Government, which was concerned at the danger of introducing pests and diseases to the colony, passed the Codling Moth Act of 1884, followed by the Orchard and Garden Pests Act of 1896. In 1897 it prohibited by Proclamation the importation of plants and fruits affected by any scale insects or by Queensland Fruit Fly, of vine cuttings affected by Phylloxera, and fruit attacked by codling moth. The Department of Agriculture administered the 1896 Act and, for the first time, inspected fruit and plants arriving in New Zealand at the principal ports of Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, and Dunedin.

Fumigation vaults were built at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin and remained in use until 1949. By 1904 it became necessary to replace the 1896 Act with the Orchard and Garden Pests Act, which was later to become the Orchard and Garden Diseases Act of 1908. Two inspectors were appointed for the North Island and one for the South Island. The Orchard and Garden Diseases Act, passed in 1928, repealed the 1908 Act, and further amendments became necessary in 1940 and 1950 because of changes mainly brought about by speedy air travel between one country and another. Surface travel had also speeded up. Thus the protection in time and distance which New Zealand had formerly enjoyed was broken down. It was now possible for adults of pests separated from their hosts to travel as stowaways in aircraft arriving from overseas.

The conditions governing the entry of animals, parts of animals, or materials capable of carrying animal diseases into New Zealand are set out in various sources such as the Stock Act of 1908 and regulations, New Zealand Gazette notices, the Customs Act of 1913 and Customs Import Prohibition Orders, and the Stock Remedies (Biological Products) Regulations. New Zealand occupies a unique position as being the only important primary producing country which remains free from the most serious epizootic diseases. This situation confers marked economic advantages, but it also entails great risks for the stock population because of its marked susceptibility to any introduced exotic disease.

The spread of several highly fatal animal diseases from relatively small areas into previously unaffected regions began during, and after, the Second World War. In spite of energetic efforts at eradication or control, the continued presence of major epizootic diseases in many countries is a matter of grave concern to New Zealand. The ever increasing speed and volume of trade and traffic between countries and continents provide many new opportunities for the spread of diseases and their vectors, and modern transport has ended the era when distance alone provided a defence against exotic disease. Countries with adequate and skilled technical services have been affected as well as those areas where the breakdown of established authority has lowered or removed what formerly were effective quarantine barriers. To preserve this continued freedom from animal disease, the present quarantine restrictions of New Zealand are of necessity severe, and are kept under constant review as the risk increases. Before any animals may be imported, permission must first be obtained from the Department of Agriculture, and the specific conditions under which the importation is allowed are detailed in the regulations under the Stock Act.

The International Office of Epizootics maintains a reporting service on the world situation with regard to epizootics by means of a monthly circular to member countries. This provides a valuable source of information on which quarantine conditions can be kept under review. This information has been supplemented over the last decade by the Animal Health Branch of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations, which disseminates current information on outbreaks of communicable disease. At regular and emergency meetings of member countries held under the auspices of these organisations, information is exchanged and disease control or eradication campaigns are planned on a national, regional, or world basis.

The current position with regard to the importation of live animals is summarised in the following table:

All imported animals must have detailed certificates of health, signed or certified by a veterinary surgeon in the employment of the government of the country of origin and certifying negative results to various biological tests. The tests, treatments, and certificates vary according to the species of animal being imported. Troupes of performing animals are allowed entry from Australia only under specific certification and are kept under supervision while they are in New Zealand.

Applications for the importation of animals for zoological gardens are treated on their merits, in the light of the disease risk involved, and special conditions are laid down.

The importation of semen for artificial insemination is in general limited to areas from which live animals are permitted, and has up to the present been confined to deep-frozen bull semen, which is placed in quarantine for 30 days and released on receipt of information that no disease has occurred in the A.I. centre of origin during that time. The health certification required for donor animals is similar to the certification necessary where the animal itself is imported.

The importation of meat and meat products is prohibited with the exception of cooked sterilised meats hermetically sealed in tins or other containers. Poultry meat is allowed entry from Australia, and trade samples of uncooked meats are permitted subject to examination and subsequent destruction under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture. Cultures or preparations of organisms capable of causing disease, whether alive or killed, require a permit prior to importation. Biological products made from animal glands or tissues, or any micro-organism used or intended to be used in the treatment of stock or in the diagnosis or detection of diseases in stock, may be introduced into New Zealand only with prior written permission. Hides, skins, furs, wool, hair, feathers, bristles, sausage casings, eggs, and any other part of an animal, whether classed as stock or otherwise, are prohibited from entry except under a prior permit. Particular care is taken to prevent the entry of ship and aircraft garbage which, by regulation, must be disposed of by incineration or dumping at sea and, as an additional safeguard, garbage of animal origin produced within New Zealand must be boiled before it is fed to swine or poultry.

by David William Caldwell, M.R.C.V.S., formerly Chief Advisory Officer (Animal Health), Department of Agriculture.