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Story: History

Kororāreka Beach

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Kororāreka Beach

Before 1840 the main areas of contact between Māori and Europeans were at opposite ends of the country. Sealers and whalers frequented the shores of Foveaux Strait, in the south. They also called in, for rest and recreation and for supplies, to the Bay of Islands in Northland. There, Kororāreka (now Russell) developed as New Zealand’s first, rough and ready, European town. In the foreground of this view of Kororāreka and its beach are the figures of a European and two Māori.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: PUBL-0015-06

by Augustus Earle

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

John Wilson, History – Europeans to 1840, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/1455/kororareka-beach (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by John Wilson, published 3 March 2009, updated 1 April 2020.