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Story: Rural recreation

Wairarapa races, 1852

Image
Wairarapa races, 1852

John Pearse’s watercolour of horse racing on the Ruamāhanga River plain, Wairarapa, shows the involvement of Māori in early racing in the North Island.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: E-455-f-070-1

by John Pearse

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

Jock Phillips, Rural recreation – Organised recreation, 1850–1900, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/17678/wairarapa-races-1852 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 1 March 2009.