Story: The New Zealanders

19th-century perceptions of Māori

19th-century perceptions of Māori

In the early 1900s a few New Zealand scholars believed that Māori history and culture might provide the basis for a national intellectual tradition. The painter Charles Goldie shared this view. His nostalgic images such as this 1903 oil portrait, ‘Darby and Joan’, tended to perpetuate the notion that the Māori were a sad and dying race. The painting depicts Ina Te Papatihi of Ngāpuhi.

Using this item

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Reference: I.006332
Oil painting by Charles Goldie

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Jock Phillips, 'The New Zealanders - Maorilanders', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/1934/19th-century-perceptions-of-maori (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Jock Phillips, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 May 2015