This is Joseph Toms's whaling station at Paremata in the 1840s. Toms (spelt 'Thoms' in the picture title) married Te Tokirikiri, a niece of Te Rauparaha. Māori initially supplied food and other goods to whalers. Later, with shore-based whaling stations, Pākehā whalers often married into Māori communities. Some Māori communities continued to operate whaling stations even after whaling wound down.
Using this item
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference:
PUBL-0020-05-3
Engraving by Samuel Charles Brees
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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