Story: Visitors’ opinions about New Zealand

Depiction of Māori by a French artist (2nd of 3)

Depiction of Māori by a French artist

This sketch appeared in a 1783 book by Julien Crozet, Voyage à la mer du sud. Crozet was the second-in-command to French explorer Marc Joseph Marion du Fresne, whose expedition stopped in the Bay of Islands for over two months in 1772. Initially the party had good relations with Māori and Marion du Fresne idealised them. However, when the French violated a restriction placed on a nearby bay, Marion du Fresne and 24 of his men were killed. This led to a dramatic change in the French view of Māori, and Crozet presented them as a treacherous people.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: PUBL-0150-004

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.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Jock Phillips, 'Visitors’ opinions about New Zealand - Early visitors, 1769–1860', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/37095/depiction-of-maori-by-a-french-artist (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Jock Phillips, published 20 Jun 2012