Story: Mau rākau – Māori use of weaponry

For several decades after the introduction of the musket to New Zealand, Māori warriors used both muskets and their traditional weapons. This painting by Joseph Merrett, from about 1845, shows a war dance in which taiaha (fighting staffs), a tao (spear) and a greenstone mere (club) are brandished along with muskets and steel-bladed axes.