Story: Ngāpuhi

Nukutawhiti, by Thomas Kendall

The Ngāpuhi ancestor Nukutawhiti was the captain of the Ngātokimatawhaorua canoe. This famous 1824 drawing by the missionary Thomas Kendall shows him in the first state of existence. Kendall’s notes and artwork accompanied carvings which were sent to England at the time.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: A-114-045

by Thomas Kendall

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

Rāwiri Taonui, Ngāpuhi – Canoes, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/398/nukutawhiti-by-thomas-kendall (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Rāwiri Taonui, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 March 2017.

Comments

Coral Gallagher
19 April 2012

Great to see this fabulous sketch,I am a direct decendent of Thomas Kendall ,my father was George Albert Williams