Story: Māori housing – te noho whare

Thatched huts, 1839 (1st of 3)

Thatched huts, 1839

This drawing by Louis Sainson, who travelled with French explorer Dumont d’Urville’s 1839 expedition, depicts an unidentified kāinga (village). The round roofs of the wharepuni (sleeping huts) are distinctive in departing from the more usual gable-roofed dwellings – one of which is visible at the extreme left of the image.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: PUBL-0034-2-347
Engraving by Louis Auguste de Sainson

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:

Ben Schrader, 'Māori housing – te noho whare - Wharepuni to European house', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/40339/thatched-huts-1839 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Ben Schrader, published 5 Sep 2013