Art has long been used as propaganda – to persuade or influence – as can be seen in a comparison of this Joseph Merrett sketch of Okataina pā (top) and the later lithograph based on the sketch. The sketch was drawn in 1841 and shows a pōwhiri (welcoming ceremony) under way outside the pā's fortifications. When it was reproduced as a lithographic print in London the following year, the people had been erased from the scene. This reinforced the idea that New Zealand was an empty landscape waiting for European occupation.
Using this item
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference:
E-216-f-179; PUBL-0076-071
Drawing by Joseph Jenner Merrett
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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