Story: Whaling

George Toms

George Toms

Māori were involved in the whaling industry as crew on whaling ships, workers at shore-based stations, and through the marriage of whalers to Māori women. This tinted lithograph (1847) by George French Angas is of George Toms (spelt Thoms in the lithograph), the son of Pākehā whaler Joseph Toms and Te Ua Torikiriki, the niece of Te Rauparaha. A whaling boat, possibly from his father’s whaling station at Porirua Harbour, is in the background.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: PUBL-0014-12-2
Hand-coloured lithograph by George French Angas

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:

Jock Phillips, 'Whaling - Māori and whaling', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/6271/george-toms (accessed 18 April 2024)

Story by Jock Phillips, published 12 Jun 2006