Story: Ngā take Māori – government policy and Māori

Loading kauri, Hokianga, 1839

Loading kauri, Hokianga, 1839

A rowboat hauls a raft of kauri logs towards the ship Francis Spaight from a timber yard in Kohukohu, Hokianga, in this 1839 painting. The logs, known as spars, were used as ships' masts and were among New Zealand's earliest exports. Commercial trading of this kind dominated Britain's official dealings with Māori in the period before the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: C-025-020
Watercolour by Charles Heaphy

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:

Mark Derby, 'Ngā take Māori – government policy and Māori - Māori affairs up to 1840', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/34371/loading-kauri-hokianga-1839 (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Mark Derby, published 20 Jun 2012