Story: Censorship

'Indecent' government publication, 1887

'Indecent' government publication, 1887

Newspapers condemned the first volume of John White's Ancient history of the Maori, published by the government in 1887, as indecent. The government considered suppressing its own publication, but instead sold the entire edition to a private bookseller. The scandal guaranteed heavy sales of the book.

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National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past
Reference: Te Aroha News, 27 August 1887, p. 1

Permission of the 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:

Peter Clayworth, 'Censorship - History of censorship in New Zealand, 1850s to 1930s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ephemera/43903/indecent-government-publication-1887 (accessed 26 April 2024)

Story by Peter Clayworth, published 22 Oct 2014