When the Tainui canoe arrived off Whangaparāoa, the pōhutukawa (some say the rātā) was in full bloom. Crew members mistook this for a particular kind of treasure which they had brought from Hawaiki, and so they threw this treasure into the water. When they pulled ashore, they saw that the blooms were not the same treasure, and lamented their loss. A proverb commemorates this mistake, and has been used as counsel against hasty decisions.
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Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Photograph by Melanie Lovell-Smith
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