Story: Pacific migrations

‘Taputini’ – a traditional kūmara cultivar

‘Taputini’ – a traditional kūmara cultivar

The large kūmara (sweet potato) available in supermarkets are quite different from the more slender varieties that Polynesians brought with them to New Zealand. Kūmara were the most successful introduced crop, flourishing in northern, coastal areas. However, they were marginal in the colder central North Island and the South Island. They came originally from South America and were being grown and eaten in the Cook Islands by 1000 CE. It is possible, but not proven, that Polynesian seafarers had made round trips to South America by this time.

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The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand - Kuratini Tuwhera
Photograph by Graham Harris

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How to cite this page:

Geoff Irwin, 'Pacific migrations - The world’s first seafarers', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/1763/taputini-a-traditional-kumara-cultivar (accessed 20 March 2024)

Story by Geoff Irwin, published 8 Feb 2005, reviewed & revised 8 Feb 2017