Story: Death rates and life expectancy

Tangi, about 1890 (1st of 2)

Tangi, about 1890

Relatives sit by a body in a meeting house at Ruatapu, on the west coast of the South Island, during a tangi. Deaths from infectious diseases were particularly common by this time. Newly introduced diseases such as measles, mumps and whooping cough proved fatal to both adults and children, and spread rapidly through Māori communities.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Frederick Ashby Hargreaves Collection (PAColl-3047)
Reference: 1/1-002722-F

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:

Ian Pool, 'Death rates and life expectancy - Effects of colonisation on Māori', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/26587/tangi-about-1890 (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Ian Pool, published 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 14 Mar 2019