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Story: Cultural go-betweens

Tom Adamson, Pākehā–Māori

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Tom Adamson, Pākehā–Māori

Tom Adamson (left), seen here with Wiremu Mutu, was a Pākehā–Māori who fought with Whanganui kūpapa (government-allied) Māori during the New Zealand wars. Adamson was a scout and bushman who pursued Tītokowaru's fighters in Taranaki in 1869. The historian James Cowan described him as 'a big, powerful fellow who surpassed the Maoris themselves in bushcraft and endurance'. (James Cowan, The adventures of Kimble Bent. London: Whitcombe & Tombs, 1911, p. 282.)

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Hocken Collections, University of Otago

Reference: S03-095

Permission of the Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, must be obtained before any re-use of this image. Further information may be obtained from the Library through its website.

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How to cite this page

Mark Derby, Cultural go-betweens – Pākehā–Māori, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/26792/tom-adamson-pakeha-maori (accessed 3 June 2026).

Story by Mark Derby, published 22 March 2011.