Story: Māori housing – te noho whare

Rāwiri Taiwhanga's house

Rāwiri Taiwhanga's house

Pre-colonial European sealers and whalers often lived in whare, but a few built European-style dwellings, leading some Māori to build European-style houses of their own. Among the first to do so was Ngāpuhi chief Rāwiri Taiwhanga. He erected this cob house with a wood-shingle roof in 1831 at Paihia, in Northland, and lived there until 1834. This undated photograph shows the dwelling in a deteriorated condition.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/2-021688-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:

Ben Schrader, 'Māori housing – te noho whare - Wharepuni to European house', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/40344/rawiri-taiwhangas-house (accessed 28 March 2024)

Story by Ben Schrader, published 5 Sep 2013