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Story: Northland region

Sorting kūmara

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Sorting kūmara

Growing kūmara (sweet potato) was a traditional activity that some northern Māori turned into a trade, selling the vegetable to European settlers who had not yet established their own crops. Here, two women of Awanui, Ngāwini Hetaraka (left) and Ngāhuia Hetaraka, sort the crop and pack it into kete (flax kits).

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/2-111795; 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

Claudia Orange, Northland region – Māori society: 1840–1900, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/7601/sorting-kumara (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Claudia Orange, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 May 2015.