Story: History and historians

Wiremu Maihi Te Rangikāheke's notes about tattooing

Wiremu Maihi Te Rangikāheke of Ngāti Rangiwewehi was a highly knowledgeable scholar and chief who knew a great deal about Māori traditions. Governor George Grey was keen to document Māori history and traditions so he employed Te Rangikāheke in the early 1850s to write down much of his historical knowledge. Arguably, this made him the country’s first paid historian. Certainly Te Rangikāheke wrote 21 manuscripts himself and contributed to another 17. Grey drew on Te Rangikāheke's writings extensively in the collections of Māori tradition that he published under his own name.

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Auckland City Libraries - Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero, Sir George Grey Special Collections
Reference: 7-C1926

Permission of Auckland City Libraries Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Jock Phillips, 'History and historians - Recording history before 1900', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/zoomify/43524/wiremu-maihi-te-rangikahekes-notes-about-tattooing (accessed 26 April 2024)

Story by Jock Phillips, published 22 Oct 2014