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Kōrero: Human effects on the environment

Māori gardens

Māori gardens

This is a sketched reconstruction of Māori gardens near the mouth of the Washpool River in southern Wairarapa, about 600–700 years ago. The forest had been cleared from the river flats, and stone walls were built to provide shelter and divide the land for growing kūmara (sweet potato).

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

by Rozel Pharazyn

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Janet Wilmshurst, Human effects on the environment – Early human impact, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/artwork/12533/maori-gardens (accessed 25 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Janet Wilmshurst, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009.

Comments

Carabuat
07 May 2015
I think Maori also had a significant impact on the archipelago’s fauna: nearly forty species of birds, a bat, three to five species of frogs and numerous lizard taxa became extinct during the pre-European Maori era