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Kōrero: Shellfish

Shelling toheroa

Shelling toheroa

Shellfish were an important component of the Māori diet. These three girls from Northland, photographed in the first half of the 20th century, are shelling toheroa meat into tin cans. Their kete (flax bags) are full of shellfish, and they are surrounded by empty shells.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library, Northwood Collection (PA-Group-00027)

Reference: 1/1-026522-G

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.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Maggy Wassilieff, Shellfish – Food and other uses, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/8038/shelling-toheroa (accessed 24 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Maggy Wassilieff, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009.

Comments

J Chambers
25 May 2015
You also conveniently missed the the fact that they were shelling them not for personal consumption but for a commercial market. Why not focus on one of the toheroa canneries these people worked for? This is where stereotyping not only indigenous people but recreational gatherers as the terrorist of environmental issues originates. From misleading representations like this. Sure you may not have mentioned the decline in the toheroa beds but your directive is absolutely clear. I studied marketing before I studied environmental law.