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Story: Mātaitai – shellfish gathering

Using a kapu

Image
Using a kapu

This fisherman leans over his canoe with a kapu (mussel dredge) at Lake Rotoiti in the early 1900s. The kapu was used to scoop up kākahi (freshwater mussels).

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: PA1-f-179-51-2

by Thomas Pringle

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

Mere Whaanga, Mātaitai – shellfish gathering – Mussels, oysters, toheroa and other species, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/8103/using-a-kapu (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Mere Whaanga, published 2 March 2009.