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Story: Canterbury region

Preparing eels

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Preparing eels

Hira Wiremu Pere and Hoani Te Kou Nutira prepare and cook a catch of eels from Wairewa (Lake Forsyth). The wetlands of Canterbury were a rich source of food for the Ngāi Tahu people. They gathered eels at places such as Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) and Wairewa (Lake Forsyth). These lakes survived the impact of European settlement, but other Canterbury wetlands were drained to create farmland.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, National Publicity Studios Collection

Reference: 1/2-040041; F

by K. V. Bigwood

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

John Wilson, Canterbury region – Discovery and settlement, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/10312/preparing-eels (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by John Wilson, published 2 March 2009.