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Story: Nation and government

The long white cloud Ao-tea-roa

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<em>The long white cloud Ao-tea-roa</em>

In 1898 the politician William Pember Reeves wrote an influential history of New Zealand, or Aotearoa, as Māori called it. This name refers to the cloud formations which helped early Polynesian navigators find the country.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: BK-622-COVER

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, Nation and government – Nationhood and identity, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/2573/the-long-white-cloud-ao-tea-roa (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by John Wilson, published 3 March 2009, updated 1 September 2016.