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Story: Ngā haumi a iwi – Māori investment

Traders going to market, 1850s

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Traders going to market, 1850s

These Māori traders are taking pigs to the Auckland market in the 1850s. Pigs and potatoes were being used as a standard form of currency in New Zealand by the 1840s. Initially, Māori communities were the key suppliers of food to fledgling European towns and cities.

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Reference: 4-4549

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How to cite this page

Edward Ellison, Ngā haumi a iwi – Māori investment – Māori economy, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/23122/traders-going-to-market-1850s (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Edward Ellison, published 3 March 2010.