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Story: Economic history

Canoes with produce

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Canoes with produce

In the 1850s trading had become so important to many Māori in the Auckland area that they used boats and canoes to bring their foods, pigs and flax to sell in waterfront markets. In William Strutt’s painting we see canoes arriving at Onehunga, Auckland, in the mid-1850s.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: G-637

by William Strutt

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

Brian Easton, Economic history – Early Māori economies, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/24317/canoes-with-produce (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Brian Easton, published 12 April 2010.