Our Own Motivations:

We have our own motivations for publishing the Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka series. Some years ago in Nelson and Marlborough there was a general perception that few Maori lived in the region before colonisation, and that very little was known about those who did. One strong motivation was to correct that misconception by peopling the landscape, by naming the people, by presenting the sagas by which they came to inhabit, defend (and depart) these lands, and by identifying their pa and kainga.

We also wished to ensure that succeeding generations of Maori would have access to their heritage, much of which has already been lost or dispersed. In addition, the interested general public would have a greater understanding of the people who trod these lands, relationships which developed, and events which occurred. A secondary ambition was to correct some of the inaccuracies which have crept into the record, and are then repeated.

With regard to Volume II – Te Ara Hou: The New Society – we particularly wish to illustrate the very active roles Maori played in the new society born of European colonisation. Their generosity and assistance to new immigrants, their delight in Christianity, their entrepreneurial response to opportunities within the new economy, their pivotal presence in European exploration and on the goldfields, their reaction to, and adoption or adaptation of new technologies, new ideas and new customs deserved to be highlighted.

We intend to show how Maori were affected by a European legal system, Pakeha-dominated legislation, anglocentric education, and eventual marginalisation from most aspects of the new society. Their struggle to retain their own language, social structures and customs is discussed, as are the effects of colonisation on Maori health, fertility, prosperity and wellbeing.