Sailor and Trader.

In 1889 I had a long talk with Te Kooti on matters of Hauhau war history, and he told me then about his sailoring and trading visits to Auckland from Gisborne. That was in the long peace before the Hauhau Wars began. One of the schooners in which he sailed was named Te Whetuki; he was the supercargo, the man who attended to the business side of the vessel's voyages.

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It was on one of those trips to Auckland that he took the name Kooti, the native pronunciation of the pakeha name “Coates,” which he had seen in print in official notices in its Maori form. He brought cargoes of wheat, potatoes and other produce from the East Coast and sold them in Auckland, and took back trade goods for the Maoris. This business enterprise greatly displeased the principal storekeeper and trader at Turanganui, Captain Read, who became one of his enemies and accusers.