Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Kidnap, kauri trees and the underworld
NEW ZEALAND, 1793
This is the oldest known Maori map of New Zealand. It was made because of a mistaken
idea about who would know how to dress flax. About 400 miles away on Norfolk Island a
type of this plant flourished, fanning the Royal Navy's hopes of self-sufficiency in ropes and
sail-cloth. Nobody in the new British colony there knew how to make it usable, so the is-
land's Governor, Philip Gidley King, arranged the kidnap of two people from New Zealand,
where the same flax also grew. Unfortunately for him, his captives, Tuki Tahua and Huru,
were high-status men who knew little about such women's skills. During their enforced stay,
King made a Maori vocabulary and gazetteer which he sent to the Colonial Office with a let-
ter in which he described the men, their language and their customs.
