Te Arawa: A History of the Arawa People

Te Arawa is regarded as the major work by one of the leading historians of pre-European New Zealand, the late Don Stafford. The book tells the complete history of the Te Arawa waka and its descendants until the late nineteenth century. This relates the iwi's origins in the South Pacific; migration and settlement in Aotearoa; the exploits of ancestors including Tamatekapua, Ihenga, Hatupatu, Tutanekai and Wahiao; development and relations among the Arawa confederation; the arrival of Europeans; Te Arawa's participation in Maori-Pakeha warfare; and the conclusion of campaigns involving Te Kooti. Te Arawa is a monumental work of scholarship, and as a 614-page hardback is also an impressive physical artefact. It includes photographic pages on glossy paper and extensive whakapapa.