KEY POINTS:
From logbooks to diaries and memoirs, the various non-Maori who came to New Zealand before 1840 made a point of recording their experiences and they found ready audiences. The market for popular books was exploding in the 19th century.
Readers in Europe thrilled to tales of adventure and peril from what was seen as the frontier of civilisation. These accounts painted the years up to 1840 as an adventurous time, in which there was room for discovery and derring-do before the apparently inevitable march of progress brought "old New Zealand" to an end. It's an idea that casts a long shadow even today and Gordon and Sarah Ell's new collection gives us a taste of the stories that formed the image of rough, lawless "old New Zealand" in our culture.
Drawing on rare and hard-to-find sources, both published and hiding away in archives, Explorers, Whalers and Tattooed Sailors collects accounts from the visit of Abel Tasman in 1642 until 1840, the year of the Treaty and "the end of the lawless days".
True to the title, the book includes accounts from sailors, naturalists and explorers through to missionaries, entrepreneurs and roving travellers in search of excitement.
For example, Frederick Maning's dramatic account of an approaching Maori war party, whalers hunting their prey, or stranded sailors building a new ship from scratch. There is thrilling stuff here, and readers expecting a good dose of mortal peril won't come away empty-handed.
Other pieces are less breathless and more reflective, including Reverend Samuel Marsden's account of the country's first Christmas service; standing to sing a psalm and seeing his new congregation seated around, he wrote, "I felt my very soul melt within me."
Vivid descriptions and businesslike journal entries sit alongside each other; varying spellings and writing styles have been kept, letting us hear each writer's voice, but the book itself remains a harmonious whole, eased along by brief introductions and editorial notes. There are a few accounts focusing on Maori culture and cross-cultural contact, but all are filtered through European eyes.
The European arrivals were well-meaning, keen to impose order on chaos, map out the frontier and "civilise" Maori. Explorers isn't the whole story by a long shot, but both casual readers and history buffs will find lasting pleasure.
Explorers, Whalers and Tattooed Sailors
Edited by Gordon Ell and Sarah Ell (Random House $34.99)
* Sam Finnemore is an Auckland reviewer.
