Important tribal histories Horouta and Te Arawa available once more

Oratia Books is delighted to welcome back into print two major works of Māori history, which will be available to readers from this Wednesday 27 July. 

Horouta: The History of the Horouta Canoe, Gisborne and East Coast and Te Arawa: A History of the Arawa People are works of great mana that retain relevance to descendants of these waka groupings, and are of interest to readers far and wide.

Horouta is the definitive history of the descendants of the voyaging canoes that brought the first settlers from Hawaiki to the lands that stretch from East Cape to northern Hawke’s Bay.

Assembled through painstaking historical and genealogical research over more than 70 years by Rongowhakaata Halbert and his family, the book includes detailed chapters based on oral and written history about the settlement of the East Coast, along with extensive genealogy charts and detailed maps relating to the region.

Published in partnership with the Rongowhakaata Halbert Trust, this reprint marks ten years since the launch of this edition.

Te Arawa is the major work by Don Stafford, one of the leading historians of pre-European New Zealand who was also the official historian of Rotorua. 

The book tells the complete history of the Te Arawa waka and its descendants until the late nineteenth century. Its import is summed up in the preface to this 2016 edition by Te Arawa descendant and scholar Paora Tapsell:

Amongst all the tribal histories Te Arawa is unique. It goes to the very heart of identity of a people reaching back to ancient times deep in the Pacific. Those who control history control the world. In no small way Te Arawa stands proud today due to Don Stafford’s words. Te Arawa is his memorial to our people, our nation, whom he loved and who in turned loved him like a father.

This monumental work of scholarship is also an impressive physical artefact that includes photographic pages on glossy paper and extensive whakapapa.

The authors

Rongowhakaata Halbert (1894–1973) was an authority on East Coast genealogy and history, renowned for his command of te Reo Maori. Of Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki and Te Whakatōhea descent, he was a member of many eminent boards, and adviser on Maori issues and language to bodies including the Maori Land Court, the Polynesian Society and the Department of Education. Horouta, his life’s work, was brought to publication after his death by his descendants, led in the last stages by the late Te Nonoikura Haronga and the late Peter Gordon. See https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4h4/halbert-rongowhakaata-pere

Don Stafford (1927–2010) was an historian and writer who dedicated his life and work to Rotorua and its environs. Through a long and distinguished career, he wrote over 20 books on Rotorua and its history. Fluent in te reo Māori, Don travelled on foot to every corner of Te Arawa’s rohe, and played a significant role in preservation of historical sites and objects. He was Rotorua’s official historian, and received honours including an MBE, CBE and honorary doctorate. See https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/don-stafford

Back in print: 27 July 2022  

HOROUTA   ISBN: 978-0-947506-20-9 | RRP $125

Jacketed hardback, 280 x 210 mm portrait, 496 pages

TE ARAWA   ISBN: 978-0-947506-10-0 | RRP $98

Jacketed hardback, 240 x 15o mm portrait, 616 pages

Back in the bookstores: A Wild Wind from the North

Hongi Hika’s invasion of the Rotorua area in 1823 is one of the most dramatic and daring assaults ever in New Zealand. Yet like much of our early history, the details are unknown to many New Zealanders.

Don Stafford
(photo © Kerrie Grant)

The late Don Stafford committed himself to redress that imbalance – arguing throughout his distinguished career that events like the Musket Wars deserve to be studied no less than the Napoleonic Wars of the same period.

The distinguished historican dedicated his life and work to the Rotorua district, writing over 20 books on Rotorua and its history, including the monumental Te Arawa (published in a new edition last year by Oratia). 

In A Wild Wind from the North: Hongi Hika's 1823 invasion of Rotorua, Stafford tells how Hongi’s Ngāpuhi forces roamed the North Island from the late 1810s seeking utu (revenge) for past slights. 

Te Arawa, inland and with their island stronghold of Mokoia on Lake Rotorua, felt impregnable. 

They did not count on Hongi’s epic portage of canoes to the lake shores, from which an attack on Mokoia became inevitable.

A Wild Wind from the North not only tells the story with Stafford’s flair and, but is also richly illustrated, including modern photos of the locations depicted. 

This new printing in a handsome hardback keeps true to Don's commitment to the great stories of our past. Click here for more info. 

A Wild Wind from the North

Publication Date: 18 May 2017  |  ISBN: 978-0-947506-23-0 |  RRP $39.99

Hardback, 180 x 140 mm, 160 pages b&w (including 8 pages colour)

New edition of Te Arawa profiled in the Rotorua Daily Post

It's now a week until the launch of Te Arawa, our new edition of Don Stafford's classic history of the Arawa people of Rotorua and the central Bay of Plenty.

The launch at the Rotorua Museum will be presided over by Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick, with representatives of local iwi and Don's family among the distinguished guests.

Don, who passed away in 2010, was a much-loved and respected figure in Rotorua - as evidenced by an article in the Daily Post on Monday.

The article, which you can see via this link, conveys the sense of anticipation ahead of the book's release.

For more about Te Arawa, see the book's page on the Oratia website.