Poutini Ngāi Tahu historian Paul Madgwick’s book Poutini: The Ngāi Tahu History of the West Coast, will be released on November 5.
Māori have lived on Te Tai Poutini for at least as long as anywhere else in New Zealand, bound by ancient stories and a unique affinity to pounamu.
"So why is the Māori story so impoverished in a region so rich in storytelling?" Madgwick said.
In his 528-page book, he sets out to correct this by recording the Ngāi Tahu history of the West Coast.
It is the first comprehensive Māori history of the West Coast, from the legends to the pounamu wars, the Māori discovery of gold to the feats of great mountain climbers, and the uneasy transition into a changing world.
It gives a detailed account of the succession of Māori settlements along the West Coast, interweaving pre-contact history with early interactions between Pākehā explorers and Ngāi Tahu, land sales and the allocation of Māori reserves.
The book takes in the impact of the West Coast gold rushes — and the pivotal role Poutini Ngāi Tahu played in these — and the two world wars, development in the 20th century through to the 1998 Ngāi Tahu Settlement, and the issues faced today.
Throughout, it is the voices and images of Ngāi Tahu people who speak loud.
Although general histories of Te Tai Poutini are widely known throughout the iwi, knowledge has remained scattered and hidden, as noted by Sir Tipene O’Regan in his foreword.
Poutini pulls these different histories into one place, incorporating a wealth of historic and contemporary photographs, detailed maps and whakapapa (genealogical charts).
Madgwick (Ngāti Māhaki, Ngāi Tahu) was born and bred in Hokitika and has been involved with Poutini Ngāi Tahu affairs all his adult life. For two decades, he has chaired Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio, based at Maitahi/Bruce Bay. He has also been editor of the Greymouth Star for the past 19 years.
Considered an authority on the Māori history of Te Tai Poutini, he was a key informant for the Ngāi Tahu digital public atlas of Māori place names of the West Coast.
Poutini is published by Oratia Books of Auckland and Te Runanga o Ngāi Tahu. — Greymouth Star
