1875 Maori Newspaper - Te Wananga - John White's copy - Repudiation movement and anti-Crown Land rights

Te Wānanga. Nama 12. Pakowhai, Mane 26 Hurae 1875. Pukapuka 2

Pakowhai: Te Wānanga, 26 July 1875.

Folio newspaper, 6 leaves (numbered 109-120), printed in Māori and English

Printed in "Pakowhai" - Hawkes bay - New Zealand

Contemporary ownership inscription: “John White, Grafton Road, Auckland.”

Fair condition but complete. Toning and foxing (more marked to first page), small tear to left upper middle edge with 2x2cm loss approx. Old folds.

This is an important early issue of the Māori-language newspaper Te Wānanga, published at Pakowhai, Hawke’s Bay, and edited by the government interpreter John White (1826–1891). White supported the Repudiation Movement, which sought to challenge Crown land acquisitions and reassert Māori control over the land.

Te Wānanga was one of the most influential Māori-language publications of the 19th century. It gave a platform for Maori voices against the Land-hungry colonial forces of the time.

This copy’s contemporary provenance is especially notable: John White, then residing at Grafton Road in Auckland, was deeply involved in Māori affairs through his long government service and as author of The Ancient History of the Māori (1887–91). 

Scarce outside of New Zealand institutions.