Images of Nikorima Poutōtara and Catherine Harriet Poutōtara of Ngāti Maru
Taken from The Thames Journals of Vicesimus Lush, pp. 96, 97
‘When Sir William Martin was Chief Justice of New Zealand and living with his wife in Auckland, his wife brought up a Maori girl whom they had adopted, and that child was taken to England. This girl was sent to the best large schools. When she returned to New Zealand this Maori girl knew three languages and her appearance and all her ways were those of a true Pakeha woman. She married a leading Hauraki chief, Nikorima Poutotara, and because her husband was a great man and because she too was a gracious person this woman was made much of by the Pakeha people of Hauraki and Auckland. She had a lovely singing voice and consequently Nikorima’s wife was in demand to sing at soirees. Eventually this woman decided to return to the free-and-easy ways of her people. Her learning of Pakeha ways proved to be only skin deep. She gave up her desire to do things in the Pakeha way. Soon she had given up having anything to do with the Pakeha. She abandoned Pakeha ways of dress, wearing a man’s billycock hat and a jacket and a waistcoat of red such as Maori women like. It was not long before she was just like those women who had not been taught Pakeha ways, however it was known that she was an educated woman by her readiness in speaking of English things and her beautiful voice. Many Maori are like Nikorima’s wife in returning to the ways of their ancestors. Many boys are going to college and then returning to their homes and lazing about. Nikorima’s wife drank deeply the waters of Pakeha learning but she abandoned them and returned to the ways of the Maori village. This woman is seen on the streets of Auckland but no-one realizes that she is better educated than most of the Pakeha who throng Queen Street.’
Taken from Te Pīpīwharauroa, He Kupu Whakamārama, No. 77, 1904. See here.
For the Māori version of this text, see here:
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