EARLY POVERTY BAY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19757, 11 October 1938, Page 9

EARLY POVERTY BAY

LIFE HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO With the approach ot the centenary of British rule in New Zealand, research work in Poverty Bay is in full swing, and unexpected sources have been tapped for information. In this Connection prolonged study has been undertaken by Air. R. W. Halbert, and valuable information, passed on through generations, has been gained from the elders of the tribes, resulting in a detailed account of life near | Gisborne some hundreds of years ago, I including a thrilling account of murder and bloodshed in Turanganui-a-Kiwa (Poverty Bay) in 1650, and a historic combat near Repongaere, including an account of a taniwha in tire Waipaoa River. Mr. Halbert's I story is but one of a series of 16 | articles, comprising addresses deliver|ed at the Tairawhiti Alacri Association’s lectures. The authors include, in addition to Mr. Halbert, such wellknown authorities as Sir Apirana Ngata ("Historical Poverty Bay”), Elsdon Best (“The Mythopoetic Maori”), Te Kani Te Ua ("Spiritualism and Maori Beliefs”), the late Bishop of Waiapu ("The Maori, Past, Present and Future”), Dr. Wi Repa (“The Maori and Civilisation”), Richard Leach (“Paikea’s Journey on a Whale’s Back From Ilawaihi to iWhangara"), and many others. This | book is now out of print, and copies, | at 2/6 each, can be procured only at Eastwood’s Book Store, Gladstone road. Other well-known books dealing with the early history of Poverty Bay, and now out of print, comprise “East Coast Historical Records," by the late Bishop W. L. Williams, price 2/6; “History of the Early Days of Poverty Bay,” by Major Ropata Wahawaha, including a detailed account of the Poverty Bay massacre, price 1/6; and “Life in Early Poverty Bay,” price 2/6. The price for the four books is J 3/- Eastwood’s Book Store is fortunate in having copies of each of these publications, but as the number is limited early application is advisable.*