Captain Cook's Encounter with Maori ~~~ 6- 11 Oct. 1769.

By croppeg18

  • NZ Spotted

    Aotearoa is spotted by the surgeon's son, Nicholas Young.

  • Te Maro shot

    The ship’s little boats were lowered so that Captain Cook, Banks, and a few others could go ashore to get some water. They landed on the Turanganui River (the eastern side), now named after Cook. They saw some Maori people and some Maori huts. While Cook and Banks were looking for plant and animal species, they heard gunshots and went back to the little boats. One of the boys (the coxswain) they left in charge of the boats had shot a Maori tribe leader, Te Maro, because he felt threatened.

  • Another attempt at friendship.

    The small boats were lowered in the morning to take sailors to the landing site. A large group of Maori men did a haka. They talked with Tupaia, one man swam over to Cook and hongied with him as a greeting. There was still tension between Maori and sailors, and eventually the sailors shot at the Maori, killing one of them. The Maori retreated and three more were injured or killed. Cook and his crew left to look for another waterhole.

  • Another attempt at friendship. Part 2

    Later that day, Cook spotted two waka and decided to capture them to gain their friendship. Four of the Maori were willed, while three of them were captured.

  • Boys released.

    The next day, after a night with Cook's crew, the Maori boys, Cook, Banks, Tupaia and others went back to the Turanganui river. 100- 150 armed Maori men were on the opposite side of the river. An older Maori man swam up to Tupaia and gave him a "green bough" as a peaceful gesture. Cook later released the boys.

  • Leaving Poverty Bay

    In the early morning, the crew left "Poverty Bay". Cook named the bay this “... as it afforded no one thing we wanted.”

  • October 11th - March 1770

    Cook and his crew continue Circumnavigating Aotearoa, including stops at multiple east coast bays. The encounters are a lot more positive, and the Maori particularly liked Tupaia, naming places and people after him. By March of 1770, he was going back to England, also discovering and mapping Australia on the way.