Tamihana Te Rauparaha’s life of Te Rauparaha - Ross Calman

In the late 1860s, Te Rauparaha’s son Tamihana wrote an account of his father’s life, now published for the first time in a Māori/English edition. Join us for this HeritageTalk in the Whare Wananga, or online via Zoom, to hear translator and editor Ross Calman talk about restoring the mana of this important work.

In the late 1860s, Te Rauparaha’s son Tamihana wrote a 50,000-word account of his father’s life - the original manuscript is in the Sir George Grey Special Collections at Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero Auckland Central City Library (GNZMMS 27). A rich source of Ngāti Toa history, language and culture, it offers fascinating insights into traditional Māori society and the tumultuous history of the 1820s and 1830s.

Tamihana’s account has now been published in full for the first time in a parallel Māori/English edition as He Pukapuka Tātaku i ngā Mahi a Te Rauparaha Nui / A Record of the Life of the Great Te Rauparaha (Auckland University Press, November 2020).

In this talk, the book’s translator and editor Ross Calman will describe some of the detective work it took in order to shed light on the creation of the manuscript, as well as giving an overview of how Tamihana’s account has been represented by various writers and translators over the past 150 years and describing some of the challenges he faced in interpreting the manuscript for a modern audience.

Ross Calman (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa-ki-te-tonga, Ngāi Tahu) is a Wellington-based writer, editor and translator, and a descendant of Te Rauparaha. His other works include Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi (with Mark Derby and Toby Morris), The New Zealand Wars, The Reed Book of Māori Mythology (with A. W. Reed) and The Essential Māori Dictionary (with Margaret Sinclair).

This event will be held in the Whare Wānanga on Level 2 of the Central City Library and online via Zoom.

Book now
Email arc@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz to book (booking essential) or register in advance to join the online webinar via Zoom.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining via Zoom.