[Description of Te Rauparaha]

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At Otaki, 1849, “The famous Rauparaha, the old chief notorious for treachery, deceit, and every skilful artifice that enables him to seduce his hitherto blind followers, is a man low in stature, not

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exceeding 5 feet 3 or 4 inches; sharp countenance; quick eye; and artful look. Indeed his countenance, although it has nothing in it of peculiar interest, fully indicates that he is a man of considerable ingenuity, and quick perception. He talked to me of the names of places at Taranaki as if he had been born there; spoke of his having had a hand in the construction of the large church now building at Otaki; regretted Heuheu's death; denied having run there from Waikato. His influence is fast on the decline.”

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About this page...

Title: Sir Donald Maclean

Author: James Cowan

Publication details: Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd, 1940

Part of: New Zealand Texts Collection

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand Licence