Maori folk-tales of the Port Hills, Canterbury, New Zealand

The collection interweaves descriptive topography and geological explanation of the Port Hills with Māori poetic legends and local traditions gathered from Māori informants, notably a principal narrator from Rapaki. Chapters map place-names and walking routes, explain volcanic features such as dykes and crater-forms, and retell tales of Tamatea and his sacred fire, the patu-paiarehe fairylike beings, and other supernatural figures tied to particular crags, tracks, and villages. Illustrations and maps accompany the narrative, situating folklore within landscape, nomenclature, and communal memory.