Old New Zealand: Being Incidents of Native Customs and Character in the Old Times

A European narrator who lives among Māori communities records a series of vivid sketches of pre‑contact and early contact Māori life: first encounters and the valuation of Europeans in trade, hospitality, communal feasts, wrestling and war dances, customary law such as muru and tapu, the role of tohunga and taniwha, land tenure and chiefs' authority, dispute resolution and ritual practice. The anecdotes blend humour and critical observation to present ceremonies, everyday commerce, tribal customs and the gradual social changes brought by increasing British influence, offering a mosaic of character studies and practical accounts rather than a continuous narrative.