Maori Engagement in the Economy, 1840s -50s

Question 1

Which of the main European settlements in New Zealand depended on trade with the Maori?

Answer 1

Auckland, New Plymouth, Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson and Dunedin

Question 2

Maori dominated the supply of…

Answer 2

potatoes, kumara, wheat, maize, pigs, fish and fruit

Question 3

Maori were described as the ____________ of the Auckland settlement

Answer 3

“life blood”

Question 4

By the 1850s, how many trading canoes arrived in Auckland annually?

Answer 4

2000

Question 5

In 1854, how much was the Maori trade with Auckland worth?

Answer 5

over £16,000

Question 6

On the other end of the island, how much money did local hapu have in the Wellington banks by 1842?

Answer 6

£150,000

Question 7

In Otago, who had the Maori suppliers learn their skills from?

Answer 7

whaler-turned-farmer Johnny Jones

Question 8

At Tolaga Bay and Poverty Bay on the North Island’s East Coast, what were Maori trading between 1854 and 1855 and at what value?

Answer 8

wheat, pork, and other produce to the value of £15,000

Question 9

When did the Maori start milling wheat?

Answer 9

1850s

Question 10

How many mills were there and where did they have the most mills?

Answer 10

100 mills, mainly in Waikato

Question 11

How expensive were mills?

Answer 11

£200-£500 each

Question 12

Maori were also actively engaged in diverse ranges of economic activities such as…

Answer 12

The transport business

Question 13

What did the Maori do in the transport business?

Answer 13

Waikato Maori delivered their produce to the market in their own horses, carts, canoes, around 40 small coastal boats and several larger schooners.

Question 14

Who travelled to Taupo and Auckland with pigs for sale?

Answer 14

Tuhoe from Te Urewera

Question 15

The discovery of gold in the Aorere Valley in 1856 drew how many people?

Answer 15

An estimated 1300 Pakeha and 600 Maori within 2 years

Question 16

Why was the Maori success rate so high?

Answer 16

They worked collectively, men and women together

Question 17

In the 1850s, what dramatically increased demand for foodstuffs and how did Maori combat this?

Answer 17

The Australian gold rushes, to combat this the Maori extended their fields of grain.

Question 18

What other trade were Maori also active in?

Answer 18

The flax and timber trade; they dug kauri gum in the north, worked on whaling stations and whaling boats around the coast, and provided services such as guides into the interior and running of river ferries. They also provided a market for tobacco, guns, clothing and tea, goods brought in by European traders.

Question 19

What did Belich suggest was a cause of the wars of the 1860s?

Answer 19

The wars of the 1860s were caused in part by settler jealousy of Maori economic dominance.