773

 

I'm halfway through the above book. It helps you to gain insight into the Maori perspective on how New Zealand society has developed over the years. Growing up Maori, edited by Witi Ihimaera, contains almost 40 accounts. They describe what life was like for someone who identified as Maori.

Personally, as a first-generation New Zealander whose mother tongue wasn't English, I can relate to many aspects of those experiences.

I particularly enjoyed the account of Te Horeta te Taniwha, entitled When Goblins Came to Whitianga. I never knew that there existed a first-hand nonfiction narrative of when Captain Cook first visited this country. Absolutely fascinating.