Te Kerikeri 1770-1850: The Meeting Pool, edited and introduced by Judith Binney (Wellington / Nelson: Bridget Williams Books in association with Craig Potton Publishing, 2007; 136 pp. $34.99).

Kerikeri was an important site for early sustained interaction between Maori and Pakeha in 19th century New Zealand. The interrelationship between Maori, led initially by Hongi Hika, and the early Church Missionary Society (CMS) agents, was complex and dynamic. The strategic choice of Kerikeri as the base for the second CMS station in the country reflected the significance of both the place and the people living there.

Kerikeri was what Judith Binney describes in the subtitle of this collection of essays as “The meeting pool.” It was here that two different cultures, lifestyles, religious beliefs and practices intersected. It was, in many ways, a place of early bicultural encounter.

The 13 short essays and the editor’s introduction provide insights into different aspects of the brief period when Kerikeri flourished as this place of encounter. Samuel Marsden is depicted by Andrew Sharp as the “author” of Kerikeri, even though Hongi and Ngapuhi had long before Marsden’s arrival cultivated and lived on the land.

Marsden’s purchase of land in 1819 combined his interest in Christianity and civilization, the use of agriculture and trade to pacify and convert Maori. Kerikeri was a significant site of beginnings with its unsuccessful attempts at crop farming and new missionary endevaours.

While Hongi initially offered the missionaries protection, the missionaries quickly found themselves living in the shadow of the Kororipo Pa which Joan Maingay describes both in terms of its history and archaeology. This was the site from which Hongi from 1819-26 launched his aggressive military exploits (the musket wars) and returned with slaves and the bodies of dead warriors.

Jeffrey Sissons portrays Hongi as the “widely feared military leader” and the kind and affectionate family man, as well as Marsden’s respected associate and Thomas Kendall’s friend.

Angela Middleton writes about “Potatoes and Muskets” with Maori producing large quantities of white potatoes to exchange for firearms. The missionaries’ message of peace and goodwill was at first secondary in Maori eyes to the value of the missionaries’ blacksmith shop for repairing muskets.

Patu Hohepa provides an essay examining the ways in which Hongi and Rewa imbued the land “with dangerous tapu” which the missionaries sought to diminish.

The mission station occupied what Grant Phillipson in the longest essay in the book describes in Richard White’s term as a “middle ground.” There was, as Phillipson points out, miscommunication in the early years on both sides. Hongi dominated the areas until his removal to Whangaroa and death in 1828.

Rewa, whom Claudia Orange writes about in this collection, became the mission’s second protector, selling land at Waimate for their third mission station and controversially land for the missionaries’ children. Rewa’s shift to Kororareka meant that the political centre began to shift away from Kerikeri. The different perceptions between land made available for use, and land claimed through ownership, foreshadowed ongoing struggles between Maori and Pakeha settlers.

The importance of Kerikeri in contributing to the complex process of conversion was seen in the missionary school and William Yates’ attempt at printing the catechism in 1830. Maori were incorporating Christian ideas within their own worldview and literacy provided them access to these new ideas.

Manuka Henare relates the story of the petition from Maori chiefs to King William – signed at Kororipo in 1831 – asking for protection against possible French aggression. The petition was probably prepared by Yate and anticipated the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand and the Treaty of Waitangi with their Maori and missionary involvement. The use of a text in Maori, signed with the chief’s moko, brought together the new literacy and tapu symbols of the rangatira signatories.

Today, Kerikeri is best known for the two surviving mission structures: Kemp House, the oldest building in the country, and the Stone Store.

Jeremy Salmond writes “An Architectural Appreciation” of the mission house. Built originally for the Rev John Butler, who came to lead the mission, the house is an important reminder of the missionary presence.

Gavin McLean describes the Stone Store as “A Backwater White Elephant” indicating that by the time it was finished in 1837 Kerikeri had lost its status as the primary mission station.

The story of the protection of these two buildings told by Joyce Mason reflects the lack of interest by authorities for many years in their retention and the valiant efforts by a voluntary group in raising money to ensure the preservation of both the buildings and the surrounding land.

While there are some overlaps and repetition in the various essays, this does not detract from the value of this book. The volume originated in presentations given at a “Festival of History” at Kerikeri and these have been reworked for this volume.

The book is lavishly illustrated in colour with maps, photographs, reproductions from artists, missionaries and the Cotton and Bambridge journals. The texts describing these illustrations are very informative and provide additional insights into Kerikeri as a place of meeting.

Judith Binney and her publisher have done a superb job in bringing together the essays and illustrations in this volume. In her introduction Binney points to the way in which the missionaries surrounded their land by fences. The land Maori had given to the mission was later claimed by missionaries as their own.

As Binney writes, “Many aspects of the entwined histories that lie at the heart of Aotearoa/New Zealand can be seen at the Kerikeri Basin.”

This book teaches us about our past, while Kerikeri is a place to walk the sites of memory described here.

Allan Davidson teaches church history at St John’s College and in the School of Theology at the University of Auckland. ak.davidson@auckland.ac.nz