A Bay of Islands hapu says a new book documenting the early years of settlement in the region is a welcome addition to a lack of written history about the rohe.
Angela Middleton's work, Pewhairangi: Bay of Islands Missions and Maori 1814 to 1845, begins with the arrival of the first Pakeha families near Rangihoua pa.
It carries on to discuss the wars in the Far North, spurred on by dissastisfaction with the Treaty of Waitangi.
A Ngati Manu spokesperson, Arapeta Hamilton, said there has been very little written about the area's past and this book will help fill that gap.
Mr Hamilton said it would be a useful resource for hapu and iwi, as well as schools and anyone with an interest in history.