Rare details marking the first interactions between Māori and Europeans in New Zealand have been released as part of a new archive of centuries-old journals, letters and documents online.
University of Otago Hocken librarian Sharon Dell. Photo: Sharron Bennett
The Whakapono; Faith and Foundations exhibition in Dunedin celebrates the bicentenary of the start of the Church Missionary Society in New Zealand in the Bay of Islands in 1814.
A bust of famed Ngāpuhi war chief Hongi Hika that he carved himself is on loan to the University of Otago, which is running the exhibition.
The exhibition marks 200 years since the establishment of the Church Missionary Society in New Zealand after missionaries were invited to the Bay of Islands by Ngāpuhi rangatira Te Pahi, Ruatara and Hongi Hika.
It coincides with the launch of a new online archive developed by the University of Otago Hocken Library of Samuel Marsdens' journals and letters detailing the life of New Zealand's first settlers.