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The Goblins arrive in Whitianga
1769 (November) Captain Cook and his crew on Endeavour sailed into Whitianga
New Zealand. This is an account of the events that followed as told by
Horeta Te Taniwha, a small child at the time.
One day a strange type of boat came into our harbour. The old people of the
tribe said this boat was a god or atua. We saw people on board the boat and
they looked very unusual. Our old people said these people were goblins or
tupua. As the boat came closer we watched from the shore. We wondered what
would happen. Soon the boat stopped and the people on board got into smaller
boats (like canoes) and began to row to shore. Our old people looked on and
said "Yes it is true: these people are indeed goblins for they have eyes in
the back of their heads and they row with their backs facing in the
direction they are going."
Soon the goblins reached us on the shore. The children and women ran away in
fear and hid in the forest. When we saw that the goblins had not hurt our
warriors we slowly came out of the forest to see these strange people. The
goblins wore unusual garments, which we stroked. We liked their white skin
and light eyes. There was one goblin who was the chief, he was very noble
and quiet and he was a good man. When the goblins spoke they voices made
hissing sounds. The goblins gathered shellfish and we gave them kumera. We
cooked this food for them and they ate it. The goblins shared their food
with us, but we did not like their food. The goblins carried walking sticks.
When one goblin lifted his walking stick into the air we heard a loud noise
and then a dead bird fell to the ground. We were most surprised by this. The
chief goblin gave me a nail. My friends were afraid of this nail but I took
it. I took great care of that special gift. I took it everywhere with me
until one day I was in a canoe that capsized and the nail was lost.
Adapted from Anne Salmond's Two Worlds.
This material has been produced by UNITEC Institute of Technology
under contract to the Ministry of Education.
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