Te Uruhi in Historic Illustrations and Maps
Puketapu ki Paraparaumu · Historical sources and connected stories
The historical account
A nineteenth-century visual witness
The KCDC Paraparaumu heritage trail identifies a William Swainson illustration of Jenkins’s accommodation house and a pā stockade, with Alexander Turnbull Library reference A-043-023. This is a historical illustration, not a photograph or a survey plan.
What a drawing can and cannot prove
The image can illuminate buildings and the observer’s chosen viewpoint. It does not alone establish the precise dimensions, occupants or surveyed boundaries of Te Uruhi. Artist, date, original caption and collection record must accompany any reproduction.
A further archival trail
The National Library catalogues G. Leslie Adkin material relevant to Te Uruhi, including ethnological notes, maps and photographs, under MS-Papers-6061-50. The catalogue identifies a promising source; the manuscript pages themselves still require inspection before making page-specific claims.
Interpreting historical views
A nineteenth-century drawing is an artist’s record of a particular moment and viewpoint, not a modern photograph. Its value lies in details such as the arrangement of buildings, coastline, tracks or cultivated ground, but interpretation depends on the artist, date and original caption. The Te Uruhi landscape must also be read in the context of Puketapu ki Paraparaumu Hapū history. Where a historical illustration is used, its creator, repository and reproduction rights should accompany the image rather than being assumed.
Further reading: Nigel Prickett, The Archaeology of New Zealand Shore Whaling (2002), Kāpiti–Mana section, pp. 83–97.
Explore connected books
Explore connected history
Follow this history into other books
Continue with these connected accounts. Each opens a separate book with its own evidence and perspective.