From Tauranga City Library’s archives
A monthly blog about interesting items in our collection
It was a lovely surprise to recently discover a hand-written letter attached to the inside cover of a book in our Special Books Collection at Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries. Donated to the library by then City Councillor A. Balfour in 1974, the significance of the letter is that its author is the notable historic figure Captain Gilbert Mair. A surveyor, crown agent, and soldier, Mair is renowned for leading the No. 1 Arawa Flying Column in campaigns against Te Kooti (Crosby, 2004).
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| Captain Gilbert Mair, Carte-de-visite Elms Foundation Image Collection 1972.0319 |
The recipient of the letter, Major V. J. (Vincent John) Scantlebury, was a Tauranga farmer and settler who at one time owned 500 acres in the area across from the Tauranga Racecourse, and who was once a Tauranga Borough Councillor (Scott, 2021).
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| Olive Scantlebury's inscription inside the book |
In the letter, Mair first thanks Scantlebury for the loan of the book in which it was attached: The Mystery of Easter Island: the story of an expedition by Katherine Scoresby Routledge. First published in 1919, it is an account of her time on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) excavating moai (statues from Rapa Nui), collecting oral histories and studying the culture and lifestyle of the Kanaka people (Routledge, 1919). The publication is said to be a great authority on Rapa Nui at the time.
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| The Mystery of Easter Island by Katherine Scoresby Routledge, and a page with her photo and autograph |
Mair’s letter is dated 25th March 1923, and not long before this, Routledge and her husband were touring New Zealand. Mair, who had been a guide to many notable figures in Rotorua's districts, and to the famed author Anthony Trollope during his New Zealand travels, laments not having met the couple during their tour.
Mair talks about his own fascination with Rapa Nui. He describes similarities among the Polynesian languages, and he feels that Māori must have traditional knowledge of that place.
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| Excerpt from Gilbert Mair's letter |
Mair also talks of his friend “Brookes” experience of helping to excavate two moai in 1868 and transporting them to England, as a lieutenant aboard the HMS Topaze. The ‘Hoa Hakananai’a’ and ‘Moai Hava’ are now exhibited at the British Museum and Manchester Museum respectively (British Museum, n.d.).
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| The moai Hoa Hakananai’a on the deck of HMS Topaze c. 1868, from https://imaginarapanui.com/en/moai-hoa-hakananaia-the-stolen-friend-of-rapa-nui/ |
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| https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/BOPT19231222.2.3 |
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| The extended Norris family outside their home Rawhiti in 1923, Tauranga City Libraries Photo 04-044 |
Sources:
British Museum. (n.d). Moai. https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/moai
Crosby, R. D. (2004). Gilbert Mair: Te Kooti's Nemesis. Reed Publishing NZ Ltd, Auckland.
Green, J. (2022, July 15) Ebenezer Norris and Family (Part 2). https://taurangahistorical.blogspot.com/2022/07/ebenezer-norris-and-family-part-2.html
Routledge, K. (1920). The Mystery of Easter Island: The Story of an Expedition. London: Hazell, Watson and Viney.
Scott, R. C. (2021). Early Tauranga County History: Tauranga Suburbs to Pyes Pa Cemetery Including Greerton Township. The 100 Years Following Confiscation of the Land. (n.p.).
These archival items have been digitised and added to Pae Korokī. For more information about other items in our collection, visit Pae Korokī or email the Heritage & Research Team: research@tauranga.govt.nz
