Old Kaikoura : Re Ahi Kaikoura, a Tama Tea, Pokai Whenua : Being an Outline History of Kaikoura County

Abstract

Had someone troubled to delve into the history of Kaikoura some thirty years ago, when old settlers , old whalers, those who had been intimately acquainted with them were alive, a record such as this must have been devoid of interest in comparison. A history of Marlborough, written as long ago as that, does touch briefly on Kaikoura, but devotes its main attention to the northern portion of the province, for which it is excellent . As an account of the County of Kaikoura, it is disappointing, being nothing more than a meagre summary displaying no evidence of the research which makes other sections of the book so valuable. The truth is that Kaikoura has been so isolated and has had such a long history that it deserved to be treated separately and at length. The volume of data collected, (not all of which has been used here), only goes to prove that much has been irretrievably lost. Thirty years ago one might have saved this material from oblivion, catching at the same time something of the atmosphere of the very early days.