“The canoes are elegantly shaped, and elaborately ornamented with grotesque carvings, painted red with kokowai; they have elevated stern-posts, and carry low triangular sails made of raupo (a species of rush), and look remarkably picturesque. A fleet of canoes, adorned, as they often are, with the snow-white feathers of the albatross or the gull, and each manned by a numerous band of paddlers, presents a singular and beautiful appearance; gliding swiftly over the blue and crisp waves, and lowering their mat-sails as they dart into the bay, and run up on the beach, shooting like arrows through the white breakers. Many of the canoes that arrive at Waitemata from the Thames, will carry from fifty to sixty men, who all paddle together, singing in unison some Maori boat-song: their strokes and voices are timed by an individual who stands erect in the centre of the canoe, performing the twofold duty of conductor and prompter; beating each stroke with a staff, which he holds in his hand, and prompting the words of the song. The voices of the crew, shouting in measured strain, may frequently be heard when the canoe itself is but a speck on the waves, and the distant sound falls on the ear with a wild and savage effect.”
[Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand, Angas, 1847]
George French Angas (1822–1886)