Norman, Edmund, 1820-1875 :[Wairarapa (or Waikato) settlement? Kaiapoi Pa, Canterbury? 1840s or 1850s]

Three Maori seated in the foreground at the edge of a curved river bank with the palisades and a whare or part of a pa to the right. Cabbage trees, flax and manuka trees and other taller trees on a plain. In the middle ground is a European house and outbuildings surrounded by a fence, at the foot of a prominent hill, with other hills in the background to the left.

The scene bears a strong resemblance to a view of Kaiapoi, early 1850s, a watercolour in the Canterbury Museum by Charles Haubro. However, the hills in the background make a location further inland in Canterbury more likely. Norman was in the Wellington Region from 1842 to 1845. He is not known to have visited the Waikato area, a location suggested by the Auckland seller of the drawing. He is known to have visited as far north as Auckland itself. In the 1850s until his death in 1872 he was based in the South Island, in Canterbury and South Canterbury, and his undated drawing of Nelson is also in the Library's collection. One possible location for this view is Rangitumau, with the prominent hill being Mount Rangitumau (north of Masterton in the Wairarapa) and the river being either the Whangaehu or the Kopuaranga. If the scene is a Wairarapa one, it is likely to date from between 1842 to 1845.

Other Titles - Rangitumau, Wairarapa?

Inscriptions: Recto - bottom right - Ed Norman

Quantity: 1 drawing(s).

Physical Description: Pencil, sepia and blue pen and ink 196 x 248 mm