During Cook’s voyages of exploration in New Zealand, the crew noted a wooden cross, adorned with feathers, in a Maori Pa (village). Such symbolism is akin to Christian tradition, not Maori, so where have they come from?

This page discusses what is known and speculated about this cross. Other crosses have been mentioned in further texts, but I am yet to further investigate these claims,

Excerpt from Captain Cooks Journal – 24th January 1770 – First Voyage

In one part of this village we observed, not without some surprise, a cross exactly like that of a crucifix ; it was adorned with feathers and, upon our inquiring for what purpose it had been set up, we were told that it was a monument for a man who was dead. We had understood that their dead were not buried, bit thrown into the sea ; but to our inquiry how the body of the man had been disposed of, to whose memory this cross had been erected, they refused to answer.
(The voyages of Captain James Cook, Volume 1, James Cook, Published by William Smith, 1846, p.167)

The name of the island was given to Cook as Motuara. The description of the island accurately confirms it to be Motuara, which lies near the northernmost point of Queen Charlotte Sounds. The island is now a bird sanctuary. (p.169)

Illustration based on Crew Member Sketch

This illustration of a Hippah was made by John James Barralet and is based on a sketch by Herman Diedrich Sporing. A large wooden cross is clearly seen. The image is said to be Motuara Island, however, confusingly the British Library also reports the location to be in the Bay of Islands (North Island), which is at the other end of the country from Motuara. The image is dated 1772.

Questions Raised

• Where did the Maori learn the concept of erecting a cross to remember the dead?
• Was this cross erected by a European visitor?
• Was the dead man a European?
• Was the dead man, the same European man said to have been in Queen Charlotte Sound and married to a Maori woman, with a child?