South Island Maoris (New Zealand Heritage Series) by James West Stack 1909

Based upon extensive research and interviews with Ngai Tahu members, Canon James Stack has drafted one of the most comprehensive accounts of life for Maori people in the South Island. Stack was born to missionary parents in the North Island and studied in England before returning to New Zealand. He teamed up with the son of Te Rauparaha to help survivors of the Kaiapoi Pa massacre overcome their losses and rebuild their lives. He worked at Tuahiwi and in Christchurch.

Excerpt: 

"To Europeans whose memories have not been exercised and trained to the same extent that the Maori memories were, it seems almost incredible that so large an amount of knowledge on such a variety of subjects could have been preserved for any length of time by oral tradition; but a comparison of the most ancient traditions of the Maoris of New Zealand with those of other branches of their race scattered over the Pacific ... proves that they have been correctly handed down, as they are identical in every particular point."

140 page paperback, A5 size