Mōteatea have always been an important part of Māori society;; they are often used as a vehicle to express feelings or emotions about a certain topic and or serve as record of one or more significant events. Traditional mōteatea contain symbolism, imagery, metaphors and underlying themes which uniquely express the world views of Māori society. They are an invaluable resource for Te Reo Māori and contribute immensely to the preservation and revitalisation of Māori culture. Mōteatea enable knowledge of customs and values to be passed down through the generations and provide a personal insight into the thoughts and existence of those who have passed on. Importantly, collections of mōteatea have contributed to the continuation of Māori oral tradition. This study contains transcriptions, translations and annotations of twenty mōteatea collected from Ngāpuhi by an interpreter, Mr. Duncan during the years of the northern wars of the 1840s between sections of Ngāpuhi. These are preserved as Māori Manuscript 62 in the Sir George Grey collection of Māori manuscripts held by the Auckland City Library. The study includes, where possible, annotations that discuss the political and historical context of the early colonial period.