This research paper is a study of the cross-cultural marriages that occurred between Ngāi Tahu and early European settlers on Horomaka (Banks Peninsula) during the nineteenth century. Māori wāhine (women) were at the very heart of these interactions, intermarrying with the European men. The significant influence of wāhine in these relationships has, however, been undermined by the historiographical accounts of early-missionaries and ethnographers who sought to enforce their own colonial gendered practices upon these women.

The paper, focuses on the perspective of the Ngāi Tahu wāhine and reflects on their lives and experiences in these marriages. I weave the stories of my own whakapapa (genealogies) into this project, centring on the intermarriage of my tipuna wahine (female ancestor), Hare Tiki, to American whaler and early Okains Bay settler, Seth Howland. The objective is to reinstate the female narrative, and in doing so, restore the dignity and agency of these wāhine who have long been labelled passive observers of this formative period in New Zealand colonial history.