White Chief The Colourful Life and Times of Judge F.E. Maning of the Hokianga

This rather unusual history book tells the passionate and adventurous life story of the man who was probably the most significant Pakeha-Maori of all. Frederick Maning ended up in the wild Hokianga region in the 1830s. He lived with local Nga Puhi as their pet Pakeha-Maori, became as a rangatira, married a high-ranking Nga Puhi woman and produced four children. Maning was involved in the aftermath of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in the Hokianga area, and fought with tribal forces during the war in the North in the 1840s. Later in life Maning became an esteemed judge of the Native Land Court. In the 1860s he wrote Old New Zealand, which has become a classic of colonial literature. It contains unequalled accounts of Maori and New Zealand life during these times. Maning was also a prolific letter writer and John Nicholson draws on these letters, as well as interviews with relatives, to create a full account of this celebrated and sometimes controversial figure.