New Zealand - Maori Culture - Two Maori guides - 1910 - 1920 Period - Blencowe photo - Real Photo Postcard Format #332207 The Guides of Whakarewarewa - Soon after the first Pākehā – mainly missionaries and traders – arrived in Rotorua in the 1830s, local Māori began to turn the inquisitiveness of the visitors to advantage by showing them the geothermal environment. The Pink and White Terraces at Rotomohana were the most popular sights, and a guide was essential. The best known were Sophia (Te Paea) Hinerangi (Guide Sophia) and Keita Rangitūkia Middlemass (Guide Kate), both of whom spoke fluent English. Selected by the local hapū, Tūhourangi, they received 15 shillings from each tour party. - A visit by Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1870 promoted tourism, and during the 1870s other areas of interest were located, including Whakarewarewa. In the late 1880s, following the destruction of the Pink and White Terraces, Ngāti Wāhiao moved from Tarawera to Rotorua, and throughout the 1880s had 'complete control over the tourist traffic through Whakarewarewa. They erected a toll house at the entrance to the village, charging each tourist two shillings and sixpence, one shilling of which was a fee for the guide.' The guides would meet visitors at the foot of the Pūārenga stream and piggy-back those who wished across it for 6d, then take them through the area. Guide Sophia, who had moved back to Whakarewarewa with her people, was exempted from this system and had no fixed fee. Her fame meant she was never short of customers, and she continued guiding until she retired in 1890. - Traditionally, it was the women of Tūhourangi and of Ngāti Wāhiao who acted as guides at Whakarewarewa. In the later 1890s the burgeoning forestry industry employed the majority of local men. Some of the women who remained at home could supplement their income by guiding, though it was a seasonal activity, and did not provide a steady income. The women were more appealing to tourists, and their natural flair and aptitude for the work reinforced their monopoly. Guiding was also compatible with the traditional puhi and kaitiaki role of Māori women. They grasped the opportunity to sustain themselves and their families by doing work they enjoyed. - The older guides, particularly those with moko, attracted the most customers; the younger guides learnt from accompanying the older women. All the families were related, and the tradition was handed down from generation to generation. - The unregulated tourist industry allowed the women to work when and how it suited them. Some were accused of rushing their charges through so that they could pick up another fee, and squabbles over tour groups were not uncommon. Concerns about such behaviour, and about entrepreneurial practices occasionally bordering on extortion, prompted the government to take steps to mollify the public. Increasingly, too, land which had previously been owned by local Māori passed into government ownership. By the turn of the century most of the sightseeing areas, apart from the village of Whakarewarewa itself, were under government control. The change in ownership also precipitated changes in guiding practices. - When Guide Sophia was brought out of retirement to accompany the Duke and Duchess of York in 1901, she was assisted by the young Mākereti (Margaret Thom, also known as Maggie Papakura and Guide Maggie). With her sister Bella, Mākereti did much to promote the tradition of guiding and the arts and crafts of their people. (https://nzhistory.govt.nz/women-together/guides-whakarewarewa)