Chatham Islands – Rēkohu, the island home of the Moriori
The first people of the Chatham Islands were the Moriori, descended from the East Polynesians who also settled mainland New Zealand. A group migrated here probably in the fifteenth century, and genealogy and artefacts suggest some arrivals may have come directly from tropical East Polynesia. Because mainland crops did not suit the colder climate, the Moriori lived as hunters, gatherers and fishers, and without trees suitable for ocean-going canoes they developed the waka kōrari, a semi-submerged craft built from flax. The archipelago lies about 800 kilometres east of the South Island and includes Chatham Island, Pitt Island and the Forty-Fours; several islands are now nature reserves. Members are warmly invited to share their stories and photographs.