The Welcome of Strangers: A History of Southern Māori
About this ebook
When Thomas Brunner recorded this moment of generosity on the West Coast, he was encountering a way of life shaped over generations – sustained by seasonal rhythms, mahinga kai and deep networks of exchange. The Welcome of Strangers is an authoritative account of that world: the history of southern Māori, told by distinguished archaeologist Atholl Anderson. This updated edition brings together new research, detailed maps and a compelling visual narrative to illuminate a layered and enduring history.
Professor Anderson traces the origins of early Waitaha and Kāti Māmoe, and the later migrations, conflicts and settlements of the hapū who became Ngāi Tahu. Drawing on tribal knowledge, early written records and archaeological insights, he details the movements, encounters and exchanges that shaped these southern regions. He shows how people lived seasonally from the land and sea, supported by long-distance trade and a deep knowledge of place. These were the communities that the first Europeans in Niu Tīreni encountered, as whalers, sealers and missionaries made their way around the coast.
Originally published in 1998, this new edition is co-published with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu – bringing fresh life to a foundational text and communicating the whakapapa and histories that remain central to southern Māori identity today.
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About the author
Atholl Anderson CNZM, FRSNZ, FAHA, FSA (Ngāi Tahu) is a leading archaeologist and historian whose work has enriched understanding of Māori and Pacific pasts. He is co-author, with Aroha Harris and the late Judith Binney, of the landmark Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History (BWB, 2014), winner of multiple awards and widely recognised as a major contribution to Indigenous scholarship.
A Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Society of Antiquaries of London, Professor Anderson is Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University and Adjunct Professor at the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha / University of Canterbury. His academic career has spanned decades of fieldwork across Aotearoa, the Pacific and beyond, and he has published extensively on themes of migration, seafaring and environmental change. He also contributed significantly to the Ngāi Tahu claim to the Waitangi Tribunal, particularly in relation to mahinga kai.
In recognition of his lifetime of scholarship, Professor Anderson was awarded the Humanities Aronui Medal by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2015 and the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement for Non-Fiction in 2016.
