TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 291 



the Maoris of New Zealand derive their origin, if we may 

 beheve their traditions, which are supported by the remarkable 

 similarity there is in their languages and customs. The Eev. 

 W. Wyatt Gill, in the volume of Transactions of the Association 

 for last year, says that the number of generations since the 

 time of Karika should be twenty-five, and not twenty-nine. If 

 so, then Karika discovered Karotonga about the year 1380, if 

 we adopt twenty years to a generation, which I ])elicve to be 

 about the right length when applied to tlie Polynesians. 



Hitherto we have seen that the explorations have generally 

 taken an easterly, northerly, or southerly direction ; but the 

 next voyages of discovery to which I shall refer are in a back- 

 ward direction, towards the south-west. The Maori traditions, 

 as currently reported, say that New Zealand was discovered by 

 Kupe and by Ngaliue at different times, but before the great 

 migration which took place twenty-one generations ago, and 

 that both of these navigators came to the islands for reasons 

 which, if read literally, appear childish. There is little doubt 

 in my mind, however, that the islands were known and in- 

 habited long before the time of either of these voyagers, and 

 that both of them came with the express object of obtaining the 

 pounamu, or green jade, of which they had heard f)-om others, 

 and which was looked on as an article of great value in some 

 of the islands. Kupe is said to have sailed from Waicau-atea, 

 and, after coasting round the shores of New Zealand, finally 

 returned to his own country, his place of departure being still 

 called Te Hokianga o Kupe, or " The Returning of Kupe ;" in 

 which name we easily recognise the harbour in the Nortli 

 called Hokianga. For reasons which are quite too lengthy to 

 quote here, I believe this Waicau-atca to be Bolabola, in the 

 Society group. If so, our voyager must have sailed al)out 2,500 

 miles, both going and coming. The great migration which 

 followed these two voyagers is well known : it took place 

 about twenty-one generations previous to 1850, or, if we allow 

 twenty years to a generation, which, from kno\\ing that the 

 Polynesians married early in life, I think to be a fairer number 

 than the thirty years usually assigned as the lengtli of a gene- 

 ration, would make the date about the year 1430. But these 

 people were following in the wake of voyagers who had already 

 discovered the country, and who had given them the direction 

 in which to sail. They came fully prepared to occupy a new 

 country, and brought their wives, families, attendants, and 

 several plants which they acclimatised here, such as the 

 kujuara, taw, hue, ante, &c., besides dogs, and, as some tra- 

 ditions say, certain birds and plants which are known to be 

 natives of the country. This latter statement has frequently 

 been used as an argument to discredit the traditional account 

 of the origin of the Maoris, as given by themselves ; but it is 



