Ngā Rauropi Whakaoranga

Chapter 11 (pp 71-79) is on Ruapuke Island, Fouveaux Strait. There is a good account of the early trade in flax fibre (1822-1824). Sailors from the Snapper tried to find ways to facilitate the work of the Māori women, who stripped fibre using a mussel shell. "Ten men working eight hours boiling, then preparing the flax leaves with one of the machines, produced only sixteen pounds of fibre - a much smaller amount than a similar number of women could produce with their crude shell instruments". The machines for separating the fibre from the leaf were a subject of scorn to the Māori women. A woman could produce 5 pounds of fibre per day - a fast worker up to 9 pounds.