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Story: Ahuwhenua – Māori land and agriculture

Trading tobacco for vegetables

Image
Trading tobacco for vegetables

This image by J. A. Gilfillan shows Māori trading pumpkin and potatoes for tobacco. In the 1840s and 1850s many settlers were dependent on Māori agriculture for food.

Using this item

Hocken Collections, University of Otago

Reference: 7,450

by John Gilfillan

Permission of the Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, must be obtained before any re-use of this image. Further information may be obtained from the Library through its website.

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How to cite this page

Tanira Kingi, Ahuwhenua – Māori land and agriculture – Changes to Māori agriculture, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/20035/trading-tobacco-for-vegetables (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Tanira Kingi, published 1 March 2009.