‘Nearly a hundred years ago, a Māori named Aporo drew in a notebook the visions which he saw in his dreams. He was a warrior fighting for the Māori King against the Pakehas and the Pakeha Queen. On 23 January 1867, while he was hiding underneath a waterfall at Poripori, he was shot by Major Gilbert Mair…Nothing else is known about his life. But his dream drawings were saved by the man who killed him, and they are now in the Turnbull Library in Wellington.’
Biographical sources
- “Māori Warrior’s Book of Dreams.” Te Ao Hou 40 (1962): 38-40.
Other
- Maps. [Scott Hamilton]. "War In The Head." Reading the Maps Feb. 6, 2009. http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2009/02/war-in-head.html
Visual Arts
- Sketches Illustrating Dreams. Alexander Turnbull Library. Ref. qMS-0083-0084. Excerpts rpt in "Māori Warrior’s Book of Dreams." Te Ao Hou 40 (1962): 38-40. Rpt. in Hauhau - The Pai Marire Search For Maori Identity. Paul Clark. [Auckland, N.Z].; Auckland UP; {Wellington, N..Z.}; Oxford UP, 1975.
- The original book is stored in the Turnbull Library and is composed of drawings and short explanatory notes in te reo Māori. In the Te Ao Hou article there are descriptions and reporductions of some of the drawings and English translations of some of the text.