A Korao no New Zealand

A Korao no New Zealand. Sydney: Printed by G. Howe, 1815.

1815

1815

W1. Williams Collection.

Hocken Library

This elementary primer was compiled by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) lay teacher Thomas Kendall in the Bay of Island and sent to Rev. Samuel Marsden (then in Sydney) for printing in 1815. It is the first separately published work devoted to the Maori language. In his attempt to standardize orthography, Kendall initiated the Italian or open vowel system, inserted accent marks for long vowels, and established later the ng (1820) and wh (1832) consonants. The only known surviving copy (of 200) is held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. The Hocken Library has the limited edition facsimile copy (1957) and this unique copy transcribed by hand by John Kenderdine, an Auckland chemist and book collector.