William and Tiraha Cook lived in the Bay of Islands in the 19th century.
William and Tiraha Cook lived in the Bay of Islands in the 19th century.
Auckland author and researcher Michael Littlewood has penned a “remarkable” love story about his great-great-great-grandparents, who were one of New Zealand’s earliest biracial couples.
Littlewood, former co-director of the University of Auckland’s retirement policy and research centre, said he and his family had always known there had been Māoriancestry somewhere in their family tree.
One of his cousins was searching Ancestry.com and discovered a photo of his Māori great-great-great-grandmother, Tiraha Cook and her English husband William, who lived in the Bay of Islands near Russell.
William and Tiraha – a biographical novel was published in October by Quentin Wilson Publishing.
The story centres around the “remarkable relationship” of William and Tiraha, the whāngai [adopted] daughter of Tāmati Wāka Nene, a prominent Ngāpuhi leader.
William arrived in the Bay of Islands in 1823 and, with Nene’s blessing, took Tiraha as his wife.
“They were a remarkable couple when you thought about the hardships they went through,” Littlewood said.
“They were one of the first biracial couples; the Māori welcomed them, that was one of the special things.
“I thought it was a story that needed to be told.”
Michael Littlewood’s book, called William and Tiraha – a biographical novel, will be launched at the Russell Museum on January 23.
After three years in the Bay of Islands, the couple moved to Stewart Island, where William led a small team of shipbuilders in building a whaling ship.
They later crossed the Tasman with their growing family – they had 12 children – to deliver a newly built vessel for the Weller brothers.
They returned to the Bay of Islands in 1834, where they bought land at Waikare Inlet from Tiraha’s hapū.
In the ensuing years, they witnessed the coming of British law, the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the Flagstaff Wars.
While their cross-cultural relationship was accepted, they faced many challenges, including when Tiraha’s hapū sided against the British in the Flagstaff wars, and William was expected to support the British.
“It caused immediate conflict within the family,” Littlewood said.
They were married for 50 years, until William died in 1874.
Tiraha died in 1885 and the couple are buried in the Christ Church in Russell.
Russell historian Heather Lindauer, a priest at the church, was among those who helped with the research for Littlewood’s book, along with his cousins and curators at the Stewart Island museum.
William and Tiraha Cook lived in the Bay of Islands in the 19th century.
Around 100 people attended the October book launch in Auckland, including 60 of Littlewood’s cousins, many of whom he’d not met before.
The book will be launched at the Russell Museum on January 23 at 5.30pm and is available in bookshops and online.
Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues.
