Come on shore and we will kill and eat you all : a New Zealand story / Christina Thompson

Includes bibliographical references (p. [261]-270).

Paihia -- Abominably saucy -- Mangonui -- Terra incognita -- Present perfect -- The venus -- A natural gentleman -- A dangerous people -- Smoked heads -- Turton's land deeds -- Nana Miri -- Hawaiki -- Once were warriors -- Gu, choki, pa -- Matariki -- Thieves and indian-killers -- One summer.

In this extraordinary book, which grows out of decades of research, Thompson explores the meaning of cross-cultural contact and the fascinating history of Europeans in the South Pacific, beginning with Abel Tasman's discovery of New Zealand in 1642 and James Cook's famous circumnavigations of 1769-79. Transporting us back and forth in time and around the world, from Australia to Hawaii to tribal NewZealand and finally to a house in New England that has ghosts of its own, Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All brings to life a lush variety of characters and settings. Yet at its core, it is the story of two people who, in making a life and a family together, bridge the gap between two worlds.