At the margin of Empire

About this book

"Born in Scotland in 1818, John Webster came in New Zealand via Australia in 1841 after narrowly escaping death in the outback following a violent encounter with a group of Aboriginal men. He spent most of the rest of his life in the Hokianga region, carving out a fortune as the region's leading timber trader and cultivating connections with the leading political figures of the day. As he settled into this new home his life became intimately entwined with Māori. He fought alongside Tāmati Wāka Nene in the Northern War against Hōne Heke, married one of Nene's relatives and built up his kauri timber business through trade with local chiefs, but also awoke one day to find a plundering party had arrived on his front lawn. Webster was also engaged with Pākehā and the Crown - friends with Frederick Maning, visited by George Grey, Richard Seddon and others. Ashton takes us into Hokianga to reveal how the evolving intimate relationships and economic transactions of everyday life reflected larger shifts in colonial power. She argues that through his daily interactions, Webster helped slowly shift the balance of power in the North: the credit that he extended to his customers and kin saw them selling land to pay debts, helping push Māori into economic dependence"--Publisher information.