Kaikoura : historical background

Abstract

This report provides a brief historical introduction to human settlement and endeavour at Kaikoura. It reviews the myriad factors, both Māori and Pakeha, which establish the context for contemporary patterns of tourism visitation and development. Historical patterns of settlement, Māori-Pakeha relations, resource extraction and agricultural cycles of growth and decline are described as the enduring themes that lay the foundation for understanding contemporary Kaikoura and its search for new forms of development. While other reports in this series describe in detail Māori, Pakeha, tourists' experiences and impacts of them in Kaikoura, this report provides an essential understanding of the context into, and out of, which recent tourism development has occurred.