3-011-991 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Church missionary station on the Waikato River, New Zealand, 1864. 'The mission-house of Pepepe is one of the most picturesque spots on the River Waikato. It is situated on a rocky knoll, overhanging the broad river, not far from its junction with the Waipa, and is surrounded by green, mossy slopes, and glens of tree ferns, while dark and sombre forests clothe the steep sides of the adjoining hills. At some little distance, near the neighbouring native village, is the church, and farther on down the river is the pah of the late renowned chief and Maori King, Te Whero-whero. All the banks of the Waikato are thickly peopled with the native inhabitants, and the Waikatos are the most powerful and numerous of the New Zealand tribes'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.