S1-E17: New Zealand: Iron for Flesh

Podcast 23 April 2025

In this episode, the HMS Resolution explores Queen Charlotte Sound in New Zealand’s South Island—returning to a place Captain Cook had first charted years earlier. As the crew lands on Long Island, they collect new plant specimens, shoot birds, and sow European seeds in hopes of introducing familiar crops to this foreign land.

**Māori men offer young women to British sailors in exchange for iron tools—an uneasy scene of desire, power, and cultural collision. – Click on the image to listen to this episode on YouTube.**

Their findings go far beyond plants. Among the hills and beaches, they encounter signs of volcanic activity, collect minerals like pumice and flint, and discover deposits of prized nephrite jade—known to the Māori as pounamu. This sacred greenstone, used for tools, weapons, and adornments, reveals a deeper layer of cultural connection between the land and its people.

Back in Ship Cove, first encounters with local Māori are marked by trade, hospitality, and growing curiosity. But tensions rise as cultural misunderstandings and colonial behaviors emerge. Georg Forster reflects critically on the impact of European contact—asking whether the so-called “civilized” truly brought more good than harm.

A map of the locations of this episode

As Cook continues planting crops across the region, hoping to benefit future visitors, memories of Tupaia resurface. Māori still remember the Tahitian navigator who had once bridged cultures with language, grace, and wisdom—his absence now felt more deeply than ever.

A new chapter of exchange, wonder, and reflection unfolds—tune in to join the journey.