Learning from the Māori

In 1896, one of New Zealand’s pioneer winemakers, a Spaniard called Joseph Soler, published a leaflet on propagating grapevines. Nothing unusual about that: 19th-century settlers often wrote about their experiences to encourage other gentlemen vignerons in the colonies. But this leaflet was different. It was written in te reo Māori, the indigenous language of Aotearoa, and its intended readership was the original inhabitants.

Soler had first interacted with Māori decades before. Shortly after settling in Whanganui, on...