posted Oct 24, 2008

I did say it was a fancy tale (it came across as a guy trying to make a name for himself).

I remember watch something on New Zealand wildlife and it said that the Maori were killing off a lot of animals (including the Moa). It's a surprise when the modern (hippy) portrail of 'native peoples' (I don't know how else to say it) lived in one with nature. The native americans were the same. They butchers others and used slavery. They farmed and 'ravaged' the land.

But I think we've been through this before on another thread

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posted Oct 24, 2008

Indeed. The believe that indigenous peoples live at one with nature is absolute bunk. Life has and always will be a battle with such forces, and humans have been successful to some degree because they have overcome its arbitrary forces. As you point out Maori were responsible for hunting a number of species of bird to extinction. They also burnt about 1/3rd of NZs bush either for warfare or to improve access to the coast. By the time they were 30 most had lost their teeth through eating gritty poor food and in paricular chewiing on fern roots, which were also highly carcinogenic. Environmentalists etc love to suggest that those who live in the Brazilian rainforests etc live some type of sustainable life at one with their surrounds and that in someway this has great moral virtue, and then they jump on their plane and go home to a life of relatively certainty detached from the reality of the short sharpe and nasty existence of the Amazonian Indian.

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posted Oct 24, 2008

Sadly we humans are a voracious bunch and will consume what we can when we can. To be honest I'm not THAT sad when I hoe into a plate full of Cheeze Sizzlers or a Steak and Cheese Pie ( either if which I must consume within 24 hours of arrival in NZ or within 24 hours of my departure from NZ ). God forbid that they should ever become extinct.

Apparently the "drumsticks" on a Moa were like a cow's hindquarters - must have made the concept of a bargain bucket a bit difficult.

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posted Oct 24, 2008

"Apparently the "drumsticks" on a Moa were like a cow's hindquarters - must have made the concept of a bargain bucket a bit difficult."


Brilliant!!!!

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posted Oct 24, 2008

Heh, what about those Omelets?

The whole Chinese theory fascinates me and always reminds me of Winston Peters.

Speaking to the Grey Power pre-election -
'We need to stop asian immigration now before they take everything!'

Same year speaking to the Asian community -
'Maoris decend from a small mountain village called hong shu in China!'
Or something along those lines.

Classic Winston

As for ravaging the land, yeah my people did some bad things no doubt, but i think not long before the pakeha came general consensus was reached about sustaining food sources and such.
Hence lore passed down to myself about only taking what you need and never taking during certain times or shortages.
This was to do with seafood mainly.
Big bird lucked out.

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posted Oct 24, 2008

Winston is a classic survivor. The question now is has he played his last card. No doubt he will always sell to the highest bidder. Me I can't decide between the Bill and Ben party of Workers Party, the latter being what I have spent most of my life trying to avoid.

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posted Oct 24, 2008

Dropkick

Have you ever tried mutton-bird? I remember it as being as oily as Winston's hair ( appears to be ).

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posted Oct 24, 2008

Yeah lol, like many traditional foods its kinda dying down with my generation.
Rotten Corn is another, Blewgg!

I could never stand the high salt taste of muttonbirds.

'Halfway down dominion rd'

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posted Oct 24, 2008

"Cut from a sheet metal plate"

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posted Oct 24, 2008

Brings back memories Dropkick - mainly of the hangi that the League Club ran to raise the funds for the trip to Oz.

I have never eaten the stuff but when I was working at the ICI plant in Mt Wellington some of the guys ( including Tawera Nikau )would cook up a pot of kina for lunch. That has to be the single worse smell in the world - they should have just waved that at Captain Cook and he'd have shot back to Yorkshire.

My brother introduced me to the delights of digging for tua tua ( spelling? ) in the sand at low tide. I couldn't eat the things due to a rather traumatic encounter with some raw pipi when I was very young, I just liked the idea that you could walk down the beach and get yourself some grub.

If only Steak and Cheese pies were so easy to come by.

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