Potiki

The chapter begins with a description of the chopped tree wood that awaits a new life at the meeting house at the hands of the carver, before giving a brief portrayal of the domestic activities and tree-falling work that the Maori community has carried out that day.

Once the daily work is finished, the Maori people gather in the wharenui to hold the latest of several meetings with a man called Mr. Dolman, whom they have privately nicknamed Dollarman. Dolman recaps his proposal to develop the Maori’s land into “first-class accommodation, top restaurants, night club, recreation centre [sic] with its own golf links,” as well as “water amenities” (89), hoping to convince his audience that the development would attract tourism, create jobs, and thus be to their benefit. However, the Maori people firmly restate their opposition to the plans, pointing out that the land already provides them with a livelihood that they are content with. They concede to Dolman that, since the hills at the rear of their land no longer belong to them, they cannot prevent the development of this area, but state their refusal to give up the frontal area facing the sea.