The great divide : the story of New Zealand & its treaty / Ian Wishart.

Includes bibliographical references.

Prologue: Our story -- The first New Zealandes -- Me Tarzan, you James [Cook] -- How would you like your French fried? -- Wild south -- Ghost ships -- Reverends, guns and money -- Of pirates and people-eaters -- From [Edward Gibbon] Wakefield to Waitangi -- The Littlewood treaty -- The tino rangatiratanga question -- The land disputes -- Waitangi's fairytale godfathers -- Of church and state -- Fast forward -- Appendix: (Treaty of Waitangi: English version based on drafts from 3 February 1840 ; Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi ; [Hugh] Kawharu translation [of the Māori text] ; The Littlewood Treaty version [4th of February 1840]).

A provocative new book about the Treaty of Waitangi and New Zealand history argues Maori and Pakeha New Zealanders are being conned about the Treaty and our past by groups with a vested interest. The Great Divide, by journalist Ian Wishart, explores New Zealand history from the first human settlement through to three decades after the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, quoting extensively from documents written at the time to try and get a real perspective on what Maori and Pakeha were thinking. In what is likely to be seen as a controversial literary stand-off, The Great Divide challenges many of the conclusions reached about early New Zealand history and colonial settlement in the book The Penguin History of New Zealand, by the late historian and journalist Michael King.