From the inside flap: "Fifteen-year-old Ken Hayward is determined to find the missing half of Te Kakaha before the Christmas holidays finish. One part of this important Maori carving has been in his father's family ever since it was discovered in a North Island peat swamp, but until Ken comes from London to live at the farm by the lake, the broken artifact had lain forgotten. Lonely Ken soon realises that Te Kakaha complete might provide not only the answer to the mystery of where the first Maoris came from, but also the bait he needs to lure his anthropologist father back to New Zealand. His cousins Phillip and Judy eagerly join Ken in his search. With the help of Grandpop, Uncle Bill and Aunt Babs, some Maori neighbours and an old prospector, the teenagers uncover new clues to Te Kakaha's whereabouts. The trail leads them into many strange adventures - in haunted caves, dense bush, deserted pas and dangerous waters. Finally, disappointment is replaced by success, but only after a near-disaster during investigations on the lake brings home to Ken how perilous is the quest he has set himself."
ISBN-10: 0723305218
Format: Hardcover
Number Of Pages: 130
Published: 1977
Publisher: Whitcoulls Limited, Christchurch, NZ
This is a fast-paced adventure story that involves, tramping, rivers, caves, and searching for a fictional lost Maori artifact. Ken is the main character and he has just moved from London to NZ to live with his father's brother and family. He misses his father terribly, so to fill the void he decides to find the missing half of Te Kakaha - a pillar post brought over on one of the great canoes from Hawaiki (the mythical land where all Polynesians come from). He ropes everyone in - his cousins, his Uncle, their grandfather (who has dementia) and local Maori for the search. This desire to find the missing artifact becomes a driving force in the plot as Ken desperately misses his father and wants him to come to NZ. He believes that if he finds the artifact, his father will fly over. (Sadly this is true, his Father will not come for his son, but for an archaeological find).
The story moves quickly and it isn't boring, but it is definitely lacking in plot development. The ending seems rushed and the whole business of finding Te Kakaha is unbelievable. The plot isn't predictable, but elements are, eg, surviving in the bush, boats on dangerous rivers, and exploring caves, which are all familiar from other NZ books. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just that it's been done a lot better in other books.
There are a couple of illustrations including a map of the cave system the boys explored. Wonderful! It can get so confusing reading about cave explorations, so the map was very helpful. I wish there was also a map showing the two journeys the family made while searching for Te Kakaha.
I found Ken an unlikeable character whose desire to find Te Kakaha self-centred and thoughtless. His demeaning thoughts towards his cousin Judy, just because she is a girl, is exasperating. He only realises she is "useful" when she nearly drowns and he saves her. He finally comprehends towards the end of the story that he has risked too much to find the artifact, but like the plot, his character development is rushed and unconvincing.
There's also the Maori history to consider in the book. It is all fictional - names, tribes, places, so it should all be taken lightly. There's a lot of talk about The Great Canoe Theory as the origins of Maori in New Zealand. Academics today debate this theory.
Studies across multiple disciplines - archaeology, linguistics, ethnography, genetics and even mathematical analysis of canoe navigation - revealed that the first humans in New Zealand were Polynesians. They came from the Cook, Society and Austral islands, and arrived towards the end of a period of Polynesian expansion. Genetic studies have shown that the original Polynesian settlement could have been small - maybe less than 200 people. There is some evidence of return journeying. But that ended quickly, possibly due to stormier weather on the back of natural climate change - the so-called "little Ice Age". By the late 20th century an increasing body of evidence had pinned the moment when Polynesia arrived to around 1280 AD, and the first landing was probably on the Wairau bar. Consistent evidence for an explosive spread of the colony - fuelled by a diet of moa - included the discovery of massive deforestation in Canterbury and Otago in the 14th century. [source}
In summary, this is a gripping adventure story but lacks any real substance to qualify as a living book. I have not been able to find any other children's books written by Hazel P. Harris.