James Cowan

James Cowan (1870–1943) grew up on Waikato land confiscated from Maori. The family farm included part of the Orakau battlefield. It was here that Rewi Maniapoto, when asked to surrender, had famously told the British that he would fight on "forever and ever" ("Ka whawhai tonu matou, Ake! Ake! Ake!"). Cowan’s lifelong fascination with colonial history grew out of his childhood experiences.

During the first decades of the twentieth century Cowan wrote more than 30 books and hundreds of articles on New Zealand history, Maori ethnography and travel. He read widely, and did much to shape the way New Zealanders viewed their past.

He is best known for the two-volume New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and Pioneering Period (1922–23). Until relatively recently this was the definitive account of the New Zealand Wars, and remains a classic. It is particularly notable for his use of both Maori and European oral sources. Cowan died in 1943.

• See also: biography of James Cowan at DNZB website