Four Generations from Maoridom

Syd Cormack (as told to Joanna Orwin)

Fishing tales abound in this book, as Syd Cormack was a commercial fisherman in Moeraki and Kaikoura for much of his adult life. Even when he moved to Southland to farm, he continued fishing.

But there was another side. He describes himself as being ‘four generations from Maoridom’ because he was descended from an influential Moeraki woman and a European whaler. Yet his father spoke Maori and from him Syd caught the habit of collecting stories of his people, simply because he was interested. Eventually he became a recognised authority and respected kaumatua, widely and frequently consulted on issues of land and genealogy.