Mullet boat races
Local M ā ori were in charge of fishing in the early days of Auckland, but as more immigrants arrived fishermen from other countries entered the trade. They were unused to the Waitemat ā and Manukau Harbours’ estuaries and tidal flow, and from the 1860s a vessel suitable for these conditions began to evolve - the “mullety”. Ref: Fishing mullet boat off North Head, 1900s, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 37-173.