Overview
This man, ‘Uié’, was one of many Māori who travelled to Sydney in the early 1800s. Some Māori went to trade timber or acquire guns. Others were simply pursuing adventure in the new world that European contact had opened to them.
Uié was among a group from the Bay of Islands who visited New South Wales in late 1819. Also there at the time was French artist Jacques Arago, who made this on-the-spot portrait. The title of the work suggests that Uié was of chiefly rank.