Guide Sophia Gray – Te Paea Hinerangi

Guide Sophia Gray – Te Paea Hinerangi – written and compiled by Patricia Colmore-Williams

Born ‘on the beach’ in Kororāreka – Russell in 1834 to a Scottish gunsmith father and a Māori princess, Sophia Gray – Te Paea Hinerangi rose from humble beginnings in Ipipiri – Bay of Islands to become New Zealand’s premier Māori guide and the face of New Zealand tourism in the late 1800s. Sophia was world famous for guiding tourists over the Pink and White Terraces, and later for saving the lives of over 60 people when Mt Tarawera erupted, destroying her village and the Terraces forever. Sought after by photographers and artists alike, New Zealand Premier Richard Seddon, in 1901, declared Sophia Gray ‘the most famous New Zealand woman of our time’.

Patricia Colmore-Williams has for many years researched the lives of Ipipiri – Bay of Islands’ most notable daughters; herewith her long-awaited account of Sophia’s life, together with a collection of Sophia’s stories as told in her own words.