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10 Pounds 1945, New Zealand

in Krause book Number: 161a
Years of issue: 06.02.1940 - 1953
Edition: --
Signatures: Chief Cashier: Mr. T.P. Hanna  (in office 1940 - 1953)
Serie: Till 1967 English currency system. Second Issue
Specimen of: 06.02.1940
Material: 100% raw cotton
Size (mm): 187 х 98



10 Pounds 1945




King Tāwhiao (Tūkāroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao, circa 1825 - 26 August 1894).

King Pōtatau was succeeded by his son, Tāwhiao, who was proclaimed king on 5 July 1860 at Ngāruawāhia. Wiremu Tāmihana Tarapīpīpī Te Waharoa anointed him in the whakawahinga ceremony, using the same bible that he had used for Pōtatau’s investiture.

The Waikato war.

The first years of Tāwhiao’s reign were dominated by war. Governor Thomas Gore Browne demanded Tāwhiao submit 'without reserve' to Queen Victoria.1

Gore Browne’s successor, Sir George Grey, was also not prepared to accept dual sovereigns in New Zealand. On a visit to Ngāruawāhia Grey famously declared that ‘I shall not fight against him with the sword, but I shall dig round him till he falls of his own accord.’2 Grey spent little time testing this isolating policy. He quickly authorised his military to cross the Mangatāwhiri Stream (which Tāwhiao had established as an aukati or boundary) and invade the Waikato in July 1863.

The Waikato war ensued, with major battles leading to an ultimate defeat for Waikato. Tāwhiao and his fellow ‘Kingites’ were forced to retreat across the Pūniu River into Te Nehenehenui (the great forest), to their neighbouring Ngāti Maniapoto relatives.

Land confiscation.

Tāwhiao and his followers were declared rebels and some 1.2 million acres (almost 500,000 hectares) of their fertile lands were confiscated. The return of these confiscated lands became a central concern for Tāwhiao and subsequent Waikato leaders. Their catchcry was ‘I riro whenua atu, me hoki whenua mai’3 (as land was taken then land should be given back).

Tāwhiao and Ngāti Maniapoto leaders established an aukati (boundary) along the confiscation line at the Pūniu River, forbidding European intrusion. The territory beyond the aukati subsequently became known as the King Country.

Formal peace.

From his exile, a more pacifist Tāwhiao declared that killing must cease. However, he also argued against land surveys, land sales, courts, gold mining, telegraphs, schools, and the Pākehā justice system. Suspicious of the Pākehā, Tāwhiao stated in 1869 that Māori and Pākehā should remain separate. However, in 1881, after a number of years of negotiations with the government, Tāwhiao and his followers symbolically laid down their weapons before the resident magistrate at Alexandra (Pirongia) and returned to the Waikato.

Trip to England.

Tāwhiao did not renounce his efforts to have Waikato’s confiscated lands returned. In 1884 he travelled to England with several companions to seek redress from Queen Victoria. Tāwhiao’s tattooed face caused heads to turn in London, but he and his Māori embassy were declined an audience with the queen. He was informed by the colonial secretary that confiscations were a domestic matter under the jurisdiction of the New Zealand government.

On his return, Tāwhiao instituted the poukai - annual visits to marae, principally in the Waikato, to comfort the widowed, bereaved and impoverished. The first poukai was at Whatiwhatihoe in 1885, and this tradition has continued into the 2000s, where almost 30 marae hold poukai and are visited by the sovereign.

Political independence.

Tāwhiao continued his quest for mana motuhake (Māori political independence), setting up the Kauhanganui, a parliament, in 1892. It had a council of 12 tribal representatives (the Tekau-mā-rua), as well as ministers. Tupu Taingākawa, the second son of Wiremu Tāmihana (and kingmaker at the time), was the tumuaki (premier). Tāwhiao was offered, and accepted, a government pension. There was much iwi concern about the implication that he had given up his independence, and the pension was paid back, with interest.

King Tāwhiao died on 26 August 1894 at Pārāwera. He was buried on Taupiri mountain, the sacred burial ground of the Waikato, where King Pōtatau was to be reinterred in 1903. Some 3,000 Māori from all parts of the country attended Tāwhiao’s tangihanga. (the Māori King movement )


10 Pounds 1945

James Cook






On the left side is simpified Arms of New Zealand )without supporters).

The initial coat of arms was granted by King George V on the 26 August 1911.

Since 1911, the central shield has remained unaltered: a quartered shield containing in the first quarter four stars representing the Southern Cross constellation, as depicted on the national flag, but with the stars in different proportions; in the second quarter, a golden fleece representing the farming industry; in the third, a wheat sheaf representing agriculture; and in the fourth, two hammers representing mining and industry. Over all this is a pale, a broad vertical strip, with three ships representing the importance of sea trade, and the immigrant nature of all New Zealanders.

Before 1956, the shield was identical, but the surrounding features were different. The crest was a demi-lion (the upper half of a rampant lion) holding the British Union Flag, and the scroll at the shield's base featured the then motto of the country, "Onward". Early renditions of the Coat of Arms are often featured with more stylized scrolling rather than fern leaves. On the left side, right side and above are the stylized leafs.

Also, on the left side is HMS Endeavour (the foresail of which was the watermark panel).


An engraving of Captain Cook’s ship Endeavour off the East Coast of New Zealand.


She was launched in 1764 as the collier Earl of Pembroke, and the Navy purchased her in 1768 for a scientific mission to the Pacific Ocean and to explore the seas for the surmised Terra Australis Incognita or "unknown southern land". The Navy renamed and commissioned her as His Majesty's Bark the Endeavour. In September 1769, she anchored off New Zealand, the first European vessel to reach the islands since Abel Tasman's Heemskerck 127 years earlier.

From the ship departs a Maori canoe Waka taua.


Waka taua (in Māori, "waka" means "canoe" and "taua" means "army") are large canoes manned by up to 80 paddlers and are up to 40 meters (130 ft) in length. Large waka, such as Nga Toki Matawhaorua which are usually elaborately carved and decorated, consist of a main hull formed from a single hollowed-out log, along with a carved upright head and tailboard. The gunwale is raised in some by a continuous plank which gives increased freeboard and prevents distortion of the main hull components when used in a rough seas. Sometimes the hull is further strengthened, as in the case of Te Winika, a 200-year-old design, by a batten or stringer running lengthwise both inside and outside the hull just above the loaded waterline. The resurgence of Māori culture has seen an increase in the numbers of waka taua built, generally on behalf of a tribal group, for use on ceremonial occasions.


Denominations in numerals are in top corners. In words centered and in lower right corner.


10 Pounds 1945

On the right and left sides are the trees Cyathea medullaris.

Cyathea medullaris

Cyathea medullaris, popularly known as the black tree fern, is a large tree fern up to 20 m tall. It is distributed across the south-west Pacific from Fiji to Pitcairn and New Zealand. It is called mamaku, katātā, kōrau, or pītau in the Māori language.

C. medullaris is common in lowland forest throughout the North Island. In the South Island its distribution is more localised. It is fairly common in wetter coastal areas, but rare in the drier eastern parts and absent in Canterbury and Otago. In New Zealand it also occurs on the Three Kings Islands in the far north, on Stewart Island/Rakiura in the far south and in the Chatham Islands.

The trunk is black and covered with hexagonal stipe bases. The fronds may be up to 5 m long, and arch upwards from the crown. Dead fronds are shed except in very young plants. The primary pinnae are from 40 cm to 1 m long, and the undersides bear scales with marginal spines. The stipes are thick, black, very rough to the touch, and covered in black scales with marginal spines. C. medullaris can be readily distinguished from related species by the hexagonal stipe scars on the trunk and by the scales with spines on their margins.

New Zealand sheep in the pasture.

European settlers had brought new animal species to these areas. Currently, the agriculture, and particularly sheep husbandry, is the leading branch of country’s economy.

Half of the country’s territory is taken up by pastures. New Zealand is the third largest producer of lamb and sheep wool in the world. Due to its natural environment, mild and equable climate, the country has perfect conditions for breeding and raising sheep and producing high-quality wool. More than 50 million of sheep are shepherded on the island’s green lands. Country’s natural conditions - fertile soils, abundant pastures, plentiful sunshine, and clear water - are very favorable. Environmental protection at the state level is a top-priority matter in New Zealand. That is why New Zealand wool is so highly appreciated all around the globe.

New Zealand sheep have a very thick, long hair, distinguished for its softness and outstanding quality. Clipped sheep wool is obtained after the sheep hair is sheared and has undergone a special primary treatment. The wool is sorted, cleaned, washed and carded. Then it is processed in order to become dust-, moth- and water-resistant. After a complex technological process items can be easily dyed if needed, don’t have any peculiar smells and preserve their exclusive quality for a very long time. (Vladi)

Denominations in numerals are in all corners, in words lower, centered.


Engraver of portrait of Captain Cook: Nathaniel Dance.

The second series was issued on 6th February 1940. A portrait of Captain James Cook replaced that of King Tawhiao. These notes stayed in circulation until the change to decimal currency in 1967.