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The Pacific Islander Who Discovered Antarctica Long Before Europeans
And he did it in a canoe
The Western account of the discovery and exploration of Antarctica begins in 1520 with Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe. From there the history of Antarctica takes on a parade of European names: Cook, Shackelton, Scott. These names are accompanied by mythical feats and gritty photos of European steamers among the ice.
But how about the name Ui-te-Rangiora? How about a drawing of a waka canoe amidst the ice?
According to Polynesian oral tradition, a legendary navigator from the island of Rangiora traveled to the bottom of the world and spied Antarctica a full thousand years before Europeans achieved the same feat.
His description of Antarctica is hauntingly accurate despite the fact that he could have only made the journey via Maori canoe.
The legend
The legend of Ui-te-Rangiora begins in the year 650CE when the ancient islander assembled a fleet of warships to sail south to the ends of the Earth. The southern oceans that lay below New Zealand were called Tai-uka-a-pia which…
