tohora

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

n.


Maori name for a whale.

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 136:

«Fable of the Kauri (pine-tree) and Tohora (whale).»

1878. W. Colenso, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,'vol. xi. art. iv. pt. 2, p. 90:

«Looking at it as it lay extended, it resembled a very largewhale (nui tohora).»

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 21:

«In the open sea, and to the south, the most prized whale nextto the sperm is the black whale, or tohora ( Eubalaena Australis), which is like the right whale of the North Sea,but with baleen of less value.»