Charles E. Nelson - A White Tohunga

The Biography of a remarkable Navigator, Entrepreneur and Humanitarian

 €23.00

This is the story about a young Swedish man who settled down in New Zealand, among both the Māori people – indigenous population – and the settlers. Compared to the English, Scots and Irish he was, with his Scandinavian background, an unusual settler in the middle of the 19th century. In his new homeland he became an entrepreneur in a flourishing settler society with things like international cultural tourism at the Geyser Hotel Rotorua – long before this concept became a part of modern travel. His contacts with the indigenous population developed well with the production of carvings that were part of the local economy. But Charles’ scientific interests and enormous global experience from his life as a sailor meant that he also carried out unique ethnographic documentation of the Māori language. Charles E Nelson's life was without doubt remarkable, a unique combination of navigator, entrepreneur and humanitarian!

Charles E. Nelson: A White Tohunga is a documentary that begins in the Swedish university town of Lund. The son of Sven Nilsson – an internationally renowned professor of zoology and archaeology – Carl Esaias Nilsson (Charles E. Nelson) grew up in a home filled with knowledge and enquiry! However, when young he chose to study for a life at sea. Here he experienced the whale and slave trades of the 19th century at the same time as he got to know different countries and cultures around the world.