\u201cThey were a remarkable couple when you thought about the hardships they went through,\u201d Littlewood said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were one of the first biracial couples; the M\u0101ori welcomed them, that was one of the special things. <\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was a story that needed to be told.\u201d <\/p>\n
Michael Littlewood\u2019s book, called William and Tiraha \u2013 a biographical novel, will be launched at the Russell Museum on January 23.<\/p>\n
After three years in the Bay of Islands, the couple moved to Stewart Island, where William led a small team of shipbuilders in building a whaling ship. <\/p>\n
They later crossed the Tasman with their growing family \u2013 they had 12 children \u2013 to deliver a newly built vessel for the Weller brothers. <\/p>\n
They returned to the Bay of Islands in 1834, where they bought land at Waikare Inlet from Tiraha\u2019s hap\u016b. <\/p>\n
In the ensuing years, they witnessed the coming of British law, the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the Flagstaff Wars. <\/p>\n
While their cross-cultural relationship was accepted, they faced many challenges, including when Tiraha\u2019s hap\u016b sided against the British in the Flagstaff wars, and William was expected to support the British. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt caused immediate conflict within the family,\u201d Littlewood said. <\/p>\n
They were married for 50 years, until William died in 1874. <\/p>\n
Tiraha died in 1885 and the couple are buried in the Christ Church in Russell<\/a>. <\/p>\n Russell historian Heather Lindauer, a priest at the church, was among those who helped with the research for Littlewood\u2019s book, along with his cousins and curators at the Stewart Island museum. <\/p>\nWilliam and Tiraha Cook lived in the Bay of Islands in the 19th century.<\/p>\n