There is an argument going on at the moment about replacing the statue of James Cook on Mount Titirangi at Gisborne. Barney Tupara, a representative of Ngati Oenone says that the first meeting between Maori and Pakeha was violent and nine Maoris were killed. This is a blatant example of the lies Maori activists tell now about the first encounter between Maori and Europeans, and when it is not a lie it is a distortion of the truth. The journal of Captain Cook is clear, four or five Maoris were killed, the only query being if one was killed or injured, and it was the result of Maori aggression.