Jan 21, 1st Te Papa

Te Papa, Our Place in Maori, is the national museum in Wellington. It is not just about Maori and Anglo cultures, it is imbued with both, and the synergy of such interaction.
Teremo, the c.1830 War Canoe at Tr Papa was easier to get all in the picture, not because it wasn't as big as Te Toki A Tapiri, But the architecture has a more expanded vision of what a floor is.


When Gail was learning to make her art with clay, a most important influence was Michael Cardew. Here we found pots by his student and associate in Africa, Peter Stichbury, a Kiwi who had worked for Bernard Leach also.

Here we learned more about Pounamo, the South Island jade so important in Moari culture. Here are mere of puonamo, heirlooms used for ceremony and dance.




The Maori hall here was considered sacred space, so we not only took off our shoes as in Auckland, but refrained from taking photos inside.









The main fiber for clothing and construction was flax, both string and rope hand twined from the fiber, but plaits of the fronds as they grew, here woven into a lateen sail by Riria Smith in 1999.

This beautiful contemporary pot is an Whenua, a reliquary for a placenta, in old times buried with great ceremony.

Te Hono Ki Hawaiki, a meeting place for all New Zealanders, sees weddings and funerals, conferences and travelers. Here are the Marae, the Marae Atea – the sacred hall and the hall area. The other areas are the surrounding green, the lookout, the men's and woman's entry paths, the door, and here, the gate, whharoa.

The design of Te Hono Ki Hawaiki both informs and is enveloped by the entire museum.