War canoe whole again

Press, 25 February 1987, Page 7

War canoe whole again

PA Hamilton The war canoe Te Winika, which is held by the Waikato Museum of Art and History, is whole again. The Turangawaewae canoe maintenance crew has completed reassembling the canoe after six weeks work refitting and lashing the 65 separate parts of Te Winika together. The canoe, built originally in , the 1830 s and recarved and refurbished in the 19305, was given to Hamilton by Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu in

1973. Early last year a team of P.E.P. workers, all descendants of Te Winika’s original carvers and caretakers, began restoring . the canoe before its move to the new Waikato Museum in Grantham Street. The canoe was completely taken apart and each piece was cleaned, restored and restained. The project involved the removal of several layers of paint and extraneous matter, such as concrete, from the canoe. There was some damage and

areas of wood rot and corrosion. The project also involved the collection of a variety of raw materials. Supplejack was used for the feathered bow pieces and albatross feathers were obtained from the Internal Affairs Wildlife Division. The team plaited 700 metres of cordage made of raw flax fibre. Willow branches were whittled down to make pegs to secure the cord lashings, and local seafood retailers gave paua shells.