" MATA ATUA.”

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 2644, 12 May 1923, Page 5

" MATA ATUA.”

AN UN APPRECIATED GIFE FINEST SPECIMEN OF MAORI CARVING EXTANT. RESCUED FROM OBLIVION. (By J.H.S.) The true history of this treauerei house o£ Maori art has not hitherto been told to the people f though doubt, loss it still iies among the official archives of New Zealand, buried, perhaps iu the half.century of dust and accumulation, from which the house itself has fortunately now been ex. humed in London. Matatua, it has been called, but Mata Atua is its fitting and correct name < “Tha medium of communication with tha spirit of God,” and such in truth it maywell be, Even as a certain class o£ perverts worship the cathedral build-, ings, so did the Maoris worship the sentiment of the work their hand* 1 had so lovingly typified as an offering to the Atua, the Great Spirit. Seeing tnc recently cabled report of the value and unique beauty of this historic carved house < I thought it a fitting moment to rescue a part of its true history fro oblivion, to which land of shadows the house itself had almost passed. It is an exquisitely carved house seventy.five feet - long and twenty.fom- high. Heart of seasoned totara, smoke dried, lined with toitoi. reeds and dressed liarakeko. Its discounted value in the eyes of successive Governments may be' judged by its burial for nearly fiftyyears. In the hands of an enthusiast, possibly £2 5,000 Or £50,000 would not buy it. My information concerning its; acquisition by Sir George Grey’s GovJ eminent in 1878, when John Ballanoa was and John Sheehan, Native Minister, is from flrst.haud sources, and may be relied upon. Captain George A. Proece, then Resident Magistrate in charge of Native Affaira at Opotiki was commissioned by tha Government to negotiate its purchase! fra the Ngaliawa or % other chiefs for the New Zealand court at the Sydney Exhibition, Its estimated value in those days of scarcity was £IOOO, i Wepiha Apanui, the Ngatiawa chief, negotiated on behalf of his people, among whom, however there was, much opposition to the sale, perhaps on account of the sacred associations of this thing of beauty. After long negotiation, the Maoris decided that thqy would not take money for it; but would make it a free gift to the Gov„ eminent iu token af their desire fo* peace and good-will between the two races. Gratefully and gracefully tha great gift was accepted and acknowledged. Iu view of the intricate nature of its many parti, Captain Preece suggested that four expert old tohungas versed in the art of carving and building should be sent to Sydney to under, take its erection in the Exhibition grounds'. This was not agreed to, but Captain Preece was directed to have the house taken apart and shipped by the s.s. Luna. Joseph Mereti, a half* castc Maori, took it to pieces, numb, ered every part, reoved the woven reed work in sections, and artistically sketched out every showing' its fittings, so that none might mistake their place. A complete history waa prepared and sent to the Native Do, partment, whence it may one day be unearthed. It was named after tho original migratory canoe, Matatua, properly Mata Atua < which land, ed at Whakatane. The house was built at Whakataut some time within the last hundred years. It has been stated that it was actually re-erected at the Sydney Exhibition inside o.ut, showing the inside carvings and decorations outside, and those of tho outside, inside! Thence it was senti to England for exhibition where it has lain iu a cellar over since. Being about' to be re.erocted and exhibited in Lou, clou, the British people will have an opportunity ta view it before its return to New Zealand, where the people will now show more appreciation than the generation which allowed its burial for forty odd years. Never again can such an aggregation of original New Zealand carving be produced. Its value is inestimable as a record of the traditions of the Maori race, and as such it will bo treasured by the people of New Zealand. Each carved post re. presented an ancestor of the tribe, not artistically from the portrait painter’s point of view, but in effigy, with certain family and tribal marks. The building was opened by Sir Donald McLean about .1874, with groat cere, raouy. The famous Ropata te Waha. walra and many hundred natives took part in tho opening ceremony.