The Building Of The Canoe

Northern Advocate, 30 November 1937, Page 12

The Building Of The Canoe

The picnic organised by the Waihou Bible Class, which took the form of a visit to the Puketi Forest, was a memorable event. Permission had been obtained from the State Forest ranger to view the progress which has been made in the building of a Maori war canoe for the Centenary celebrations. The State Forest Department, for some considerable time, has been forming roads through the forest to allow the dead or dying kauri to be felled and carted out by lorry. Along one of these roads the party was able to proceed by car to within a short distance of the scene of operations. An Old-time Tutor. A party of five Maoris are making the' canoe, a Maori instructor having been sent, from Ngaruawahia to take charge. This man is of the old school, and claims to be the only living Maori to have any practical knowledge of the ancient art of canoe building. To the younger generation, working under him, this veteran proves a problem, for his speech is the true Maori as spcken before the pakeha, and many of his words are not known to these younger ones. Fortunately, the forest ranger is a Maori linguist of considerable ability, and ho is able, when occasion arises, to act as interpreter.

The End,

The first tree has been felled, and, despite considerable difficulty, fallen on a level spot. At the butt it measured Bft. 91n.. and at the head sft. 9in. Some 47 feet in length, it was considered ideal for the building of the bow and stern sections. For this purpose, it has been cut in halves, and these two halves, after three weeks’ work, are nearly completed. The shape is there, but the sides, which are now 4in. to 6ln. thick, have to be worked down to approximately Uin. to 2in. On completion. the ends are to be taken by lorry to Waitangi, where, after having been soaked in the sea for three weeks, they will be placed in the Maori carving house to have their decorations carved on them. The centre, or main section is to be made from a tree which will yield a straight trunk for 60 feet. On completion, this section will be dragged by bullocks through Pungarae to the tidal water at Kerikeri. whence it will be floated down to Paihia. The three sections are to be,fitted together with a mortice such as the ancient Maoris used. Tire join is made waterproof with the heads of raupo, and tied with the native twines. Then and Now.

In the making of a canoe of this size, the old method of burning out the log bit by bit, took some three years, whereas today only three weeks has elapsed since the work commenced, and the two ends are practically completed.

Among the members of the party Avore two keen axemen, and they, with borrowed axes, tried their hand at shaping the bow. A knowledge of Maori enabled several members of the party to get fuller particulars of the ancient art of canoe building. They were informed that in a canoe of this size as many as 150 warriors would sometimes bo carried, though 100 would bo a nominal crew.

Numerous photos were taken, and seeing that at least five full spools were exposed, some good photos should have been secured.