THE TAHERETIKITIKI CANOE

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13482, 5 July 1907, Page 5

THE TAHERETIKITIKI CANOE

LAID UP IN HAGLEY PARK.

[BY' TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

Christchh, Thursday. Once upon a time, when the Maoris led a more strenuous life than the present day, representatives of the raw, when they fought amongst themselves for supremacy, when enterprise dictated the acquisition of much mana through much slaughter as desirable above all riches, romance was in the land. The Maori working along his own lines was a shipbuilder of the most romantic type, and, with his poetical nature always uppermost in time of peace, he weaved about his ships tales that made them precious. His labour was that of " the maker of dug-outs with fire and adze." He attacked tree trunks, and, being an amateur in the best sense of the word, produced therefrom noble work. Of the canoes used for war purposes many are famo'is, but few of the great ones remain.

One of the 'argest and best known, the ship of state of " King" Manilla, is Taheretikitiki. This great canoe, 84ft long, seated for 50 warriors, has a history, though not similar to that of so many other war canoes—a history of slaughter and the acquisition of mana. Taheretikitiki's is a story of triumphs of muscle over muscle;'' a record of regatta successes of great races won and lost. Had the canoe been built more than 30 years ago it might have had a very different history. It is probably the finest existing example of the Maori war canoe, and it was a source of great interest to the visitors to the Exhibition, says the Lyttelton Times.

Now '" the warriors' crest," once the pride of the Waikatos, lies rotting in Hagley Park, neglected, stranded, propped upon a. carpenter's stool. Of the. old canoe there is little left but the tripartite neatly dovetailed hull, the ornamental stern post, and a few thwarts. The hull, chopped from a great kauri, is fast decaying at the edges, and the rotten wood, soaked by every shower, ensures the rapid spread of the decay. To make, the canoe seaworthy when it 'came to Christchurch, patches were used liberally; there were many thwarts to replace, and the badly copied slats that were put on, under the mistaken belief that they resembled the old ones, are pitiful. Now that Taheretikitiki is laid, up, these have been fastened on in the proper way with cord, just as the whole canoe is laced together; but, in addition, they have been further fixed with nails, iron straps, and utilitarian bolts. Bits of zinc and screws all enter into, the modifications dictated by exhibition requirements, and the canoe now looks almost as ridiculous as would a Roman gladiator wearing American shoes, and armed with a revolver. Except for these incongruous repairs, however, the beautifully proportioned canoe lacks little of its old splendour, and the clever craftsmanship of the builders is shown in a hundred devices.

What will become of Taheretikitiki it is hard to say. It has been suggested that it should be stripped as carefully as possible of its incongruous garnishings, made by modern methods, and placed in one of the colony's large museums, to be a source of interest to all, of pleasure to many, and of inspiration to by no means few.