ROTORUA MAORIS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 226, 25 September 1942, Page 6

ROTORUA MAORIS

NEW MEETING-HOUSE. MANY NOTABLE CARVINGS. Rotorua, Sept. 24. Rebuilt as one of four centennial memorials in the Arawa district. Tamate Kapua, the chief meetinghouse of the Ngati Whakaue Maoris at Ohinemutu, is now nearing completion and plans are being made for the ceremonial opening early in December, at which function it is hoped that His Excellency the Gover-nor-General, Sir Cyril Newall, and also members of the Government will participate. The building has been erected on the same site as the old Tamate Kapua, which, for a period of over 70 years, was one of the most historical meeting-houses of the Arawa confederation of tribes. It was the scene of many notable receptions and entertainments of Royalty and distinguished visitors to the Ngati Whakaue marae, including in 1927 the present King and Queen, then Duke and Duchess of York. Since 1870 in this building many tangis to the distinguished dead, both pakeha and Maori, had been held. Memory of Tamate Kapua. The name Tamate Kapua perpetuates the memory of the famous captain of the Arawa canoe which arrived in New Zealand after an adventurous voyage of some 2000 miles from Hawaiki, the cradle islands of the Maori race. In order to retain these traditions, many of the carvings from the older buildings have been preserved and re-erected in the new I house. Most important of these are the large poupou spaced at intervals (along both the side and end walls. They represent famous elders of the The majority of the poupou, of which there are about 30, are at least 80 years old and were carved originally from totara trees from.a small forest on the Tihiotonga block, a few miles south of the town of Rotorua. These trees were felled in 1864 and after the slabs had been shaped to the required sizes on the ground they were dragged laboriously to the Ohinemutu village to be finished there by notable carvers. They are to-day in an excellent state of preservation and add dignity to the house. There are also others which were hewn with stone implements over 120 years ago. Other carvings, including the door lintel, which is an exact reproduction of the previous lintel, but on a considerably larger scale, have been executed at the Rotorua School of Maori Arts and Crafts. Although the new building essentially retains the features of a Maori meeting-house, it has several modern innovations. Among these are electric heating points and lights, built-in seating along the full length of each side, and leadlight windows, suitably inscribed in native designs. Even the tukutuku panels between the poupou slabs have been brought up to date, two of these having the reed work designed as the victory sign. The peculiar scroll work found in most Maori meeting-houses has now been completed and adds finish to the whole decorative scheme. The meeting-house, which is the largest in the Arawa district, will cost in the vicinity of £3OOO, and the largest proportion of this cost has been provided by the Ngati Whakaue people themselves. An amount of £1365 was secured from centennial subsidies and the Arawa District Trust Board.