Inia's Carving Unveiled

Te Ao Hou, 1973, Page 39

Inia's Carving Unveiled London, 2 June 1972 Nobody present will ever forget the unveiling by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother of the huge pouihi carved by the late Inia Te Wiata, MBE, in New Zealand House, on 1 June 1972. It was an occasion full of emotion, and even more of significance, since this noble carving, standing by the very door of New Zealand House where every visitor must see it, symbolises both the kotahitanga of the Maori and Pakeha races and the continuity of the Maori past into the Maori present and future. In the great entrance hall of New Zealand House, there is a clear space running from the ground floor right up to the third. It was so designed by Sir Robert Mathew, the distinguished Scottish architect responsible for the House; and the pouihi was planned from the very outset. Sir Robert and Inia being closely associated from the start, it was fitting that Sir Robert was present at the unveiling. To view the carving aright, it must be inspected from the balcony of each floor, as it was by yesterday's guests: only so can the bold, confident and skilful craftsmanship of the carver, and the symbolism of his thought, be appreciated to the full. The pouihi, over fifty feet tall, is carved from a single giant totara, which for the purpose of being transported across the world had to be sawn into five pieces. Naturally it tapers like any other tree, and in consequence the top is narrower than the bottom; but the average weight of each of the five sections was two tons. The top three sections are suspended from the roof, the two lower ones supported from the ground, and the whole joined by an invisible metal rod bored through from top to bottom. But these are mere technical details, and irrelevant to the impressive beauty of this unique work of the carver's art. At the top, below the tikitiki, is Maui,

hauling up Te Ika. At the foot, facing the main doors, as though to challenge or to welcome all who come, is Kupe, mere in hand, exquisitely carved, with a use of the grain of the wood so perfect as to betray the hand of the real master. On either side of Kupe are Tane (bearded) and Hineahuone, along with Taniwharau, the Waikato River taniwha. The die-hard traditionalist or purist might be tempted to deplore some of Inia's departures from old custom; but the vast majority, even of real connoisseurs, will applaud and praise them. Just as he bridged two musical cultures, excelling in both, so he sought to introduce new themes and to project traditional carving into this twentieth century, in the same way as the old Latin poet Horace wrote of his own work: “Long hence shall it be told how he that sings First tuned Greek measures to Italian strings.” He has done in wood what Sir Apirana Ngata did in song. And so he has depicted the fantail, the kiwi and the moa—this last in deference to Ngaitahu and the other South Island tribes. An innovation it may be, but a welcome one, and pioneered by a master. This massive work was carved by Inia in the basement of New Zealand House over a period of eight years, 1963 up to his lamented death in 1971, throughout the busy time when he was following his other career as a singer. He paid every regard to the hallowed conventions which attend such work; every chip, for instance, was disposed of reverently by him in the accepted manner. Some people are distressed by the fact that, owing to the central heating of New Zealand House, the timbers of the pouihi were badly cracked even before its five constituent pieces were assembled; but most of us are not troubled by this, since it seems to endow the whole with a venerable air of antiquity which one would normally have expected only after many years. A large crowd was assembled in the hall to await the arrival of Her Majesty. It included such people as Lady Freyberg, Sir Bernard and Lady Fergusson, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Sir Alexander Downer (the Australian High Commissioner) and his wife, and many well-known British and New Zealand guests. A bouquet was offered by Inia's daughter Rima, and Mrs Te Wiata was presented, among many others. His Excellency Sir Denis Blundell, High Commissioner and Governor-General designate, spoke, and was followed by the Hon. Duncan Maclntyre, M.P., Minister of Maori Affairs. Mr MacIntyre described the symbolism of the carving, and in the course of his speech read greetings to Her Majesty from Queen Te Atairangikaahu, D.B.E., from Mrs Hine Potaka, representing the Maori Women's Welfare League, and from Dr Pei te H. Jones, Chairman of the Maori Council. Her Majesty herself then spoke, briefly and movingly, recalling how, a bare year and a half ago, Inia Te Wiata had shown her the almost-completed carvings, still in the basement of New Zealand House. She then drew aside the korowai, which had been Inia's own, revealing the inscription on the plinth which will for all time record the occasion. The Rev. A. E. Prebble, formerly of Napier and now vicar of a parish on the outskirts of London, dedicated the whole with a prayer composed for the occasion by the Bishop of Aotearoa. Her Majesty unveils the carving.

The proceedings were preceded, interspersed and ended by a powhiri and waiata from the London Maori Club Group, in which the glorious voice of Hannah Tatana predominated, soaring with the others up to the lofty ceiling. It seemed as though the hall was crowded with the tupuna of both races, with Pine Taiapa among us, as well as Inia himself. Today, the morning after the unveiling, the hall was full of people, gazing at this marvellous creation, carved by the hand of a remarkable man, embodying the inspiration of generations, and enshrining belief in the future. E hoa Inia, haere ki te marama o te pa o Runga Rawa. to tatou Ariki. Haere i te rangimarie o te