Flax weaving thrives at Te Hapua

Tu Tangata, Issue 1, 1 August 1981, Page 25

Flax weaving thrives at Te Hapua

The first flax weaving exhibition of its kind opened in Auckland at the Outreach Gallery recently. It was called “Te Roopu OTe Harakeke Te Rerenga Wairua” (Flax weavers of the Far North) and ran for two weeks.

The exhibition included boiled and green flax kits, hipora and tamata (mats), and shoulder bags as well as puipui and other flax articles. Kits made from pingao and kiekie fibre were displayed together with fine raupo poi stuffed with dried mullet weed, gathered from the shores of Parengarenga Harbour.

The articles were made by a group of women at Te Hapua, North Auckland. The flax used in the woven articles was collected from Spirits Bay, 15km from the marae at Te Hapua where most of the group worked.

The exhibition was the culmination of several years’ work and enthusiasm of Mrs Neta Brown, an elder of Te Hapua. In 1978, a Kaitaia general practitioner, Dr W.F. Parkes, offered to find buyers for kits if the women at Te Hapua wanted to make them. Neta Brown decided to try it and encouraged and taught others with the help of her sister, Mrs Mary Neho.

Dr Parkes sold the first consignment to Modern Bags Ltd, who then undertook to buy on a regular basis. But income was sporadic and money was needed on a continuing basis to pay for petrol to drive to and gather the flax. Upon hearing of the project, the Department of Maori Affairs in Whangarei gave an initial small grant to keep it going.

This was then followed by an approach to the Labour Department and in May, 1980, a group of ten women was employed at Te Hapua under the Marae Enterprises scheme. Some were employed to teach and others to learn the art of flax weaving. After six months, several were very proficient and the group was producing numerous good quality boiled flax kits. The scheme was extended for a further six months and ended in May, this year.

As the women’s skill increased, more and better kits were produced and the focus turned to marketing. Apart from continuing casual sales from the marae, the relationship continued with Modern Bags Ltd who, for several months more bought the kits to sell through their chain of shops.

At the end of last year, the Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination undertook to sell the kits to fine craft shops and tourist shops in Auckland and Wellington. They found a ready market for the kits which quickly gained a reputation for strong, handsome articles and sold for a consistently higher price than under previous arrangements. While most kits have been sold in Auckland, they are also on sale in Wellington and Christchurch and national distribution is at present under consideration.

Because the women were weaving under the Marae Enterprise scheme, they were paid by the Labour Department. Money from the kits’ sales went into a fund for the building of a craft centre at Te Hapua. Together with money from other sources, enough has now been raised for building to commence.