Carving is his life

Tu Tangata, Issue 16, 1 March 1984, Page 46

Carving is his life

Hepi Maxwell, the Rotorua carver who created the 1982 International Mastermind trophy, came into his craft through an accident.

A truckie, he lost both his legs in a motor accident in 1974 and was forced to look at another way of life. He learnt to carve for the tourist industry and is now self employed, working from home.

He was one of four carvers commissioned by Television New Zealand to design a carving for the 1982 International Mastermind, hosted by New Zealand. A selection panel from Television New Zealand chose his work as the best.

It took two months to carve, the longest he’s taken for a carving.

Amongst his customers have been, Charles Haigue, “Renko”, star of Hill Street Blues, and Australian entertainer Rolf Harris.

‘Renko’ bought a greenstone pendant for his mother.

Hepi describes the turn-around in his life.

“After realising I had lost both legs, depression set in and to overcome it I took drugs. It was during that time that I was approached by Jehovah’s Witnesses and they gave me a Bible-based hope for the future”.

After their visits he gave up excessive drinking, drugs and smoking.

“Through Jehovah’s Witnesses I met my wife, Julie, who married me despite my disability.”

A year later he applied for a job as a jade carver. The job, advertised by Greenstone Distributors, was for a jade carver who was willing to work in front of tourists. He was accepted by the firm and was sent to train at their factory in Auckland for two weeks.

He was taught to be familiar with the equipment but the style of his carvings was his own.

He was sent back to work in a shop in ‘‘The Little Village’’, at Whakarewarewa, and after five years at the shop, Hepi became a self-em-ployed craftsman and now carves from his home at Awahou.

His wife and two sons, Simon and Nathan, come before his work, and knowing that he can provide for them gives him a lot of satisfaction.

He’s 33 and the fourth eldest of nine children, four girls and five boys.

His parents are Pirihira (Phyllis) and Takiwa Maxwell. As a youngster he attended Ngongotana Primary School and Sunset Intermediate. He later finished his education in the fourth form at Western Heights High School at the age of 14-15. When he was at school he joined in on the sports activities and jokingly says, “although I didn’t make the first fifteen rugby team, I was one of the first fifteen to leave”. After leaving school he was employed with the Rotorua railways for a few years and later took up truck driving. One of his brothers, Trevor Maxwell, is the leader of Ngati Rangiwewehi Maori Cultural group which won the 1983 Polynesian festival at Hastings. “We are proud of our younger brother”, he said. To see him come back and use his hands in a very skilled craft has been wonderful”.

FACES OF ROTORUA