Signposts - a blog about Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Hatupatu carved by master carver Tene Waitere

An 8-metre tall carved pouhaki (flagpole) has been installed in Cambridge University’s Museum of Anthropology, 88 years after it was presented to the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) during his 1920 visit to New Zealand.

The pouhaki was carved from a single tree trunk by Ngāti Tarawhai master carver Tene Waitere (1853/1854?–1931). After being shipped to England, it was installed in a rose garden at a naval base in Portsmouth, where it was noticed by Waitere’s great-great-grandson Jim Schuster, a conservator with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Working with students from University College of London, and using his grandfather’s tools, Schuster restored the pouhaki.

Jim Schuster is also involved with restoration of a house carved by Waitere. Hinemihi, a carved house that sheltered survivors of the Tarawera Eruption in 1886, is now in the grounds of Clendon Park, a stately home in Surrey. The house has become a focal point for Ngāti Ranana, a London-based Māori cultural group.

Rauru, a larger house that once stood near the entrance to the Whakarewarewa village in Rotorua is in the Museum für Völkerkunde in Hamburg. When Rauru was taken to Germany, the house (Nuku-Te-Apiapi) erected in its place also featured carvings by Waitere.

These examples are just a few of the many taonga (treasures) to be found in overseas museums, especially in Germany and Britain.

David Lange - surely not our only great orator?!

This week in the news, even down here at the bottom of the world, it’s all about the inauguration of US President Barack Obama, and exhaustive analyses of his inauguration speech.

Massey University lecturer in speech writing Dr Heather Kavan says it will go down in history as one of the greatest speeches of all time. She is less enthusiastic about New Zealand’s political speeches, saying we have not produced many memorable speeches or orators. I also note that no New Zealanders appear on the UK Telegraph’s ‘Top 25 political speeches of all time‘.

I think New Zealanders are generally on the back foot as speech makers. We have a tendency towards understatement, we don’t like to get too overexcited. Compare the low-key, almost sleepy tone of Michael Joseph Savage’s 1935 victory speech with Obama’s serious but rousing voice in his inauguration speech.

Heather Kavan does make one exception – former prime minister David Lange, who won an Oxford Union debate in 1985 when he argued that nuclear weapons are morally indefensible. You can listen to an extract of that speech on NZHistory.net.

But surely we can do better than just one adequate orator! Leave a comment to tell us about other great speeches or great orators New Zealand has produced. Save our national pride!

Is this Tūī a viral marketeer?

A tūī in Inglewood has apparently been singing the Pizza Hut jingle. Is this a genuine case of a tūī performance, or a new marketing ploy? Have a listen for yourself.

Feathered impressionist

This is not that unlikely. Not only is the tūī a great singer, but it’s also a mimic. Tūī imitate the songs of other birds, and can also imitate people. Traditionally, they were trained by Māori to do mihi (greetings), karakia (charms) and recite proverbs. Anecdotally, they’ve been said to imitate car alarms, phones, alarm clocks and popular songs.

An ecstasy of tūī?

Not everybody loves the melodious tūī. While it’s been said that a group of tūī is known as an ecstasy of tūī, Wellingtonians were complaining last year about the agony of tūī. The success of the Karori Sanctuary has led to a significant increase in Wellington’s tūī population. Apparently some people started ringing the sanctuary to complain about the resultant noise, which sometimes started in the early hours of the morning. It’s got to be a small price to pay for revitalisation of our native bird population.

Enjoying the new year in kilts – Invercargill, 1874

Welcome to another new year!

New Zealanders typically take a little while to get into the swing of a new year – with the Christmas and new-year holidays coinciding with summer, it’s a good time to get away.

Summer is also an influence on our new-year traditions. Many Kiwis enjoy being outdoors on New Year’s Eve (weather permitting). As mentioned in our Beach culture entry, beaches are a traditional place for many of us to spend New Year’s Eve, especially in places like Mt Maunganui. There are a number of outdoor dance parties, such as The Gathering, near Tākaka. (To find out about other summer festivals and events, visit NZLive.com.)

On New Year’s Day we’re mostly not as adventurous as John Pascoe, who is shown in our European exploration entry at the summit of Mt Evans on New Year’s Day 1934. Some of us may still be recovering from the after-effects of the night before, so something more restful – such as parading around in kilts, as these chaps in Invercargill are doing, or feasting on food cooked in a hāngī (earth oven) – is more likely. Many people go for picnics on New Year’s Day and the New Year’s racing at the Tauherenīkau racecourse has a long tradition.

The above-mentioned kilts are quite appropriate, as the celebration of New Year’s Eve came here along with Scots immigrants, who celebrated Hogmanay back home. In Southland, with its high number of Scots people, the tradition of ‘first footing’, where the first person to cross a threshold of the house after midnight brings good luck, was continued. (The English were more into celebrating Christmas, but New Zealanders embraced both festive occasions, thus getting extra holidays.)

My own new-year’s traditions involve barbeques with friends and family, reflecting on the previous year, making plans for the coming year, and enjoying the summer weather.

What are your new-year traditions?