Ngatokimatawhaorua: The biography of a waka

This is the biography of the mighty ceremonial waka taua Ngatokimatawhaorua that rests on the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi.

The inspiration for its construction came from Te Puea Herangi. In the late 1930s the Waikato leader held a dream to build seven waka taua for the 1940 centennial commemorations at Waitangi. By 1937 two waka had been commissioned. Carved in Northland under the guidance of Pita Heperi (Te Tai Tokerau) and Piri Poutapu (Waikato), Ngatokimatawhaorua was one of them.

But it wa...