Still from video installation ‘Ata Moana’ 2024. by Dr Sione Faletau
Recordings made on the shoreline of Te Matau-a-Māui have been transformed into a stunning installation by digital artist Dr. Sione Faletau. Faletau’s installations combine geometric forms and movement to create an immersive digital exhibition experience that you must visit.
‘Ata Moana’ also draws inspiration from traditional kupesi. Kupesi is the Tongan practice of pattern-making and carries meanings and histories, with deep connections to place.
Faletau’s practice is site-specific. Visiting Ahuriri, Napier in 2023, Faletau responded to the Museum’s architecture and drew inspiration from its connection to Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. In making this work, Faletau began with the recordings he made on the shoreline of Te Matau-a-Māui.
Digital sound waves give Faletau a range of high, medium, and low frequencies that he manipulates into moving image form. “Audio wave spectrums of sound form data or information that give me the material I manipulate to become kupesi. Much like how tufunga (tapa artists) manipulate material to create their art,” Sione says.
Projection mapping those kupesi onto forms, the patterns morph into an organic experience, seamlessly bridging the realms of technology and nature. This innovative method has opened a new language and a unique way of seeing and engaging with kupesi in the contemporary realm.
“I research things that interest me. If I find something interesting with sound or within Tongan cultural practices, I’m going in that direction – these things that I just keep unlocking, so to speak. And I guess that’s what sustains the creative drive and that state of flow.”
Sione is of Tongan descent, from the villages of Taunga and Lakepa in Tonga. ‘Ata Moana’ presents the Tongan worldview in an exciting and fresh way, digitally exploring the visual potential of sound in his work. His art practice is multidisciplinary; he has many strands of art making which he utilizes to explore ideas through the mediums of performance, video, drawing, sculpture, and installation. Most recently, his practice has moved more into the digital realm where he works to explore the visual language of soundscape and design.
Exhibitions like ‘Ata Moana’ are important, offering a dynamic fusion of tradition and innovation. By transforming recordings from Te Matau-a-Māui’s shoreline into immersive digital installations and drawing inspiration from Tongan kupesi, Sione creates a new visual language, bridging the gap between technology and nature. Of delving into the past and responding using new technologies, Faletau says, “I guess we’re playing with time and space. These are about traditional forms being created with contemporary means.”
Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper 24 February 2023 and written by Toni MacKinnon, Art Curator at MTG Hawke’s Bay.
Harry Pond’s Napier Technical College shirt, cut off him by medical staff after the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake
These last two weeks, as we remembered both a cyclone and an earthquake, I am reminded of the importance of our collective memories. Museums and archives often hold important objects from our past. These items, sometimes seemingly unimportant such as a torn shirt, contain the memory of a moment, evoke feelings, and hold our history.
One such piece in our collection is indeed a torn shirt (along with a pair of shorts and cap) worn by Harold (Harry) Pond when he was trapped in Napier Technical College following the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake. The shirt was cut from him by medical staff at Nelson Park after he was dug out from under the ruins. These items he carefully stored away for decades without any of his family knowing.
Other items we hold that represent the earthquake are burnt and damaged ceramics, fused jewellery, and displaced possessions never reclaimed. In the very nature of their abandoned or damaged condition the enormity of that event is kept and remembered.
A cyclone is harder to collect material from as so much was contaminated and needed to be disposed. What item(s) could encapsulate the horrific nature of that event? In decades to come, it will only be in objects and archival material carefully protected and kept, that future generations will have a sense of that moment in Te Matau-a-Māui / Hawke’s Bay’s history.
At MTG Hawke’s Bay Tai Ahuriri we hold all the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust’s treasures gently on behalf of the entire community, current and yet to come. The enormous importance of what we care for is not lost on us. Our dedicated team of collection staff know how to hold, store and care for these important treasures. They ensure we know what we have, where it is and where it came from. The stories that accompany our collections are what give them life – what is the relevance of a torn shirt from Napier Technical College without knowing the personal story behind it?
The enormous task of preparing our collections to move them in their entirety to their new permanent home in Hastings next year is daunting. This space will allow us to store each item in the best way possible but often means we need to prepare or repack them before we move.
Paintings for example, currently housed in crates making them hard to access, will be stored on painting racks that can be pulled out to allow the paintings to be easily viewed. In order to hang the paintings on racks there needs to be specialised, earthquake proof, hanging mechanisms attached to hundreds of artworks.
Each object type is carefully considered and the best option for storage and protection selected. Some objects are having specialised crates made, others are being secured on pallets or repacked for pull out drawers, and so on.
The collection preparation and move is a massive logistical exercise and one which is undertaken with care and love for each precious item. It is an exercise in ensuring our collective stories and memories are protected, not just for now but for future generations – to whom we will be as mysterious and fascinating as our earlier ancestors are for us today.
Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 17 February 2024 and written by Laura Vodanovich, Director at MTG Hawke’s Bay.
Vase, Camaret by René Lalique. Collection of Hawke’s Bay Museum’s Trust, Ruawharo-Tā-Tū-rangi [100013] All rights reserved by Lalique.
Following Hawke’s Bay’s shattering earthquake of 1931, which razed much of the city to the ground, Napier began the mammoth task of rebuilding. Not simply ‘remaking’ Napier, residents set out to create a new city that reflected the times, while incorporating its own unique identity. Architecture and design were the vehicles through which that was achieved.
At the time many other countries were undergoing the same transformative process. Being in the throes of the Great Depression and still recovering from the First World War, countries sought to revitalise their national identity in a way that celebrated modernity and progress.
The global phenomenon that became known as Art Deco was a design ethos that had the vision to enable that. Art Deco was an architecture, design and art approach that formed around key historical developments. Alongside the political and economic conditions of the day, advances in transport saw a fascination with modernity. This was reinforced by advances in manufacturing where new materials made design accessible to the rich and the not so rich.
The beauty of Art Deco was that it incorporated ideals of optimism and luxury, while being able to translate the economic hardships of the 1930s into more subdued and functional designs.
Countries were also able express their nationalistic ideals through the principles of Art Deco design. While the movement conveyed an unprecedented sense of internationalism, in part by incorporating the design forms of Indigenous cultures, countries were also looking to their own first peoples to create a vision that was unique to their country.
Miami Art Deco architecture incorporated the design of Latin America cultures, Cuban Art Deco buildings are inspired by traditional Cuban design and Shanghai’s Deco district incorporates Chinese design. Rebuilt in the distinctive Art Deco style many of Napier’s building facades incorporate Māori design elements of Kowhaiwhai and Taniko.
One of a few places that is built in the style of Art Deco, in the decades since its reconstruction Te Matau-a-Māui has drawn visitors from around the world to experience its architecture and design and all the stories held in it.
For that reason, it is important that MTG Hawke’s Bay Museum Tai Ahuriri continues adding depth to the stories of this region’s recovery from a devastating disaster, the optimism of the rebuild and how that connected to the global circumstances of the time.
MTG has a small but fascinating Art Deco collection and this year the museum will be making a temporary display case of the works they own from renowned glassmaker René Lalique, to run through the Art Deco Festival.
The museum’s Lalique collection is a great reminder of the transformative power of art and design. Lalique’s intricate glassware and sculptures, with their geometric motifs drawn from nature, more than reflected the style – they were instrumental in the development of it. As such they echo the spirit of innovation and creativity that defined the region’s reconstruction nearly a century ago.
Lalique glass connects Hawke’s Bay to a broader global design story. René Lalique left an indelible mark on the world of decorative arts. Technologically of their time, the works on display are unique designs that became accessible through developments of manufacturing in the 1930s. This vase called ‘Camaret’ is named after a small fishing village in Lalique’s home country, France.
But perhaps most importantly, the Lalique collection expresses the design principals of Art Deco in domestic ware and by seeing Art Deco expressed in a range of contexts we can really begin to understand its reach and impact.
The Museum’s display case of René Lalique glass is on from today until 3 March 2024.
Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper 10 February 2023 and written by Toni MacKinnon, Art Curator at MTG Hawke’s Bay.
As for everyone in Hawke’s Bay, 2023 was a tough year, and for the education team at MTG Hawke’s Bay Tai Ahuriri, it was no different. We started term one with our calendar full, but in the blink of an eye, a cyclone hit, and everything changed. Our educators had to adjust bookings, teaching spaces, and adapt the way some of the programmes were taught. We took our programmes out to some schools as they were unable to travel to Napier, reaching as far north as Te Pohue and as south as Porangahau.
Even with all the disruptions (adding COVID into the mix too), our educators delivered programmes to 5567 students during the year. Our most popular primary school programme in 2023 was “Pānia and Moremore,” exploring how Pānia Reef got its name, who she was, and the kaitiaki role Moremore plays around Ahuriri. For intermediate students, the “Hangarau me te Māori: Māori and Technology” programme delves into early Māori tools and their adaptation to modern tools. Students then create their tools using natural resources. The new programme, “The Great Ahuriri Escape,” was a hit with junior high school students, offering an escape room scenario where they solve puzzles to learn about local landmarks. All our programmes align with the New Zealand Curriculum and, notably, the Aotearoa Histories Curriculum, which classroom teachers are required to teach from 2023 as part of the curriculum refresh.
Over the Christmas break, our educators have been busy preparing for another busy year—refreshing old programmes and designing new ones that classroom teachers have requested. Yes, we work alongside teachers to ensure our programmes align with classroom learning outcomes and the localised curriculum – Hawke’s Bay stories.
New programmes for 2024 include “Waka Huia,” taught to Year 11 NCEA visual arts students. They get a close-up look at different waka huia, hue (gourd), and treasure boxes from the MTG collection—an amazing opportunity to see primary source artefacts. “Te Wā o ngā Tohorā,” the Time of the Whales programme, explores how Māori and Pākehā lived and worked together, their connection to the natural world, and tells the story of the Tohorā whales of Te Matau-a-Maui / Hawke’s Bay through primary source collection images and artefacts. “Art Deco: Rising from the Ashes” looks at the Art Deco architecture sweeping across the world in the 1930s and how the region embraced the style following the February 3rd earthquake in 1931, exploring the symbols, motifs, and meanings behind these different shapes.
Don’t worry early childhood educators – we haven’t forgotten about you. Our educators are putting the final touches on our “Rongokako” programme designed especially for early childhood and hope to roll this out over the coming months.
Now we come to February; schools are back this week, our calendar is starting to fill up, and the educators at MTG are sending positive thoughts out to the universe. We would love to get through a year with no COVID, no cyclones, no disruptions—please!
Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 3 February 2024 and written by Debbie Ormsby, Visitor Engagement Manager at MTG Hawke’s Bay.
Straight into the New Year there’s are already a lot on the go at MTG Hawke’s Bay Tai Ahuriri – plans are in place for a number of upcoming events/milestones. For Waitangi Day 6 February we’re encouraging people to read and learn more about Tiriti o Waitangi / Treaty of Waitangi. To that end, starting Monday 29 January we’re offering a 20 percent discount on any books in our shop related to the treaty. Why not take the opportunity to come in, grab a bargain and learn more about our history in the process.
Chinese New Year is celebrated on 10 February and this year is the year of the dragon – an auspicious and extraordinary creature. We’ll be providing dragon themed activities in our Drop-In-Zone for children and adults alike to enjoy.
Wednesday 14 February is the first anniversary of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle. It’s a challenging anniversary as people were affected very differently, with some still displaced, others grieving, and many stuck in limbo trying to navigate insurance, payouts, etc. Consequently, there is no right encompassing message for the whole cyclone community. We will have an acknowledgement of the anniversary and a space to add your thoughts.
Then there is the Art Deco Festival – the first in four years! Hard to imagine the last three years of no festival, disrupted first by Covid-19 and then by Cyclone Gabrielle. We hope for the Art Deco Trust and the region that this year’s festival beginning, 15 February, is a huge success. It is a celebration of resilience – Te Matau-a-Māui / Hawke’s Bay, a region that re-emerged from the devastating earthquake (still the largest in terms of loss of life in Aotearoa) resulting in a reconstruction encompassing Art Deco as something new and unique across the region. We invite you to bring any visitors you may be hosting, to view the 1931 Hawke’s Bay Earthquake exhibition and learn about the disastrous event that led to the region becoming an important Art Deco centre.
Of course, MTG is right in the centre of all the activity. We’ll have a small display of recently acquired Lalique vases in our front window, along with the display of Clarice Cliff ceramics downstairs next to the earthquake exhibition. On Saturday 17 February you can enjoy Swingin’ Deco Delights: A Jazz Variety Night in the Century Theatre. To book for this new event visit the Art Deco Trust website for ticket information. We hope to see you around Napier and Hastings supporting this important festival for Te Matau-a-Māui.
Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 26 January 2024 and written by Laura Vodanovich, Director at MTG Hawke’s Bay.
“Reverend Samuel Williams Residence, Lake Te Aute, Hawke’s Bay” by Charles Barraud.
At the end of 2023, the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust was successful in acquiring, through auction, a small oak-framed painting by well-known colonial artist Charles Decimus Barraud. This beautiful, evocative, and yet delicate watercolour is titled “Reverend Samuel Williams Residence, Lake Te Aute, Hawke’s Bay”. Like many of Barraud’s paintings, it’s an important social commentary on Aotearoa’s history and in this case, the Te Aute region, and missionary Samuel Williams.
A trained chemist, Barraud emigrated to Aotearoa with his wife Sarah on board the “Pilgrim” which anchored at Port Nicholson, Wellington, 24 August 1849. Two months later he established a chemist shop on Lambton Quay, followed quickly by a second, the “Pill Box”, at the corner of Manners and Herbert Streets.
In June 1860, Barraud, keen to extend his business concerns and encouraged by Napier agents Newton & Browne, boarded the “White Swan” bound for Ahuriri to set up a pharmacy in partnership with Thomas Bridge. Two months later Barraud & Bridge’s Pharmacy on Emerson Street opened. By the end of 1862, the pharmacy had moved into newly built premises on Hastings Street. Thomas Bridges died within two years and the partnership was legally dissolved. By mid-1864 the pharmacy, ably managed by John Bowerman “a gentleman in every way qualified to dispense medicines” had been renamed Barraud & Co.
In subsequent years Barraud became one of Wellington’s most respected citizens, renowned for his kindness and involvement in community matters. In his spare time, he was an enthusiastic amateur artist who won recognition as a talented landscape painter. As his business interests prospered, Barraud took every opportunity to travel throughout Aotearoa faithfully recording its beauty in watercolor and oil. His artistic ability was ranked second only to that of John Gully, both of whom “emerged from the ranks of mere amateurs”.
Those who travelled between Napier and Waipukurau during the 1870s would have readily recognised Barraud’s depiction of Samuel Williams residence and the landscape surrounding it – particularly Lake Roto-a-Tara and the island in the centre. Today Lake Roto-a-Tara and the swamp (which were Samuel Williams only direct purchase of land from Māori) no longer exist as he had both areas drained.
In the spring of 1853, Governor George Grey urged Samuel Williams, a missionary, educationalist, pastoralist and farmer to move from Ōtaki to Te Matau-a-Māui / Hawke’s Bay promising him land and money for a Māori School. Rangatira Te Hāpuku and 44 others gave Samuel land at Te Aute to set up a school and farm – the school opened in 1854 with 12 scholars. It was forced to close in 1859 because of a disastrous fire and lack of Government financial support. Samuel in turn focused on fundraising and breaking in the estate to ensure a permanent income for the school until it re-opened in 1872 with James Reynolds as headmaster and Samuel Williams as provider.
When Samuel and his wife Mary arrived at Te Aute, there was no accommodation available so they were forced to live in a pātaka / Māori storehouse as temporary shelter. Soon after Samuel built a raupō hut consisting of two rooms, with thatched roof – a year later another room was added – and for five years this became the couple’s home.
By 1859, it become evident that no financial assistance would be forthcoming from the Christian Missionary Society towards the construction of a missionary house, so Samuel arranged and paid for the carpentry work. With the help of local Māori, native trees were felled, pit-sawn into lengths and a substantial two-storied house surrounded by an open veranda built. Known locally as “The House”, it was situated approximately 100 yards from Te Aute School.
Although the house was large, the Williams family lived a very simple and spartan life. Furniture was restricted to bare necessities and the walls were covered with unbleached calico, being much cheaper than wallpaper. Samuel planted hundreds of trees around the property, lawns were sown, a tennis court built and a large woodland garden containing masses of bluebells, laid out.
“The House” became the centre of the thriving Te Aute community, with both Māori and Pākehā being welcomed into its fold. On 6 March 1884, Edith Webb, daughter of Reverend Anthony Webb (Ormondville) wrote to her Aunt Mary: “I have been staying at the Sam Williams, they are very nice and kind, they have an awful lot of visitors, and keep a visitors book, just to see how many people stay with them”. She continued “We went over the Maori College at Te Aute, it is such a splendid place beautiful rooms with long rows of white beds; the boys all make their own beds and wash their own clothes, they seem to do it very well”.
No one was allowed to leave “The House” empty-handed. When Reverend Webb was preparing to return for Ormondville after administering the Sacrament at Te Aute, Samuel sent him home “rejoicing with 50 eggs, a sack of turnips and a nice pen of a St Brahma cock & 5 pullets.”
Although the painting has the appearance of being a small working sketch, as distinct from Charles Barraud’s finished watercolours, the subject matter tells a myriad of social history stories about Te Matau-a-Māui making it a significant addition to the collection and giving it great exhibition potential.
Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 20 January 2024 and written by Gail Pope, Social History Curator at MTG Hawke’s Bay
Portrait of Annette Stiver 1931, by Christopher Perkins (b.1891, d.1968). Purchased by Friends of the Hawke’s Bay Cultural Trust. Collection of the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust, Ruawharo Tā-ū-rangi, [72621].
This 1931 portrait is of Annette Stiver and was purchased for the region’s collection by patrons of MTG Museum, Tai Aruriri.
Annette came to New Zealand as the wife of Michael Stiver, an American businessman who came here to work for the publicity firm J. Walter Thompson. When they arrived in the country, the Stivers instantly connected with local literati, becoming great friends with Christopher Perkins and his wife.
Christopher Perkins had emigrated from Britain as part of the La Trobe scheme, a programme designed to raise the standard of art education in New Zealand. Perkins taught that artists should base their work on local subject matter and was the first to advocate faithfulness to New Zealand’s unique atmospheric light. He was also known for layering his subjects with symbolic meaning.
Annette Stiver was a stylish intelligent woman and Perkins, renowned for his frustration with what he saw as New Zealand’s parochial attitude, must have seen her as the embodiment of cosmopolitan charm. The Stivers supported Perkins as an artist, buying his paintings and Michael commissioned this portrait of his wife.
Douglas Lloyd Jenkins and Eloise Taylor both provide intricate details of Annette Stiver’s life and her time in New Zealand. They write that there was a close, intimate relationship between Christopher Perkins and Annette Stiver.
Taylor writes that Annette sat for this portrait in Perkins’ Kelburn studio. The flowers, she notes, came from his garden, and the rattan chair was ‘bought down from the kitchen upstairs.’
Lloyd Jenkins suggests that the scarlet robe Annette wears, the calla lilies (a symbol of both purity and sexuality), and Stiver’s distracted fidgeting with her wedding ring finger all point to undercurrents of ‘Modern Love.’ But to be fair, Stiver’s ring finger is not visible in the painting, and Annette seems simply too unaffected for this to be a portrait ‘outing’ her love tryst.
Stiver kept the portrait until her death. If it was an image of her nervously reflecting on her infidelities, would she have held it so dear? It is more likely, Perkins’ portrait is about love, pure, carnal, adoring, enthusiastic – love.
Perkins’ has arranged the set precisely, he has dressed her, placed the props, and composed the scene to maximise its symbolic meaning.
Look at the robe – it sits awkwardly yet envelops her, its redness a symbol of love and with her elbows resting on the chair arms a heart shape is created.
Perkins attended the Slade School of Fine Arts with the likes of Dora Carrington, Paul Nash, and Stanley Spencer in the first decade of the 1900s. The strong physicality that Perkins gives Stiver is characteristic of this group of painters. Such an emphasis objectifies and distances us emotionally from her.
Stiver looks away from us toward the window, her face illuminated by its light, her gaze cast further afield. Is Perkins alluding to Stivers’ life in America and Europe, painting her as the independent urbanite?
This is a portrait of adoration so amped up that Perkins’ does not stop short of giving Stiver a beatific expression reminiscent of the Madonna. Calla lilies which droop sensually on the left, are reflected more chastely in the mirror on her right.
In this context, even the yellowed rattan chair chosen by Perkins seems to elevate her, a stand in for a throne or simply a hint of gold. Though now housed in a white frame, the Stivers originally framed the portrait in gold, a final adulating touch.
We might wonder what Annette’s husband thought of the work, and perhaps we would be mistaken to attribute the love that is implied in the portrait, to Perkins. Isn’t it more likely that this commissioned portrait is about Michael’s love for his wife?
You can view ‘Portrait of Annette Stiver’ at the MTG in Pictures and Other Works; A decade of MTG Foundation exhibitions, on until 3 June 2024.
Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper 13 January 2023 and written by Toni MacKinnon, Art Curator at MTG Hawke’s Bay.
The year 2024 promises to be another busy year at MTG Hawke’s Bay Tai Ahuriri. One of the biggest activities, which will require a lot of our focus, will be something you can’t see happening in the museum – work on the collection care and access facility in Hastings. While the facility is being built, the collections team will be fully focused on preparing each valuable item for their move to Hastings in 2025. The team have a huge task ahead of them, one that is not for the faint-hearted, which will require their full attention. This means that during the year we will not be accepting acquisitions, will have reduced capacity for visits to the collection and enquires, and, from October this year, these services will stop until we re-open in the new facility late 2025. This disruption to a service you may be used to, is exactly what needs to happen to ensure the long-term care and preservation of the collection in an appropriate fit-for-purpose facility. We hope, once you see the new facility, you will realise it is a massive step and gives the collection the home it deserves.
With the collection team’s attention focused elsewhere, we’ll still endeavour to provide a rich programme of exhibitions and displays for the year. To tie in with the Art Deco Festival there’ll be a small display of Lalique vases in the front foyer. A number of these beautiful vases may be familiar to those of you who saw our Renē Lalique exhibition back in 2016. We were lucky enough to acquire these at auction with financial support from the MTG Foundation and the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust Board. Towards the end of the year, and in preparation for the 2025 Art Deco Festival, we’ll create an Art Deco exhibition acknowledging 100 years since the 1925 International Expo in Paris, where the phrase Art Deco was coined, and celebrating 40 years of the Art Deco Trust in Hawke’s Bay.
In April Stories of Our Place (working title) will let the art and archive collection tell stories from Te Mata-a-Māui. We live in a region with a rich history and many stories and experiences to share – this exhibition will explore a number of them. It’ll also be a first viewing for some of the artworks that have been collected over the last few years, so I’ll be excited to see them on display. There’ll be two important travelling exhibitions this year – one on local legend Sandy Adsett. This exhibition coming from Pataka, Toi Kuru – Sandy Adsett, is a retrospective of Sandy’s impressive artistic career. We’re thrilled to be able to share Sandy’s exhibition here in his home region. The other travelling exhibition also features a local art icon – Rita Angus. Coming from Te Papa, Rita Angus: NZ Modernist, is another must-see exhibition.
This year we’re updating the 1931 Hawke’s Bay Earthquake gallery. The current exhibition does an excellent job telling the social impact of the earthquake, and we certainly want to keep those messages as part of the new gallery. Rather than taking anything away from the existing exhibition, we are adding in more. We’ll be including the science behind earthquakes, the story of Rūaumoko (God of earthquakes), what to do before, during and after an earthquake, and ensuring more regional stories are shared. This is the only gallery that hasn’t been changed since I arrived nearly nine years ago, so it’s time for an update. We’re aware of the importance of this gallery for school groups, tourists and locals alike, so we’ll ensure that a small temporary space is created to at least share the Survivors Stories film while we are changing out the gallery. This work is likely to start in April and be completed by the end of June.
There’ll be some other displays and exhibitions that pop up during the year, along with favourite activities, such as our Drop-In-Zone, activity trails, Sunday Cinema, film festivals and more. It promises to be a year of progress, light and colour and we look forward to welcoming you into your museum.
Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 6 January 2024 and written by Laura Vodanovich, Director at MTG Hawke’s Bay.
Napier from Mataruahou looking toward Clive, circa 1865. The Masonic Hotel is the large two-storied building in the centre of the photograph.
In early November 1867, the Hawke’s Bay Herald jubilantly informed the public that “Races! Races! Races!” were to be held at Waipukurau on the afternoon of 26 December. The organiser, William Goodwin (owner of Waipukurau Tavistock Hotel), trusted that the “public at large” would patronise the event.
To satisfy the needs of Napier’s racing fraternity, Cobb & Co organised a four-in-hand coach (four horses with one driver) to travel between Napier and Waipukurau for the event. To ensure passengers arrived at the start of the races, the coach determined to leave Napier punctually at 6am, returning the following day. Cobb & Co advised patrons to book promptly as seats were limited.
On 4 January 1868, a passenger ‘anonymous’ described the trip in the Hawke’s Bay Herald. At 5am, the coach arrived at Cobb & Co’s Masonic Hotel booking office and picked-up its first group of passengers. Coachman Andrew Peters then drove to the Spit while a bugler, “played some lively tunes much to the astonishment of the drowsy inhabitants of that quarter” to collect more travellers. The coach then returned to the Masonic Hotel for the remaining passengers, leaving punctually at 5.50am for Waipukurau.
The trip to the newly built Ngaruroro bridge, “supposed to be the best in the province”, proved to be very pleasant. The first stop was Walter Caldwell’s commodious Provincial Hotel, at West Clive where the horses were “refreshed with water and the passengers with beer”.
The writer prophesised that West Clive “the very name of which was unknown a few weeks ago” would soon rank highly amongst “our flourishing inland townships”. Eight months earlier this small township was in its infancy – the main road had just been formed with buildings on either side, including a blacksmith’s, the Provincial Hotel and the Junction Store, which was originally located next to Tareha’s Bridge but moved “to a more prominent site”.
Once refreshed the horses started along the “rough and dusty unmetalled road”, until reaching the small township of Havelock, which had sprung up around a “steam-mill in the bush”. Here the coach drew up at Peter McHardy’s Havelock Hotel, (located on the site of the present St Columba Presbyterian Church) where the horses were again watered, and refreshment provided for the passengers.
Setting off, the coach travelled through “thistle flat’ until reaching Alfred Harrisons hotel at Pakipaki. Anonymous commented that inebriants were still celebrating the festive season as there was “an immense amount of noisy singing and dancing going on” and the “long-suffering landlord” was looking “very seedy” being unable to get any sleep for two nights.
At Pakipaki the exhausted horses were ex-changed for fresh ones. Once harnessed, they traversed around the base of the hills to Ellingham’s Hotel, arriving there at 10am. To everyone’s annoyance the coach had to wait half-an-hour for five tardy passengers. The coach then ascended the hill through Te Aute bush and passed “the gates of Reverend Samuel Williams residence”.
The next stop was Neil Campbell’s Kaikora hotel, where the weary horses were watered and from thence to Waipawa, arriving at noon. The horses were again switched, while more passengers boarded and finally the coach set-off at a brisk pace bound for its final destination.
This portion of the journey proved very daunting as there was a steep descent into the riverbed “which required great skill” by the driver, and “shewed immense neglect on the part of the engineer and road-makers”. After crossing the river, a “very sharp ascent, round the side of the hill” which was enough to potentially “throw the coach on its side” had to be carefully navigated.
Eventually the coach arrived at the racecourse, an hour-and-a-half later than advertised. Being such a beautiful day throngs of spectators “approximately 500 of both races” had gathered in lively anticipation. Six races were held, including hurdles, and the champion race run over 1 ½ miles. For the spectators there was a “foot race open to all pedestrians” as well as cricket and quoit games and, for the ravenous, the Tavistock Hotel put on excellent meal for two shillings, served in a large marquee. One of the most pleasing aspects of the day, wrote a reporter, was the “quiet, orderly manner” in which everything was conducted culminating in scarcely a “single case of drunkenness” and no untoward disturbances.
However, our anonymous writer had a different viewpoint. He disparagingly described the racecourse as being badly laid out, especially the first turning which was so sharp that “most of the horses had either to run into a wire fence or bolt down the hill towards Goodwin’s hotel”.
The coach with its passengers returned to Waipawa at 6pm, having “happily escaped all risk at ascending and descending the riverbanks”, and just in time to escape a deluge of rain. After dinner several of the travellers took a stroll along the picturesque river “towards the Ruataniwaha Plains”. Later in the evening, the group, dressed in all their finery, attended “a grand and very merry ball at the Waipawa Courthouse” which lasted well into the early hours.
The coach set out after breakfast the following morning. At Pakipaki “where order had once more been restored” they stopped for lunch. Finally, at 3pm the coach arrived back at Napier and the gratified travellers weaved their way wearily home.
Laura and the team at MTG wish you all a wonderful and safe holiday season.
Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 30 December 2023 and written by Gail Pope, Social History Curator at MTG Hawke’s Bay
This year started out well and we were hopeful for a ‘normal’ year after our years of Covid-19. Cyclone Gabrielle very quickly put paid to those ideas, reeking devastation and chaos across the region. Like everyone, the day after the cyclone, we were in a state of shock and confusion. Being part of Napier City Council many of our staff were able to join in the initial response undertaking tasks such as, preparing and serving meals, doing deliveries, welfare checks, etc. Other staff utilised their specialised skills helping with issues such as providing archival boxes for koiwi unearthed during the cyclone, providing advice on immediate treatment for taonga and helping individuals understand how to preserve textiles and other items they had rescued or recovered from the water and silt.
Although lawlessness was exhibited by some, the vast majority of the community were helping out in any way they could, and it was wonderful to see such great community spirit on display. Following the immediate aftermath, we were approached by EIT to see if we could help with a temporary home for some of their students and were pleased to find a space for them.
Despite the incredibly difficult start to the year the talented team at MTG Hawke’s Bay Tai Ahuriri still managed to complete eight exhibitions and displays. A highlight for many was Refuge in Fashion: Minh Ta, which displayed our wonderful collection of Minh Ta costumes – many of which were award winners. At the opening a number of people dressed in their own Minh Ta outfits, which was a lovely sight and a tribute to a truly talented person. Another local legend was celebrated in Making A Mark: the work of Fane Flaws. Many around Te Matau-a-Māui knew of Fane Flaws’ artworks – however Making A Mark focused on his incredible outputs as a director, musician and designer.
We were delighted to share Tāku Huia Kaimanawa, a series of Fiona Pardington works based on the huia birds and feathers held in our collection. These stunning works were a showstopper in our linkway gallery. We’re even more delighted to say that two works from the display are now in our collection – one gifted by Fiona as a commissioners copy, and one purchased and gifted by the MTG Foundation. During the year our front foyer had a dazzling work, Chromacade, by Janna van Hasselt. A series of ‘extrusions’ in rainbow colours popped against a fluorescent green surface. Falling in and out of a herringbone shape these forms seemed to dance across the wall.
Another playful display, Eye Spy: Curious Stories, looks at patterns and design in a range of objects from the collection. Exploring touch, smell, sight and sound this exhibition invites visitors to look a little closer. A giant collaborative ‘ei (think lei) adds the final touch, allowing visitors to contribute their own piece of design to Eye Spy. Having hosted EIT students over the year, we were happy to display some of their work in Through Lens and Light. This display showcases their range of photographic skills – from studio and documentary to product and landscape shots and provides insight into their unique skills, interests and perspectives.
Pictures and other works celebrates 10 years of the MTG Foundation fundraising and purchasing works for the collection. This group of dedicated and generous patrons work to ensure Hawke’s Bay has a collection that is worthy of the region and will be enjoyed for many generations to come. The final exhibition for the year, Pūrākau o Te Whenua, opened on 23 December and explores the legends and tales of Te Matau-a-Māui. The special names given to hills, mountains and lakes are all explored in this display – with stories told by local people we learn the cultural and historic connections about the whenua/land of our beautiful region.
This year also saw the building project in Hastings break ground. This purpose built facility will provide a permanent and appropriate home for the magnificent collection that the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust cares for on behalf of the community. With over 90,000 objects this is the largest collection outside the four main centres and one of the older collections in the country. Te Matau-a-Māui is privileged to hold such a significant collection and it is gratifying to know it will be cared for appropriately into the future.
It has been a very challenging year and, although I think I say this every year, 2023 has definitely been a long year and one that has tested many of us. For those of you who work through the holiday season I hope people recognise that sacrifice, treat you with kindness and respect and that you get your own opportunity to have a well-deserved break at some point. For everyone else I hope you take the opportunity to spend time with family and friends, stop, relax, re-energise and refresh.
Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 23 December 2023 and written by Laura Vodanovich, Director at MTG Hawke’s Bay.
MTG Hawkes Bay 