The revitalisation of Te Toki a Tapiri

The waka at the heart of Te Marae Ātea Māori Court has recently undergone conservation work, being relashed with muka taura (flax rope) that was braided, dyed and lashed the way it would have been done when it was created, nearly two centuries ago.

Tui Tui Tuia

Tui Tui Tuia

The lashings on Te Toki a Tapiri had reached the end of their lifespan, which presented a unique opportunity to revitalise the matauranga, relationships, and histories of this significant taonga. 

Auckland Museum has a responsibility to uphold the principles and practices of kaitiakitanga for Te Toki a Tapiri. It’s the Museum’s responsibility to care for not only the physical wellbeing of the waka, but also the connections to its whakapapa. 

Across its near 200-year history Te Toki a Tapiri has exchanged hands many times, with five iwi having significant ties to the waka.

The name Tui Tui Tuia means to bind and weave together, which captures both the physical aspect of the conservation kaupapa, as well as the strengthening of ties between Tāmaki Paenga Hira with the five iwi who are connected to Te Toki a Tapiri. 

Over the course of a two year journey, harakeke was harvested, muka processed, and fibres and korero woven, passing the taonga tuku iho between whanau along the way.  

In June 2024 an expert in Tarai Waka (waka building) was onsite at the Museum, replacing the lashings and bindings with new ones made of muka. At the same time the Museum’s conservators undertook conservation work on the waka. Matauranga Māori and conservation science came together to uplift the mana of Te Toki a Tapiri, giving manuhiri a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see this special mahi take place.

A history of Te Toki a Tapiri

Te Toki a Tapiri was built in 1836 by Ngāti Matawhāiti, a hapu of Ngāti Kahungunu, northern Hawkes Bay. The architect of the waka was Te Waaka Tarakau, who named it after Tāpiri, a prominent ancestor of Ngāti Matawhāiti. At 25 metres long, it carried up to 100 people, with the hull cut and dug out from a single totara tree.

The unadorned waka was presented to Te Waaka Perohuka of Ngāti Kaipoho of Rongowhakaata. In return, Perohuka gave Te Waaka Tarakau a famous garment named Karamaene. Te Toki a Tapiri was carved by Rongowhakaata at Te Angaparera on the banks of the Waipaoa River near Manutuke.

Ten years later around 1853 Perohuka presented the waka to Tamati Waka Nene and his brother Patuone of Ngāpuhi, to commemorate a newly found peace in the aftermath of the northern tribe’s musket raids on the East Coast some 25 years before. In return Tamati Waka Nene and Patuone sent Perohuka a piebald stallion named Taika (Tiger), which he then gave to Te Waaka Tarakau.

Te Toki a Tapiri was then brought to Auckland and subsequently sold to Kaihau and Te Katipa of Ngāti Te Ata at Waiuku. In 1863, following the outbreak of war in the Waikato, government forces seized the waka and unsuccessfully attempted to blow it up, even though Ngāti Te Ata had not taken part in the fighting. Ngāti Te Ata later accepted Crown compensation for this wrongdoing by the government.

In 1869 the waka was restored and became the highlight of a regatta on the Waitemata Harbour organised for the visit of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. Paora Tuhaere of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei later looked after the waka until it was presented to Auckland Museum by the New Zealand government in 1885.

Te Toki a Tapiri pictured in the southwest corner of the Ethnographic Hall at the Princes St Museum 1897, PH-NEG-B393
Te Toki a Tapiri being transported from old Museum location on Princes St, to the current location 1928, PH-NEG-SP-3963h
Dr Kahutoi Te Kanawa and Heemi Eruera examine lashings on Te Toki a Tapiri 2023, commencement of Tui Tui Tuia project