Story: Māori rock art – ngā toi ana

Rock drawings in Weka Pass, 1876

Rock drawings in Weka Pass, 1876

This painting is by Dunedin artist Thomas Selby Cousins, who was commissioned by Julius Haast, director of the Canterbury Museum, to record the region's Māori rock art. It shows a group of Māori in front of a limestone shelter in the Weka Pass area of North Canterbury. Under the natural overhang of the shelter are drawings of several canoes and fish. A large proportion of Māori rock art was produced on limestone shelters like this one.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: G-391
Oil on canvas by Thomas Selby Cousins

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

, 'Māori rock art – ngā toi ana - Who were the rock artists?', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/45521/rock-drawings-in-weka-pass-1876 (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by , published 22 Oct 2014