Story: Canoe navigation
Mātahi Avauli Whakataka-Brightwell, his brothers Alan, Kim and Pryor, and other carvers are pictured here with the Hawaiki-nui in Porirua, 1981. The hulls were made from two tōtara trees from Whirinaki State Forest. These were hollowed out in Porirua and Pahīatua before being shipped to Tahiti, where the canoe was constructed. The Hawaiki-nui was successfully sailed from Tahiti to Rarotonga and then on to New Zealand in 1985.
About this item
Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PAColl-7327)
Reference: EP/1981/0778/35A-F
Photograph by Ross Giblin
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.