A feature of the Auckland capping parade was a haka performed by engineering students dressed in grass skirts, as seen here in 1955 outside the Britomart Hotel. During the 1970s Māori groups criticised the performance for mocking their culture. In 1979 activists attacked a practice session, tearing off the students’ skirts and manhandling them. While convicted by the courts, they succeeded in ending the custom.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira
Reference:
H1379
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