Story: Ngā waewae tapu – Māori exploration

‘Te ara kōhatu’

‘Te ara kōhatu’

Lewis Tamihana Gardiner’s artwork, ‘Te ara kōhatu’ (the stone trail), relates to a story about the location of stone resources. The taniwha (supernatural creature) Poutini kidnapped the wife of Tamaāhua from Tūhua (Mayor Island), and was pursued to a number of places – all of them stone quarries. In the end, Poutini turned the woman into pounamu (greenstone) at the Arahura River, a major source of pounamu.

Using this item

Tinakori Gallery
Sculpture by Lewis Gardiner

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How to cite this page:

Rāwiri Taonui, 'Ngā waewae tapu – Māori exploration - The South Island', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/14160/te-ara-kohatu (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Rāwiri Taonui, published 24 Sep 2007