Story: Museums

Te Awhi pātaka, Dominion Museum, 1936 (2nd of 3)

Te Awhi pātaka, Dominion Museum, 1936

Thomas Heberley of Te Āti Awa (left), Māori carver at the Dominion Museum in Wellington, directs carpenters reassembling the Te Awhi pātaka (storehouse) at the museum in 1936. Heberley was the first Māori employed as a full-time staff member at the Dominion Museum. He repaired and reconstructed whakairo (carvings) and was involved in a carving and weaving workshop. Te Awhi (also known as Pukehina) was originally carved at Maketū in the Bay of Plenty in 1839. Ngāti Pikiao chiefs donated the pātaka to the museum in 1910.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Evening Post Collection (PAColl-0614)
Reference: PAColl-8557-65

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:

Conal McCarthy, 'Museums - Ethnology, research and building projects, 1900 to 1945', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/43873/te-awhi-pataka-dominion-museum-1936 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Conal McCarthy, published 22 Oct 2014