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Story: Māori humor – te whakakata

'To a Maori figure cast in bronze outside the chief post office, Auckland'

Audio file

A larger-than-life Māori statue by Molly McAlister was erected in downtown Auckland in 1967. Five years later Hone Tuwhare wrote a poem addressed to the statue, mixing Māori language with everyday English ('your balls, mate'). Listen to Tuwhare reading this poem, one of the funniest published in New Zealand.

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Flickr: Derrick Coetzee's photostream

by Derrick Coetzee

Sound file from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives Ngā Taonga Kōrero. Any re-use of this audio is a breach of copyright. To request a copy of the recording, contact Sound Archives Ngā Taonga Kōrero (Maori programme, 24 November 1972/Reference ID44642) Courtesy of The Hone Tuwhare Charitable Trust

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How to cite this page

Mark Derby, Māori humor – te whakakata – Māori humour in the 20th century, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/speech/40396/to-a-maori-figure-cast-in-bronze-outside-the-chief-post-office-auckland (accessed 26 June 2026).

Story by Mark Derby, published 3 December 2012.