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Story: Tā moko – Māori tattooing

Tattooed university graduate, 1997

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Tattooed university graduate, 1997

Rangi McLean (left) is thought to be the first person with a full facial moko to graduate from a New Zealand university. He is shown in 1997, the year of his graduation from Auckland University, receiving a large carving from his Manurewa neighbour Richard Sims, who also has a facial moko, as a celebratory gift. 

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Auckland Libraries

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How to cite this page

Rawinia Higgins, Tā moko – Māori tattooing – Contemporary moko, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/41253/tattooed-university-graduate-1997 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Rawinia Higgins, published 4 April 2013.