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Story: Kapa Haka

Rotorua concert party, 1920s

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Rotorua concert party, 1920s

This poster advertises a performance by the Arawa Maori Entertainers, a professional Rotorua concert party, some time between 1924 and 1930. The group was formed by the celebrated Whakarewarewa tourist guide Rangitīaria Dennan of Ngāti Tarāwhai, who was famous as Guide Rangi. Other members included Ana Hato (Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi), who in 1927 sang on the first commercial sound recording made in New Zealand.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: EPH-A-MAORI-CONCERT-1935-01

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

Valance Smith, Kapa Haka – 19th-century kapa haka, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/43922/rotorua-concert-party-1920s (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Valance Smith, published 15 January 2014, updated 23 October 2024.