Nuku Tai, Memeha

Nukutaimemeha is the waka our tipuna Maui boarded to search the oceans and find, and fish up, Aotearoa. Mt Hikurangi was the first point of Aotearoa to emerge from the ocean and atop that maunga Nukutaimemeha would come to rest in lake Takawhiti under the protection of Tama i Waho the taniwha. Land and Ocean, and People, share an unbreakable connection.

I have spent all my life studying and working in the area of Māori art, culture and heritage, and Museums. My formal qualifications and work experiences encompass the fields of: -Māori Heritage and Māori Collections Conservation -Cultural and Heritage Resource Management and Preservation -Māori Meeting House Conservation -Meeting House building and Whakairo -Kōwhaiwhai (traditional painting) -Raranga (traditional weaving – including making tukutuku, taniko, korowai and kakahu, kete) -Whare Tu-taua (making weapons) – Carver -Taonga Puoro (making traditional musical instruments) – Carver and Musician -Ta Moko (traditional Māori tattooing)