Waharoa
It is a fine example of a traditional waharoa, a gateway or entranceway. Te Papa’s waharoa was commissioned by Augustus Hamilton, the director of Te Papa's forebear, the Colonial Museum, for the New Zealand government.
In 1906, it featured in the New Zealand International Exhibition in Christchurch. Here it formed part of a double stockade which enclosed the exhibition's model pa, called Araiteuru.
The work was carried out by master carver Neke Kapua and his sons Tene and Eramiha, of Ngāti Tarawhai, a subtribe of Te Arawa of Rotorua. The waharoa is carved from a 22-metre single slab of tōtara that came from the central North Island. (Museum of Te Papa)
