Collection Search

Complete hue (gourd container or calabash) with bulbous base and relatively small, narrow neck. Single, square perforation at base of neck and remnant of vine stem at the top. Fibre cord twisted and knotted around gourd (dividing body into 8 areas) with the three individual cords held together above the neck. Rattles.

Complete kahawai lure. Curved wooden shank with notches at head and base. Muka lashings across notches and cord at head. Paua shell inlay. Bone point is complete and straight with internal barb. Orange and yellow feathers attached by lashings at the base.

Twisted strand of muka (flax) fibre.

Complete composite fishhook. Curved wooden shank with large bone point attached with muka lashings. Bone point is straight with and incurved tip and three external barbs and one internal barb. Lower external barb and internal barb have two notches on them. Additional muka lashings twisted around the head.

Complete wooden pūtōrino. Bound at each end with harakeke strands; discolouration on the surface appears to indicate that there once were additional binding sites. Single mouth perforation on one side with rudimentary eyes carved onto surface and very two shallow koru radiating from centre below mouth. An unevenly set cross-shaped mark sits on top face above eyes. Surface has been varnished in the past but now worn. Two cracks running longitudinally on both sides with tape residue running along one.

Complete wooden pūtōrino. Bound with strands of harakeke at each end and at four places on the body. Tapered at the distal end, with a knobbed mouthpiece at the proximal end. Perforation at the centre on one side. Surface has been painted mid-brown. Two cracks running longitudinally on each side.

Complete one-piece iron bait hook with wrapped line. The hook has three notches at the bend of the tip. The tip comes to a blunt point. The head of the lure is wrapped in cord. The cord is 35cm long. The top 9cm are woven into a loop.

Clongumeration of cotton cord, muka ( flax fiber), and muka (flax fiber) formed into cord by miro (rolling) technique.

Taura (rope). A large length of rope made from multiple cords of muka (flax fiber), prepared via miro (rolling) and braided into a thick three ply whiri (plait). The taura has been coiled and sewn together by introduced thread in two places.

Kete Whiri, a basket woven from an internal base whiri (braid). Woven with natural harakeke (flax) in takitahi pattern (over one, under one).One side longer than the other, creating a misshapen square in shape. Finished with a serrated top edge. Two miro (rolled) fibres have been threaded into the weaving to act as handles.

Piece of worked wood, possibly a post from a building. Bark is still attached on one side. Other side has been sliced in half, creating a straight cut plane from one end to about the centre. The end has been reduced on all sides by a chisel; chisel marks very evident. The other end has broken away. A piece of twine is wrapped around the centre and knotted.

Complete model of a torch. Totara bark is bound together by raupo. Flax is loosely woven and tied to the exterior. The torch tapers to a point at the base, with the raupo visible at the top.

sandals for fishing

Rourou (food bowl). Woven with ten whenu (strands) of harakeke (flax) from the centre outwards in a takitahi pattern. Completed by trimming left over whenu on the interior with outer whenu tucked back into the weave of the bowl. Tied with a small piece of harakeke to secure. Four whenu are woven into a round four ply whiri (plait) used to make a handle. Rourou were frequently constructed as single or limited use items as they were quick and easy to weave.

Complete cord drill made of wood with lashings of string and muka cord and a chalcedony drill point. Drill consists of a central spindle, a circular whirl, and four centre supports. The surfaces have been worked smooth. Perforated near the proximal end of the spindle. Distal end is notched on one side, and the chalcedony drill point is lashed to it with string.

Complete waka huia. Square in cross-section. Decorated on lid in carved groove and dot motif worked in three sections into complex patterns. The carving patterns differ on both long sides. The base has the groove and dot pattern in swirling pattern that forms two highly stylised faces with (not original) inlay paua shell eyes. The handles are elongated laterally and decorated with an abstract pattern. They are perforated vertically for suspension cord. On one end of the lid there is a centred, wide and flat tongue that has a matching slot. There is a small chip in the corner on this end of the lid. On the other end of the lid, the tongue is off-centre and narrower, with a matching slot. Modern fibre through handle perforations for suspension.

Rourou (food bowl). Woven with twelve whenu (strands) of harakeke (flax) from the centre outwards in a takitahi pattern. Completed with a whiri (braid) tied with a piece of flax that is looped through the basket and knotted into a handle. Rourou were frequently constructed as single or limited use items as they were quick and easy to weave.

Complete matarau (eel spear). Wooden handle worked to a sharp point at both ends. Six other prongs lashed to one end of the handle with two metal braces and muka fibre.

Complete matarau (eel spear). Wooden handle worked to a sharp point at one end. Six other prongs lashed to the point of the handle with vines and muka fibre.