Haua Baker, Hopaea Te Hana, Weno Tahiwi (Ngāti Raukawa), Pirihira Heketa (Te Ăti Awa), and others,
Tukutuku (woven panel), poutama pattern, 1936, pïngao (sand sedge), kiekie (tree-perching plant), kākaho (toetoe reed). Commissioned for the Dominion Museum

Original style

The School of Maori Arts and Crafts employed eight women, mostly from Otaki, to make new tukutuku (wall panels) for the wharenui (meeting house) Te Hau ki Turanga. Under Apirana Ngata’s supervision, they made forty-eight new panels, some of which used this poutama pattern, symbolising upward movement.

Ngata’s concern was with authenticity. He selected nine patterns, which he regarded as examples of the original style of the house, and was careful to use only natural pigments in the dyeing of the materials. These panels became a model for other houses. The recreated wharenui came to symbolise the traditional yet innovative Māori society that was Ngata’s dream.