Ngarutoru 2003
by Colleen E Waata Urlich (born 1939), Te Popoto o Nga Puhi ki Kaipara/Ngati Whatua
Australian raku, Northland terra sigillata, seagrass, and domestic fowl feathers
On loan from the artist

Ancient navigators
This vessel captures the shape of sails used on the wakahourua (twin-hulled canoes) of early Polynesian navigators.

The name of this piece tells the story of a journey between Hawaiki (the original homeland) and Aotearoa (New Zealand). Ngarutoru is a reference to the three great waves that brought Kupe’s descendant Nukutawhiti in the Ngatokimatahourua canoe safely to the Hokianga Harbour. The third wave, Ngarupaewhenua, lifted the canoe over the dangerous harbour bar.