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Ours: A podcast of twenty Te Papa objects

General Horatio Robley and the patu parāoa

Head of Matauranga Māori Puawai Cairns discusses the significance of a whalebone weapon – a patu parāoa.

A paper label fixed to its surface tells of a fleeting association with an English soldier – General Horatio Gordon Robley. Robley fathered a child in Tauranga with a woman called Harete Mauao. Descendant of General Horatio Robley – Googie Tapsell, recounts what she knew about her great-grandfather.

See the patu parāoa the on Collections Online

This podcast is a co-creation of RNZ, Te Papa, and media production company Bird of Paradise.

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