MEDIA RELEASE
Ngātokimatawhaorua: The biography of a waka
JEFF EVANS
Published by Massey University Press, 10 August 2023, RRP: $ 50.00
The mighty waka taua Ngātokimatawhaorua, whose home is the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi, was built under the aegis of Waikato leader Te Kirihaehae Te Puea Hērangi to commemorate the 1940 centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.
In his meticulously researched, deftly told new book Ngātokimatawhaorua: The Biography of a Waka, proudly published by Massey University Press on 10 August 2023, Jeff Evans unravels the riveting, and at times controversial, story of one of the longest waka to be built in the modern era.
Evans’s lively narrative reveals an astonishing story involving the rangatira, doughty bushmen, master carvers, craftspeople and more who drove the construction of Ngātokimatawhaorua from two massive kauri extracted from the depths of Puketi Forest in 1937. Incredibly, not long after the commemorations, it was dismantled, and sat in storage for the next 34 years until its restoration by kaumātua who included the renowned waka builder and master navigator Hekenuku-mai-ngā-iwi (Hec) Busby.
As Pita Tipene, chair of the Waitangi National Trust writes in the book’s foreword, ‘Jeff Evans skilfully traces back the origins of the waka from the depths of Puketi Forest through its construction and, later, its renovation for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the Treaty Grounds in 1974. In his diligent craft and engaging story-telling he carefully binds together the different parts, people and time periods into a coherent whole.’
Highly illustrated, Ngātokimatawhaorua: The Biography of a Waka is an immersive reading experience. ‘Ngātokimatawhaorua is just one of many waka from up and down the nation that have helped Māori reconnect with the skills and values of their ancestors,’ says Jeff Evans. ‘From war canoes through to the great double-hulled voyaging canoes that still sail the Pacific, they all have a place when it comes to enriching the lives of those that spend time on or with them. By reaching back into the past, today’s leaders can forge a meaningful future for those that follow.’
When a refurbished Ngātokimatawhaorua was relaunched during the Waitangi Day ceremonies in 1974, Te Puea’s original dream of a fleet of waka began to turn into reality. By 1990, The Year of the Waka, 22 waka and their 2000 crew gathered at Waitangi. Ngātokimatawhaorua is now a symbol of Māori unity and pride and an important part of the renaissance of the traditions of carving and voyaging around Aotearoa and beyond.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeff Evans is a non-fiction writer based in Auckland, New Zealand. He has written extensively about both waka and voyaging, including the 2015 biography of Pwo navigator Sir Heke-nuku-mai-ngā-iwi (Hec) Busby, Heke-nuku-mai-nga-iwi Busby: Not Here By Chance. Other publications include Ngā Waka o Neherā: The First Voyaging Canoes; The Discovery of Aotearoa (later reissued as Polynesian Navigation and the Discovery of New Zealand); Waka Taua: The Māori War Canoe; and Māori Weapons in Pre-European New Zealand.
