Cloaked in Maori history
19 Feb 2009
A Māori cloak of historic significance is home in Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand, after living in a London closet for more than 20 years.
Londoner Angela Ewing who is currently visiting relatives, brought the cloak home to New Zealand and gifted it to Te Papa in Wellington yesterday (18.02.09).
Special treasure
Ms Ewing said the historic garment was a gift to her British father when he worked as a teacher in New Zealand during the 1950s. While she had always considered it special, she had not realised how special it was, and had kept the cloak hanging in the back of a cupboard.
Covered in kiwi and kaka feathers, with a solitary kereru feather, museum experts say the cloak is an unusual and distinctive taonga (treasure).
Though its origins are unknown, it is believed to have had an illustrious history, including adorning a prime minister's shoulders.
Wrestler's cloak
Ms Ewing said her father came to New Zealand on a teacher exchange in 1953.
After working in Dannevirke, he was given the cloak, or korowai, by a colleague surnamed Walker. Later he was able to take it out of the country without trouble.
Mr Walker was a wrestler, and the cloak had been given to him by New Zealand's first Labour prime minister, Michael Joseph Savage, who shared a love of that sport, Ms Ewing said.
She thought her father had an idea of the cloak's significance, but had passed it on to her.
"I've been meaning to give it back for at least 20 years ... it's just been stuck in a cupboard," she said.
Ms Ewing was presented with a greenstone necklace after she returned the cloak.
Great, chiefly act
Arapata Hakiwai, responsible for Māori collections at Te Papa, described Ms Ewing's gift as "a great, chiefly act".
The stories and history of the cloak she had shared would help to track down its origins, he said.
Te Papa planned to include the cloak in a publication in the next 18 months, as well as a public exhibition within four years, Mr Hakiwai said.
Distinctive weave
Māori curator Awhina Tamarapa said the cloak was especially distinctive as it was decorated with three columns of feathers with tassels in between. Staff had dubbed it a "feather korowai".
Marks of the weaver were clear, from a series of small triangles in one corner to the solitary kereru feather. Further research would be done to try to locate the cloak's origins.
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