Under the blue sky, a karanga rings out at Takapūwāhia Marae as a pōwhiri begins to welcome an ancestor returning home.
A procession of people walk slowly towards the wharenui, behind two kaumātua, one of them carrying a white box. Inside the box is a 70cm-tall coloured bust of a man on a stand.
The man’s eyes are closed, but he has an impressive goatee. “Maori [sic]”, “New Zealand”, “Man”, the label on the stand reads in German. This is the resemblance of Wi Neera Te Kanae, a great-grandson of prominent Ngāti Toa rangatira Te Rauparaha and a grandson of Te Kanae, another Ngāti Toa ariki (paramount chief).
He was a significant and prominent leader of the iwi during the late 19th century, and became a Native Land Court assessor in 1884.
The report is included.
