A gift possibly given to Queen Victoria more than 120 years ago has finally made its journey home to Te Arawa after passing through many hands, being sold to antique dealers and a Kiwi private collector.
The Te Arawa pare (door lintel carving), which may have been gifted by the
New Zealand Government on Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1886, was welcomed home in a special ceremony at the Rotorua Museum yesterday in front of about 100 people.
It was an emotional return with some attending shedding a tear or two as the box was finally opened to reveal the large carved wooden pare.
Ministry for Culture and Heritage Deputy Chief Executive Ronald Milne thanked the people of Te Arawa, the Rotorua Museum, Te Papa and Tainui for their role in helping to have the pare returned to the region.
He said the pare had been in the possession of the Commonwealth Institute. When the institute closed in 2002 it had been transferred, by deed of gift, to the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum (BECM).