Giant carving 'needs NZ home'

By JON STOKES

The widow of world-renowned singer Inia Te Wiata wants the giant pouihi (Maori carving) carved by her late husband for the foyer of New Zealand House in London to be given a new home in New Zealand.

Te Wiata carved the the 15.5m, two- tonne carving Pou Arahi over seven years in the building's basement carpark.

His widow, Beryl Te Wiata, believes the carving's mana has diminished with the drop in the building's use by Government agencies since the carving was unveiled by the Queen Mother in 1972. Seventy-five per cent of the building is now leased by commercial tenants.

"It has become a building he did not intend it for. It was designed to remind New Zealanders abroad of home, to be a home away from home. He didn't build it [the carving] for the use of commercial enterprises."

The building, on the corner of Haymarket and Pall Mall, has also come in for criticism, being described in the 1980s by eminent British architects as one of the buildings in London most ripe for demolition.

Ms Te Wiata's request has the support of Auckland Museum, which is eager to display the pou in the foyer of an atrium extension due for completion next year.

Auckland Museum chairman David Hill, who backed the pou's repatriation in a letter to Prime Minister Helen Clark late last year, said the the museum's iwi consultant group Taumata a-iwi, the wider Te Wiata whanau and the Maori Queen, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, were in support.

"The board is aware of the Government's programme to repatriate notable New Zealand artworks owned by the Government and held abroad," he said, adding that the museum would be an ideal place to house the pouihi.

However, Government officials have been less than enthusiastic.

Ms Te Wiata's request prompted a flurry of responses from officials, including letters from Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Phil Goff and Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Judith Tizard.

"The Government had the cheek to say we need a lot of people to agree to the move," said Ms Te Wiata. "We got everybody and they still say no. I think they have put it in the too hard basket."

Mr Goff said there were no immediate plans to move from the building, leased from the British Government until 2050.

"The Government is looking at options, but we are nowhere near the point at the moment where a final decision has been taken."

Mr Goff conceded the building was not what it was at the time of carving.

"What Beryl is saying is it is not the cultural icon that it once was in the 60s and 70s. I think that's true.

"When I was a young traveller there you used to pick your mail up at New Zealand House. It was a hive of activity for New Zealanders. It is not that now, but it is still the trademark building for New Zealand's presence in London and as such the pouihi is the focal point."

He said if the High Commission moved, wide consultation would be required to decide where the pou should go.

Inia Te Wiata carved the pou, made from a giant totara shipped from the central North Island and incorporating traditional Maori and European designs, in gratitude for support that allowed him to study in London.

INIA TE WIATA

* Born 1915, in Otaki, of Ngati Raukawa, Scottish and Swedish descent.

* Tutored by Tainui master carver Piri Poutapu at Turangawaewae.

* Travelled to London in 1947 to study at Trinity College.

* Sang with Royal Opera House, and performed in many countries, including the Soviet Union, Japan and South Africa.

* In 1965 took role of Porgy in a largely Maori production of Porgy and Bess, which toured New Zealand.

* Died in 1971, aged 56. His ashes are buried at Rangiatea church, Otaki.

Source: Dictionary of NZ Biography