Global hunt for missing Te Arawa treasures

By REBECCA DEVINE in Rotorua
TE ARAWA wants its taonga (treasures) back and is preparing to comb New Zealand - and the world - to find them.

The search, in conjunction with the Rotorua Museum of Art and History, will be led by kaumatua Rangipuawhe Maika.,

The exhibits will be held in a new multimillion-dollar redevelopment planned for the museum.

Museum director Greg McManus said most of the great treasures of Te Arawa had left the district and members of the tribe should not have to travel to Auckland or Wellington to see important parts of their history.

He said most of the great treasures left the area before the museum opened.

Items of interest were in the Auckland Museum and Te Papa, as well as in collections in London's British Museum and museums in Germany and the United States.

Initially the Rotorua museum would look to borrow the items, with a view to gaining back ownership in the long term.

"No museum is ever happy about giving things back. Initially we will look at long-term loans. Repatriation is a bit of a dirty word."

Mr McManus said while some of the New Zealand museums had been positive in talks, it would be harder to have items returned from overseas.

"It is almost unheard of."

Mr McManus said he was unsure how many Te Arawa items were in other museums' collections.

The Rotorua museum would be hiring someone to visit Te Papa and Auckland Museum, as well as other New Zealand museums, to find out "what was where".

Mr McManus would not specify the items the museum was hoping to get back but did say "anyone with knowledge of Te Arawa history would know".

Mr Maika, who is the chairman of the Te Pukenga Koeke o te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa group of elders involved in bringing the items back, conceded it would be a long process.

However, it would be a special day when Te Arawa taonga were returned to Rotorua.

He thought there would be hundreds of treasures exhibited elsewhere and that the group would prioritise which ones it wanted back.

The elders would be visiting museums in New Zealand over the next couple of years to talk about the proposal.

The redevelopment of the southern end of the museum would allow for a special room dedicated to Te Arawa exhibitions. A 7m ceiling would cater for large exhibits. It would also have a room permanently dedicated to historical Rotorua art collections.

It is planned as part of a $13.5 million revamp which would see the museum building finally completed - about 100 years after it was first designed.

The southern extension, as well as a smaller one to the north, would complete the designs drawn up by the original architect - but money ran out before it could be finished.

It is hoped the first stage, which has a pricetag of about $2.5 million, will be completed in 2008 - the museum's centenary year.

The second stage will be completed as soon as financially possible, but 2011 or 2012 are tipped as likely finish dates.

A trust, headed by Rotorua man Lyall Thurston, has been formed to raise money for the centennial extensions. The redevelopments will add on 1000sq m - 1200sq m to the building, about 800sq m of which would be new exhibition space.

Mr Thurston said the trust hoped to raise the money needed though government agencies, philanthropic trusts and other donations.

The response so far had been positive.