MAORI MODEL CANOE

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 56, 3 September 1926, Page 3

MAORI MODEL CANOE

—« — GIFT TO THE MUSEUM AN INTERESTING RELIC. An addition to the Dominion Museum of more tban ordinary interest, and one which will shortly be on view, is a model of a Maori canoe. It is no modern model of the old style of craft, but an old Maori-made miniature canoe, complete in all its details and carvings, and large enough to hold a couple of boys, or even one small man. The history of the canoe, why it was made, or for whom, does not seem to be known. Sometime in the 'forties apparently it was acquired by a visiting warship, and taken to England. After having reposed in the Royal Naval Museum at Greenwich amongst the collection of model craft, the Admiralty offered the canoe to the New Zealand court at the Wembley Exhibition, and from there it has come back to its native land to find a final resting place in the capital of the Dominion. One may conjecture as to the origin of this well-preserved relic, but nothing seems to be known for certain. It may be that it was made by some chief of the early days as a present to the pakeha, or it may be that it was constructed as a gift for some chieftain's son, sj| that he might emulate his ancestors in their voyage from far-off islands. The canoe'is a roHc which the museum authorities look upon as a very valuable addition, to the Maori collection. This model, which is 12 feet in length and 18 inches broad in its widest part, is a genuine Maori production in every sense of the word. It is made from a kauri log, and the top strakers are carved with a very old Maori pattern, and all the inside lashings are done in tho approved Maori fashion, the canoe having been constructed long before the days of nails and screws. The carved prow, or tauihu, contains a peculiar figure on either side, and the three-foot high stern piece, or taurapa, is a marvel of intricate scroll work. During the days of the canoe's storage it had been painted, probably morethan once. In the workshop of the Dominion this extraneous paint is being cleaned off so as to expose the original in its proper state, and where necessary repairs are being made to tho carvings. When this work is completed the canoe will be placed on view in the museum, and should prove to be of great interest. There is one feature of the construction of the canoe which shows that the old Maori had little to learn from the modern builders of speed boats. The under surface of the bow end of the canoe has been roughened into grooves, which fact, by the formation of what may be termed an air cushion, tends to increase the speed of the craft through the water. This provision of a surface to which the air may adhere is one of the features now incorporated in racing vessels as the result of modern experiments, bqj; the so-called uneducated Maori evidently knew of its value long years ago.