Te Hokinga Mai: Ngā Pou o Te Whare o Heretaunga

Tamatea Pōkai Whenua is honoured to confirm the repatriation of two pou

from Te Whare o Heretaunga. Held in the South Australian Museum since

1891, these taonga are set to return to after more than 130 years, a

significant milestone for the descendants of Karaitiana Takamoana, and

Ngāti Kahungunu whānui.

These pou are two of 60, that come from Te Whare o Heretaunga, an unfinished whare rūnanga commissioned in the 1870s by Karaitiana Takamoana — a respected rangatira, parliamentarian, and a key figure in the Repudiation Movement of Ngāti Kahungunu. The whare was being built at Pākōwhai Pā near the confluence of the Ngaruroro and Waipūreku rivers, following a devastating flood. It was intended to restore a central space for whanaungatanga, kōrero, and political life.

The carvings were created by tohunga whakairo of the Iwirākau School, known for its distinctive East Coast style — led by Ngāti Porou carvers Hone Taahu and Hoani Ngātai. Sadly, the death of Takamoana in 1879 meant the whare was never completed. Instead, its whakairo were later acquired for display at the 1889–1890 New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition in Dunedin, where they were presented as one of the centrepieces of the Māori Court.

After the exhibition, the pou were acquired by Dr Thomas Hocken, a prominent colonial collector, who sold two panels to Edward Charles Stirling for the South Australian Museum in 1891. In the years that followed, the taonga were mislabelled and attributed to the wrong region and whakapapa — a legacy of colonial museum practices that prioritised aesthetic over identity. For more than 130 years, these taonga remained in Adelaide, disconnected from their people and from the whenua that gave them meaning. This exhibition marks a turning point.

These are the first taonga from Te Whare o Heretaunga to begin their journey home from an international museum. Their rediscovery and reconnection was led by whānau, researchers, and curators, including Rose Mohi, Dimitri Anson, and Dr Amber Aranui, and the kaupapa is now carried also by Tamatea Pōkai Whenua on behalf of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga. The return of these pou signals more than physical repatriation; it is an act of restoration, a healing of relationships fractured by colonisation, and a reaffirmation of whakapapa and identity.

A small delegation has travelled to Adelaide to attend a poroporoaki at the South Australian Museum, the first international institution to endorse the return of these pou. Tamatea Pōkai Whenua is now engaging with further institutions across Aotearoa, Australia and the United States as part of its repatriation efforts.