Last month, a century-old Māori carving was restored and gifted to the British people. Carved originally in 1910, by master carver Tene Waitere, the pou was completed by his great-great-great grandson, Robert Schuster Rika, to honour the legacy of the first indigenous woman to study at Oxford University.
Mākereti Papakura, known as Maggie, was a renowned Māori guide, ethnographer and cultural ambassador. She had a pivotol role in promoting Māori culture, heritage and taking it to the world in the early 20th century. The pou was discovered in the year 2000 by historian Allan Gallop, who rang Rika asking him to fix it. Rika was in Scotland for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and travelled to London to inspect the pou. He didn't have his tools at the time, but promised Gallop he would return to restore the pou.
25 years later, the pou has finally been restored, completed and now, gifted to the British Council. It comes as Papakura has been posthumously awarded a Master of Philosophy degree almost 100 years after she started her research into Māori culture from an indigenous female perspective. Rika travelled to the UK along with the Te Arawa iwi to unveil and present the pou. Robert Rika speaks to Culture 101 about the significance of the project and why he's chosen to continue his family's legacy as a master carver.
