Historical Te Arawa Taonga Returns to Rotorua
17 December 2012
A pōwhiri (welcome ceremony) was held at Rotorua Museum on Friday [14 December] for an historical Te Arawa pare (door lintel) which was returned to Rotorua for the first time in more than 100 years.
Staff from Rotorua Museum, Rotorua District Council, Te Papa, and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, as well as Trustees of the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, were involved in facilitating the return of the pare.
In 1886 the pare was gifted by the New Zealand Government on Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, and was later passed to the Commonwealth Institute in London. When the Institute closed in 2002 the pare transferred by Deed of Gift to the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum (BECM). In 2009, a number of items, including the pare, were de-accessioned from the BECM and sold to an antiques dealer. Following a number of further transactions, the pare was eventually sold to a private collector in New Zealand.
The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum is now keen to see the pare returned to the people of New Zealand, and to make it accessible through a public museum. As a result, an agreement between Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa, The Trustees of the British Commonwealth and Empire Museum, Her Majesty the Queen, and the current private owner, has been signed.
The Museum will now consult with Te Arawa regarding its long term care.