New Zealand master carver, Matahi Brightwell, will commence work on a major refurbishment of his iconic Lake Taupō Mine Bay Māori rock carvings on February 25.
It’s almost four decades since Brightwell finished work on the carving, a 14m bas-relief representing the face of his ancestor, Ngātoroirangi. The larger work is surrounded by smaller sculptures at water level depicting key tupuna (ancestors) and kaitiaki (guardians) to the local Māori tribe.
Some 43 years ago, Brightwell was sent to Taupō by his grandmother, Te Huatahi Susie Gilbert, to carve a po whenua (a Māori totem) to consolidate the family claim to disputed ancestral land. While paddling his canoe around Whakamoenga Point, Brightwell came to a rock alcove where he had the vision to carve the face of Ngātoroirangi, the legendary navigator and tohunga (high priest) of the Te Arawa canoe which transported early Māori settlers to Aotearoa New Zealand.
Video by Bryn Reade of Small Hill Productions. Find out more at www.lovetaupo.com/minebay.
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