Ngatokimatawhaorua - The Biography of a Waka | Jeff Evans

Ngatokimatawhaorua, the longest waka taua to be built in modern times, is a national taonga and resides at the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi. The inspiration for its construction came from Te Puea Harangi's dream to build seven waka for the 1940 centennial commemorations of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. But it was to be many decades before the true power of this mighty waka taua was realised. The story of Ngatokimatawhaorua, and those who carved and crewed it, is a fascinating window into te ao Maori and the revival of carving and voyaging traditions in Aotearoa.

'An in-depth account of this important and little known part of New Zealand history' - John Daly-Peoples, New Zealand Arts Review

Jeff Evans is a writer and photographer based in Auckland. He has written several books relating to waka, including Nga Waka o Nehera, Polynesian Navigation and the Discovery of New Zealand and Waka Taua: The Maori War Canoe. Between them, these books recall Maori migration traditions, describe navigation skills used by Maori to voyage between the islands in the central Pacific and New Zealand, and introduce the reader to waka taua. His most recent books are a biography of Hec Busby, Heke-nuku-mai-nga-iwi Busby: Not Here by Chance (Huia), and Reawakened: traditional navigators of Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (Massey University Press 2021).