Rongomaraeroa

The marae (place of encounter) with the central wharenui [meeting house] in Te Papa

Rongomaraeroa is the marae of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and incorporates a contemporary wharenui (meeting house) Te Hono ki Hawaiki.[1] It is located on the museum's 4th floor overlooking Wellington harbour,[2] and was officially opened on 30 November 1997.[3]

The design, described as "postmodern",[4] was overseen by Te Papa's inaugural kaihautu (Māori leader), master carver Cliff Whiting.[5] As "the only one of its kind expressly built for that purpose in a museum",[6] this marae is "arguably the most prominent embodiment of [Te Papa's] commitment to biculturalism".[7]

In October 2020, the Government committed $887,291 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the marae and 4 others in the Central Hawke's Bay area, creating 12 jobs.[8]

  1. ^ "Te Marae". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, NZ. 22 December 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Our building". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, NZ. 10 February 2016. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Rongomaraeroa – self-guided education visit". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, NZ. 8 June 2016. Archived from the original on 19 January 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  4. ^ Alivizatou, Marilena (2016). "From artefacts to communities: Participation and Contestation at Te Papa Tongarewa". Intangible heritage and the museum : new perspectives on cultural preservation. London: Routledge. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-315-42637-2. OCLC 954006713.
  5. ^ "He Mātanga Toi – Dr Cliff Whiting". RNZ. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  6. ^ McCarthy, Conal (2016). Museums and Māori : heritage professionals, indigenous collections, current practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-315-42389-0. OCLC 954006975.
  7. ^ Schubert-McArthur, Tanja (2019). "3. Performing Biculturalism: Creating Te Marae and conducting Pōwhiri". Biculturalism at New Zealand's national museum: an ethnography of Te Papa. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-12136-1. OCLC 1090060351.
  8. ^ "Marae Announcements" (Excel). growregions.govt.nz. Provincial Growth Fund. 9 October 2020.