Gift from Canada

This photograph shows a 2 ft. high stone carving of an Eskimo figure with, in the background, a Maori pare or door lintel. The pare was carved by Mr Jock McEwen in 1946 and is one of Ngati Poneke's most valued possessions.

The Eskimo carving is by master carver King Meata of Cape Dorset, Baffin Island. It was presented to the Ngati Poneke Maori Association on 17 July 1973 by the Canadian High Commissioner, Mr J. A. Dougan, together with a cheque for $1,270 towards the Association's national marae building fund appeal, as a demonstration of his country's affection for the Maori people of New Zealand. The money and the cash to pay for the valuable carving were raised through the sale at the National Airways Corporation in Wellington of a shipment of carvings on behalf of the Canadian Eskimo Carvers Co-operative.

In thanking the High Commissioner for the donation and carving, the president of the association, Mr F. B. Katene, said, “Your country is a long way from New Zealand but your aroha has brought us close together. We will accord the statue a place of honour in our new marae as a symbol of our friendship. We hope you and your people will be proud to think that in the Ngati Poneke marae there is a part of Canada as well.”