The Pou Maumahara – Pohutokawa is an eight-metre-high and six-tonne Maori monument honouring New Zealand Maori from WWI. Master carvers and students from the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Insitute (NZMACI) in Rotorua, New Zealand crafted this totem over four years from an indigenous wood more than 4,500 years old. The Pou Maumahara bears the name ‘Pohutokawa’ which refers to a star from the Matariki (Pleiades). ‘Pohutokawa‘ is associated with those who have died, as a perpetual reminder of our departed loved ones. The monument has two sides representing the war god Tumatauenga on the one hand and those who stayed home during the war on the other.
Practical info
- Can be guided
- Free
