Te Wānanga Whakairo Rākau : The National Carving School
Since its first beginnings, the Carving School has focused its teaching on the development of a diverse range of traditional taonga Māori (Maori treasures) and in the styles of our most prominent carving traditions.
Te Wānanga Whakairo Rākau (Carving School) has been in operation as part of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute since 16 January 1967, but it was initially established after legislation was passed in 1926 to preserve Māori arts and crafts, under the auspices of Sir Apirana Ngata, MP for Eastern Māori. Ngata identified art and craft with the supporting knowledge and disciplines as the pillars of Māori tribal culture. His dream was to establish centres of learning to maintain these customs under Māori tuition, and for Māori to retain their traditional cultural integrity through indigenous property rights and customary practices.
First intake
In January 1927 a newly appointed Māori Arts and Crafts Board decided that the carving school should be in Rotorua. Director Harold Hamilton engaged Eramiha Kapua and Tene Waitere, two of the finest carvers of Te Arawa people, to tutor the carving school. Trainees were sent from Tairāwhiti (Hone Taiapa and Pine Taiapa) and Waikato (Waka Kereama and Piri Poutapu) as the first intake of students. The students completed three years of training and were subsequently split into teams that travelled throughout the country carving wharenui (meeting houses). Many of the prominent houses, from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island were initiated through this scheme.
End of an era
The school flourished until 1937 when things came to an abrupt end with the death of Harold Hamilton, 
and the school was closed. Twenty-five years passed before further effort was made to support the promotion of New Zealand Māori arts, crafts and culture. read more...
