May 21, 2019
Dusky Tamatea encounter painting for national collection
A painting of the first encounter between Europeans and Southern Māori has been bought by te Papa with support from the Lottery Grants Board, the Tuiā – Encounters 250 fund and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu .
Waterfall in Dusky Bay with Māori Canoe was painted by William Hodges, who was on Captain James Cook’s second voyage to the Pacific aboard the Resolution from 1872 to 1875 as the voyage's professional artist.
It has been held in a private collection in England for over 200 years and was purchased for $685,000.
The small painting depicts a quietly majestic scene in Tamatea, Dusky Sound: a waterfall cascades through native bush into the green depths of the water and mountains recede into the distance; Southern Māori are seated in a waka, holding large hoe.
Dr Rebecca Rice, Te Papa’s curator of historical New Zealand art, says it’s the earliest painting of a New Zealand subject in Te Papa’s collections.
She says the presence of the waka and Māori figures elevates the painting beyond a mere landscape and allows it to speak to the interactions between Māori and Europeans during Cook’s visit.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Lisa Tumahai says the encounter between Cook’s crew and the southern Māori families at Tamatea/Dusky Sound in 1773 was amicable, and the portrayal of tipuna will be of interest to Ngāi Tahu whānui, and particularly to those with whakapapa to the deep south.
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