Pou Taharua : The Flagstaff Exhibition

Nearly 165 years after the last of four flagpoles erected on Maiki Hill, Kororareka was felled by Ngapuhi Rangatira Hone Heke and his warriors, remaining pieces of these pou come together in Pou Taharua : The Flagstaff Exhibition.

Having lain separated in Museum and private collections throughout New Zealand, these taonga are the remaining physical evidence of 1840s disputes between Maori and British forces.

Today, against the backdrop of Ngapuhi Treaty Claims convening in March 2010, Pou Taharua : The Flagstaff Exhibition pays homage to a period of conflict which significantly shaped New Zealand’s history.

Supported by Hone Heke’s taonga from Ngapuhi and Ngatihine taonga, flagstaff pieces from Te Papa National Museum, Auckland Museum, Coromandel Museum, Taupo Museum, and Waitangi National Trust join taonga from Russell Museum’s collection.

Pou Taharua : The Flagstaff Exhibition at Russell Museum / Te Whare Taonga o Kororareka hosts the largest gathering of flagstaff pieces ever assembled in one place at one time. It is appropriate that these taonga return to rest briefly in Russell, in sight of Whakakotahitanga erected in January 1858, and still standing today on Maiki Hill.

Intended to display the United Tribes flag of 1834, misappropriated in 1840 to promote the Union Jack, the Flagstaff (pou) at Kororareka (Russell) became a symbol of conflict between Maori and Pakeha. Four times the pou was cut down by Ngapuhi Rangatira Hone Heke, only to be replaced by British forces. Each time fragments from pou were dispersed throughout New Zealand.

Now, fragments from Ngatihine hapu, Te Papa, Auckland Museum, Coromandel Museum, Taupo Museum, Waitangi National Trust, Russell Museum as well as Hone Heke’s taonga from Te Matarahurahu hapu, come together at Kororareka / Russell. With the gathering of these unique taonga “Pou Taharua” The Flagstaff Exhibition considers the significance of two cultural perspectives in New Zealand’s contemporary landscape.

Event listed by Marsha Davis

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