New Zealand - Maori Culture - Te Awanui Waka at Maungatapu Pā - Tauranga - In 1973 the new dining hall Te Aotakawhaki was opened at Maungatapu Pā. The occasion was officiated by the Labour Prime Minister of the time, The Right Honourable Norman Kirk. The recently completed Tauranga waka, Te Awanui, was part of the occasion. - 1973 - Laurie Sanders photo Maori People - The indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand - Māori originated with settlers from eastern Polynesia - Arrived in New Zealand in several waves of waka (canoe) voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350 - Over several centuries in isolation, these settlers developed their own distinctive culture (Reference: Wikipedia) ----------------------- Image source: Te Awanui Waka at Maungatapu Pā (1973) Photograph: Laurie Sanders Creative Commons AttributionNoncommercial 3.0 New Zealand License https://paekoroki.tauranga.govt.nz/nodes/view/10238