A story of past and present
Dean Flavell is restoring Tauranga’s heritage by bringing taonga Māori home, one treasure at a time.
Dean Flavell is restoring Tauranga’s heritage by bringing taonga Māori home, one treasure at a time.
words DEBBIE GRIFFITHS
For Dean Flavell, a decision in 2003 to accept the role of Poutiaki Māori for the Tauranga Heritage Collection was easy. He’d already recognised one of the taonga that would sit in the future Tauranga Museum as linked to his own ancestor, and wanted to ensure it was kept safe.
“We have the remnants of an ancestral meeting house called Tamapahore, which once stood at Karikari Point,” he says. “It belongs to Ngā Pōtiki and it hosted many renowned members of Māori society including King Mahuta, the third Māori King. It was heartbreaking to find the relic not properly cared for. There’s a better way to honour our ancestor and the skill that went into this carving.”
Dean has pieced together the story surrounding it, finding connections to our most turbulent time: the New Zealand land battles at Gate Pā, Te Ranga and the bush campaign in the late 1800s. Tamapahore wharenui was an example of Māori meeting houses that emerged after the beginning of the Kīngitanga movement.
“Māori had a lot of their lands confiscated, but on what was retained they built larger houses to accommodate community gatherings,” he explains. “I imagine there were a lot of things that local Māori needed to discuss, so it was a place of coming together to contemplate the past and the future.”
It was in the tiny eastern Bay of Plenty community of Nukuhou that Dean was raised by his grandfather who spoke f luent Te Reo. “Our road was gravel and there was one shop that sold saddles, clothing, milk, lollies, everything,” he recalls.
“Our elders would speak Māori amongst themselves and when we went to town they’d revert to English. I love that today the knowledge is broader. Even if it’s simply place names or greetings, it’s becoming normal to hear Te Reo and I have great talks with my Pakeha friends speaking Māori and English together.
After a stint in the military, Dean learned traditional carving techniques, taking charge of the work on a wharenui in Whanganui when he was just 20. He launched his own carving school there and later worked as an educator at the local museum.
“I moved into curating and exhibition design overseas, including a time at Osaka in Japan, and then came back to New Zealand to a letter on my desk asking if I’d come to Tauranga to work on a new museum for the region.”
That was 24 years ago and for Dean it was an opportunity to locate artefacts around the world to help tell the story of Tauranga Moana.
“There are key taonga in other institutions,” says Dean. “In 1987 we started the work to find them and we’ve been creating relationships with the museums that have them. Some are in Wellington and Auckland and there’s a kite from the voyage of Captain Cook in the British Museum. It’s huge and quite unique. We know it’s safe and one of the thoughts is to replicate it in some way.”
For Dean, the Taonga Māori Collection is to keep safe the taonga tuku iho (treasures from the ancestors) that embody cultural stories, traditions and histories and an acknowledgement of the people who are no longer with us.
“Their stories live on and we get to share them with future generations through the new Tauranga Museum,” he smiles. “Good things take time. It’s been a long journey, but I’m really excited about where we’ve landed.”
Bay of style: Local fashion, flair and creativity
The Bay has been a mecca for successful fashion designers for decades, and now the new Tauranga Museum is planning to showcase its creative history in a collection that’s dressed to impress.
The Bay has been a mecca for successful fashion designers for decades, and now the new Tauranga Museum is planning to showcase its creative history in a collection that’s dressed to impress.
words DEBBIE GRIFFITHS
From homemade psychedelic ’60s frocks to prototype shoes to swimwear that made waves worldwide – the Bay is home to innovative fashion that will be celebrated in Tauranga Museum when it opens in 2028.
“Our fashion collection will show the talent and stretch people’s ideas of what Tauranga is,” says curator Fiona Kean. “Our fashion industry doesn’t get as much focus as it should.”
In fact, there are a number of New Zealand brands – both past and present – that many don’t realise are local. Expozay burst onto the scene in the 1970s, within a decade becoming the first Kiwi swimwear label in the North American market.
“We have the largest Expozay collection in New Zealand that starts from the beginning with hand airbrushed bikinis through to pieces from the early ’90s. Then we leap forward to emroce, which is also groundbreaking and global.”
Expozay swimsuit, photographed by Karen Ishiguro, nzfashionmuseum.org.nz
Pāpāmoa-based emroce, by designer Emma La Rocca, is the only zero-waste swimwear brand in the world. “Her desire is to see the way clothing is manufactured change to be more sustainable,“ says Fiona. “She uses fabric made from recycled fishing nets and cuts it in a way that means there’s no waste. She also makes inclusive gender-neutral swimwear.”
There’s also a nod to Staxs that had 21 stores around the country, boutique shoe designer Chaos & Harmony, surf labels – like RPM and Lower – Nyne, Repertoire and Greerton-based Beverley Productions that’s been creating knitwear since 1962.
“We’ve got over 5000 textile related objects in the museum collection and a lot have been handmade by local women who have the skills and passion to look great, and make their own clothes,” says Fiona.
Among them, former Ōtūmoetai Intermediate home science teacher Ruth Espin who donated seven pieces before she passed away in 2019.
“Each dress represents a pivotal moment in her life; the one she wore when she got engaged, her wedding dress and the outfit she was wearing when she took her baby home from hospital.”
Some of the outfits were purchased at Hartley’s on The Strand. Those who grew up in Tauranga will have fond memories of their Lamson Cash Carrier System before the store closed in 1987.
“Nostalgia will be an important part of the museum experience and reminding people that they’re part of something bigger,” says Fiona. “There’s so much to share, we’ll be swapping out items regularly so it will be constantly changing. We’re very excited to showcase our fashion success stories.”