The Ballantrae Collection
The Ballantrae Collection comprises taonga presented by Māori to Sir Bernard Fergusson while he was Governor-General of New Zealand from 1963 to 1967. The Collection features mere, adzes, pounamu pendants, taiaha, waka huia, tiki and patu. On the conclusion of Sir Bernard’s tenure as Governor-General, he loaned the collection to this University, and returned to England.
The taonga were placed on permanent display in the Hamilton Campus Library in 1998. They can now be found on Level 2 of Te Manawa, the Student Centre.
Descriptions of featured taonga (see image):
- (16) Waka Huia (Carved Wooden Treasure Box)
- Carved by the son of the Headmaster of Avondale School.
- (11) Kumete (Carved Wooden Food Bowl)
- Carved by Waka Kereama (Graham) of Ngāti Koroki. Waka Kereama trained with Piri Poutapu, at Te Aomārama Carving School, Ohinemutu, Rotorua, in the late 1920s. Their first major project was the great ceremonial house Mahinarangi at Tūrangawaewae, opened in 1929. Waka Kereama had a meticulous and distinctive carving style. This is one of a finely matched pair; the other kumete is displayed in Mahinarangi. Presented by Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu at Tūrangawaewae on the occasion of her first Koroneihana in May 1967.
*Adze image consists of four separate taonga, as below:
- (3) Toki Onewa (Basalt Adze) - Back Left
- Found at Ōtakānini in South Auckland. Formerly the property of Mrs N.P.K. Püriri of Ngāti Whātua, although Ōtakānini i is Waikato.
- (4) Toki Pākohe (Argillite Adze) – Back Middle
- Found on Rangiaotea or Pitt Island in Rēkohu or Chatham Islands in the 1870s, this is a classic Moriori form. Presented in December 1963 by Mr S. J. W. Gregory-Hunt of Rangiaotea (Pitt Island).
- (6) Toki Pounamu (Greenstone Adze) - Front
- Presented by PāoraRerepu Te Urupū, the Ngäti Kahungunu Chief, of Raupunga, in Hawkes Bay to George Raukawa Fergusson, son of Lord Ballantrae .
- (21) Toki Onewa (Stone Adze) – Back Right
- Made of hard sandstone (greywacke), this adze is of a type peculiar to Southland Province, and is probably between 300 and 600 years old. The type was used for timber working, and was made by hammering, rather than flaking and grinding. Presented in 1927 to Mrs George Baird by Māori of the Riverton or Colac Bay area, Southland, when she was in New Zealand visiting her brother, Governor-General Sir Charles Fergusson. Loaned to the University of Waikato by Commander A.J.L. Marx on behalf of Lady Brown Lindsay, Mrs Baird's daughter.