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Māori matriarch Dame Naida Glavish has called out Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni over her decision not to buy back two extinct stuffed native huia going on the auction block in the UK.
The male and the female huia were mounted in the 19th century by English naturalist James E. Whiting. They will be auctioned next month and are expected to fetch between $30,000 and $60,000.
When asked by the Herald if the government should buy back this precious taonga, a spokesperson from Sepuloni’s office said: “This isn’t something the government is considering.” Sepuloni is also the Minister for Culture and Heritage.
Dame Naida said she was highly disappointed by Minister Sepuloni’s response.
“I wonder if she asked any of the Māori members whether she should buy it or not,” Dame Naida said, referring to Labour’s large Māori caucus.
On Tuesday, Dame Naida flagged the auction sale to her Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua chief executive, who contacted trust board members for sign-off to buy the birds before it goes to auction.
“As soon as I was told about this, I sent this up to the Rūnanga CEO for Ngati Whātua to buy it back. He has sent a message to trust aorbd members to get a sign-off.
“I would also ask the museums in Aotearoa New Zealand, like Te Papa, to work together to repatriate these unique birds home.”
Dame Naida said the English whānau who were selling the huia should do the right thing.
“It actually should be given back because that taonga belongs to all of Aotearoa,” she said.
A Te Pāti Māori spokesperson said they backed Dame Naida’s view 100 per cent.
‘Should be gifted back’
“We would hope any taonga taken offshore from Aotearoa be gifted back because it was stolen from us,” the spokesperson said.
″Despite it being taken offshore, it still belongs to us and should be gifted back.”
The last confirmed sighting of a huia was in 1907, although there was a “credible” sighting in 1924.
The huia is one of New Zealand’s best-known extinct birds because of its bill shape, its sheer beauty and special place in Māori culture and oral tradition. The bird was regarded by Māori as tapu (sacred), and the wearing of its skin or feathers was reserved for people of high status.
In the auction material, the piece is described in detail.
The female bird is mounted slightly above the male, both perched upon a centrally positioned simulated tree branch. Three colourful hummingbirds are to the centre, upper right, and left, mounted amidst enhanced natural flora, grasses, ferns and fauna, above painted faux rocks to the groundwork, set against a graduated blue and pink sky backdrop, enclosed within a four-glass table display case, 46.5cm by 21cm by 53cm, bearing taxidermist’s full paper trade label to interior lower right.
The auction is on September 7.
