It’s taken seven years and countless hours, but Kahu Paki Paki is a happy man.
The Stoke School parent was asked by former principal Pete Mitchener if he’d install an entrance for the school in 2017, and after making it his mission to ensure it was completed before his youngest son left the school, he has officially finished his task.
The two impressive panels were unveiled to the school early on Monday morning. Cut out of stainless steel and bolted onto concrete plinths, the panels tell the story of Kupe coming to the top of the South Island in his pursuit of the octopus Te Wheke a Muturangi.
The panels also depict the Waimeha (Waimea) Inlet and Te Moana Aorere (Tasman Bay) and allow the school to welcome guests in a more traditional way.
Principal Sarah Davies says she’s delighted with how it’s turned out.
“I think it’s amazing. I think it’s just a huge cultural narrative that adds to our school curriculum, and it’s really good for our tamariki.”
She says the children have already shown a lot of interest in the school’s latest addition.
“The best response was this morning when all the lights came on and they were like, ‘wow’, we could hear the verbal response to it. They are stunned by it. They are overwhelmed.”
Kahu, who is also the Māori Ward Councillor for Nelson City Council, says this installation is part of a wider “dream” of his to have more “community spaces adorned with cultural artwork that better reflects shared ownership of the past and present”.
“To have been invited to do this is quite a privilege and to be able to get it over the line is really satisfying. It’s really important to me, for us to be able to indigenise the blank canvas that a lot of our public spaces have. It ignites the imagination, and it’s the birth child of creativity.”
He says he’s had outstanding support from people in the community who have helped him, including John Underwood from Alpha Precast, IBM Construction, his dad Jim, and many, many others.
“To have to have people like that from our community respond so positively to request for help was one of the biggest encouraging factors for me, they were all awesome.”
