14 Wairarapa Midweek Extra Wednesday, June 16, 2021 ARATOI VOICES
Extra
We celebrate the opening of Pukana We hurried from Aratoi’s main door around the corner into Dixon St to join the crowd waiting at the waharoa. We had been busily preparing for the refreshments to be served after Pūkana’s opening ceremony. We knew we would be joining the back of the crowd, but we were surprised by the number of people in front of us in the small courtyard, over 200 at least, and all ages: a sleeping weeks-old baby in her carry capsule, rangatahi and those somewhat older. Jo Torr, registrar at Aratoi, along with Susanna Shadbolt, the director, developed the National Library’s exhibition that had already been devised by three curators from the Alexander Turnbull Library. “We decided to augment the mainly paper-based Pūkana with objects from Aratoi’s collection and some items borrowed from other museums such as Te Papa,” Jo said, ‘so our first step was to make loan requests six months or more before the exhibition opened in Masterton.”
Aratoi opening of Pukana, led by rangatira Mike Kawana and Te Korou Whangataua with Shane James playing the pukaea. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
The work continued through that six months, including overseeing the design, as Aratoi, being a small museum and gallery, has no spatial designers. In May, the exhibition was hung, two weeks before the opening. As the sky above the courtyard darkened, the crowd hushed as kaumātua Mike Kawana,
leading us on the journey through the gallery, punctured the silence with his blessing of the taonga. This was accompanied by the strident sound of a pūkāea, played by Shane James from Te Papa. Speeches of welcome and thanks show the range of people who had contributed to this opening. Among those
thanked by Susanna Shadbolt were the staff of the Alexander Turnbull Library and Aratoi, Aratoi’s sponsors, particularly Forsyth Barr as the opening event sponsors, and those, including Masterton District Creative Communities and REAP Wairarapa, whose support has meant that workshops
and events will enhance the exhibition. She concluded by thanking our two iwi, “with a special thank you to Mike Kawana, Haami Te Whaiti and Makuini Kerehi for all their hard mahi.” “In addition, she said, “Mike has also composed a waiata and gifted it to Aratoi for this occasion.” The Aratoi staff then proudly sang it. Te Kura Kaupapa o Wairarapa Kapa Haka group’s performance during the evening was a highlight. They continued their performance in the gallery after the official part of the evening, as the crowd mingled in the gallery to have a closer look at the taonga. As the formalities concluded, we, Friends of Aratoi committee members, the ringawera for the evening, dashed off to make our small contribution to the celebration of Pūkana, an exhibition that has been made possible by the mahi of so many. Pūkana: Te Karu o te Ika - Moments in Māori performance is on display at Aratoi until August 22.
Thank you, Ro Worley It was a surprise and a delight to be told that Ro Worley, one of Aratoi’s long-term supporters and often to be seen lunching in Entice Café with her friends, had left us a generous bequest in her will. Ro [Rosemary] was born in Auckland in 1932 and moved to Wairarapa when she married John Worley. They farmed at Otahome, near Whareama on the coast, for many years before retiring to Little Otahome at Homebush where Ro designed and
planted a spectacular garden, scene of many garden tours. She taught home economics at St Matthews Collegiate and had a décor shop in Centrepoint for a time. It would not have been possible to establish a regional museum like Aratoi without the support of people like Ro. She was very interested in the arts and for many years attended exhibition openings and floor talks at Aratoi, often with her closest friend, Helen Dashfield. Aratoi
is lucky to have a very active and loyal Friends Association, who, like Ro, donate time and energy to fundraising and volunteer help. We at Aratoi are profoundly grateful for these acts of generosity. We plan to apply Ro’s generous gift to our education programme and to our new initiative of installing solar panels for long term energy sustainability. Ro’s name will be permanently commemorated as one of these donors.
Ro Worley.
PHOTO/SUPPLIED
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