Nga Roimata o Mangatawa (The Tears of Mangatawa) by Duane Moyle (2010)

Date2010DescriptionLegend tells of a whale and her baby who swam into Tauranga harbour, past Matapihi and Maungatapu where they found the water was getting too shallow. Realising the need for deeper water they swam into the Rangataua arm of the harbour instead of heading back out the harbour entrance. They struggled over the mudflats as they could hear the sound of the waves at Te Akau (now known as Arataki). They soon grew tired and thirsty so they stopped to drink from a spring at Karikari not realizing that it was a magic spring that turned them into stone. There they were fixed forever, side by side facing northwards toward the open sea. The father whale came in search of his family and he too drank from the spring and became fixed behind the mother and baby. The father is known as Kopukairoa, the mother as Mangatawa and the baby is Hikurangi.
Mangatawa was also once known as Maungamana and some believe this indicates it was of greater significance than Mauao. It was one of the earliest Maori settlements where Tamatea ariki nui, captain of the Takitimu canoe, planted the sacred flax wharawharanui. Mangatawa is also where Tamapahore retired to after the Battle of Kokowai and where he is buried.
In recent times the most sacred part, the northernmost knoll, was quarried out of existence to construct the wharves at Mount Maunganui and to reclaim land for the Tauranga Harbour Bridge.
The tukutuku structure is a variation of a Roimata Toroa pattern. This pattern symbolizes the tears of the albatross (toroa) who carried Pourangahua from Hawaiki to the East coast of New Zealand but were then neglected by him and not given their due respect.
More information: http://duanemoyle.wordpress.com/
Please note:
Originally uploaded to the Tauranga Memories website (2011-2020), into the Tauranga Artists basket, or focus group, by Tauranga City Libraries staff (Debbie McCauley), on 10 25, 2013.
Its original URL was: http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/en/tauranga_artists/images/show/6159 and its original license was: Creative Commons AttributionNoncommercial 3.0 New Zealand License.

Sometimes images contributed to Tauranga Memories by the community were uploaded by a library staff member. If this has resulted in your photographs being mis-attributed to a staff member, please let us know so we can correct this.The original Tauranga Memories site also sometimes collected the following (blank where empty):

First name: Duane
Surname: Moyle
Place of birth: Tauranga, New Zealand
Date of birth: 1977
City: Tauranga, New Zealand
Year: 2010

Relates To

PeopleDuane Moyle: Sacred Ground (2010)EventsPete Morris: Art Profiles (2011-2018)Part of Photograph CollectionCommunity contributions

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Nga Roimata o Mangatawa (The Tears of Mangatawa) by Duane Moyle (2010)

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