Carving
Category
Ethnographic material
Date
Unknown
Materials
Wood and paint
Measurements
138 x 12.5 x 3.5 cm
Collection
Clandon Park, Surrey
NT 1440212.16
Caption
Hinemihi came from Te Wairoa, a North Island settlement destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886. She is named after a female ancestor of the tribe who lived at Te Wairoa. Few Maori meeting houses bear female names, but Hinemihi was an exceptional woman famous for keeping the company of a giant lizard as both a protector and pet.
Summary
Waewae from Matapihi (carving from the proper left side of the window frame). From Maori meeting house brought back from New Zealand by the 4th Earl of Onslow - Governor from 1888 to 1892. Originally re-erected by the lake, she now stands in the garden near the East Front of the house. She is one of the oldest in existence, known as Hinemihi.