The Shopping Sherpa: Tawhiti: Life at war

Wednesday, November 09, 2016

Tawhiti: Life at war

Room with full-scale models of Maori in traditional dress on the left, and a long diorama on the right.

The next rooms I visited at Tawhiti Museum were about the military history of the area, particularly The Musket Wars, and the story of Kimble Bent in the Taranaki wars of the 1860s.Normally this would be something I'd gloss over, but because of the intricacy of the scenes I found myself stopping constantly to read the information attached and peer closely at the details of the scenes.

Diorama of Maori with muskets in a trench, defending a pa.

The focus was very much on the stories of the people involved, and by the end of my time in this part of the museum I was keen to find out more about the history of New Zealand, as I realised it wasn't taught much when I was at school: instead we tended to focus on European history...

Diorama of 19th-century Maori with muskets in the bush.

Diorama of a 19th-century man shoing a horse in the bush. Behind him is a camp of tents.

Diorama of 19th-century soldiers with muskets in the bush, aiming at a Maori by a pa fence.

Diorama of 19th-century soldiers with muskets in the bush, aiming at a pa fence.

Diorama of a 19th-century soldier standing in a stream in the bush, next to a horse drinking from it.

Diorama of a 19th-century man standing in the bush with his hands up,in front of a Maori on a horse.

Diorama of a 19th-century man on the back of a horse in the bush,being lead up a track by a Maori.

Diorama of 19th-century Maori with muskets on a track in the bush.

Diorama of 19th-century Maori with muskets on a track in the bush, watching a crowd of people around a flagpole in the distance.

Diorama of a group of 19th-century Maori around a flagpole in the bush

Diorama of two 19th-century Maori being guided along a track in the bush by a third.

Diorama of a 19th-century Maori family being guided along a track in the bush by a pakeha man.

Diorama of a 19th-century Maori family being sneaking along a track in the bush. Behind them in the bush is a mass of pakeha soldiers.

A full-sized diorama of a pakeha man and a Maori man in a Maori hut. The pakeha is working on agun.

1 comment :

Jodi Hippler said...: Just ~A~M~A~Z~I~N~G~ detail! They are wonderful! Reminds me of Night At The Museum - Imagine it all coming to life at night!!!; 6:12 pm, November 09, 2016