EDUCATION RESOURCE
IMAGE CREDIT: Bill Hammond, Gangland, 1996. Private Collection.
EDUCATION RESOURCE FEATURES:
• Education programme plan with suggested pre & post
visit activities
• Exhibition & catalogue details
• Brief biography on exhibiting artist, Bill Hammond
• Exhibition themes and concepts
• Te Ao Māori resources
Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning is a Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o
Waiwhetu touring exhibition, sponsored by Ernst & Young. Exhibition generously
supported by TNS Conversa.
This Teacher Resource Kit is designed to assist
you in your planning for learning experiences
outside the classroom (LEOTC). Programmes with
a Gallery Educator can be used to meet goals
from specific curriculum areas, or different
curriculum areas simultaneously. Activities and
resources in these kits can be adapted to the
age/level of your students. Activities are designed to support the key elements of exhibition
interpretive education and teachers are
encouraged to undertake further extension activities.Check out our website for further details:
www.citygallery.org.nz
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
INTRODUCTION
Jingle Jangle Morning is a survey exhibition of paintings by Bill Hammond featuring works from the 1980s to the
current day, all sourced from private collections in New Zealand and overseas. The exhibition is divided into five
thematic groupings, which are also largely chronological: Mix Master, Endangered Species, Zoomorphic, Limbo
Ledge and Jingle Jangle Morning.
Known for his sense of humour and irony, Bill Hammond occupies a unique place in New Zealand art history, with
a language and technique that is wholly his own. Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning is centred on the theme of
music in Hammond’s work; the title comes from the Bob Dylan song ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ and is also the name
of one of Hammond’s opulent paintings. A practicing musician himself, music has been a constant throughout
Hammond’s career and he speaks of his paintings as being like instrumentals “laid out flat.” Curator Jennifer
Hay says Hammond is inspired by the energy of performance and that his work “samples and mixes elements of
popular culture in an ironic take on the world.”
Hammond is perhaps the only New Zealand painter to have so strongly claimed a motif – birds. He became
hooked on them after a trip to the Auckland Islands with fellow artists, among them Laurence Aberhart, in 1989.
Confronted with “birdland - a paradise free from predators” as he described it, he began to paint a new breed of
sentient bird creatures into his works.
EXHIBITION DETAILS
Dates
17 November/Wiringa-ā-rangi 2007 - 10 February/Hui-tanguru 2008
Location
City Gallery Wellington, Civic Square, Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Publication
Publications: ‘Bill Hammond, Jingle Jangle Morning,’ $80.00 retail.
‘Speculation’ a publication featuring NZ artists including Bill Hammond, $50.00
DVD: ‘Flightless: Bill Hammond’s Cure for Being Kiwi,’ $35.00.
Postcards: $2.00, Prints: $50.00, Postcards: $2.00
Teachers and schools receive a 10% discount
Admission
Free admission to the exhibition and education programmes
Website
www.citygallery.org.nz.
Details of our education programmes are posted on our website. Downloadable resources
to accompany our education programme, including pre and post visit activities,
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
• Born in Christchurch, 1947
• Was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ilam, University of Canterbury,
1969
• Between 1971-1981 Hammond designed and manufactured wooden toys
• Held his first solo exhibition in Christchurch, 1981
• In 1989, Hammond visited the Auckland Islands as part of the ‘Art in the
Subantarctic’ project
• Was awarded an Arts Council grant to Japan, 1990
• Work included in ‘Distance Looks Our Way’ exhibition touring Spain, the
Netherlands and New Zealand, 1992-94
• Co-winner in 1994 with Luise Fong of the Visa Gold Art Award
• 1999, Dunedin Public Art Gallery exhibition ‘23 Big Pictures’ - a touring
exhibition that came to City Gallery Wellington
• In 2007, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu’s exhibition
Jingle Jangle Morning opened. It is a survey of Hammond’s work dating from
1985 to recent paintings and has an accompanying publication with the
same title.
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
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ARTIST INFLUENCES AND THEMES
Lyttelton artist WD (Bill) Hammond spent the 1970s working in design and toy manufacturing, returning to
painting in 1981. Hammond’s work tackles social and environmental issues, conveying messages about
humanity and its status as an endangered species.
Endangerment
Hammond has looked back into New Zealand’s environmental history for his subject matter, drawing inspiration
from the study and attitude of Sir Walter Buller. The well-known Buller paintings reveal some of the grim ways
in which birds have been forced to relate to us. Hammond has read widely on the perverse practice of Victorian
ornithology. Walter Buller’s ‘A History of the Birds of New Zealand’ with illustrations by John G. Keulemans,
provided a source of inspiration for some of these paintings. Buller was a prominent lawyer and ornithologist,
whose studies of native birds are still regarded as definitive today. He believed that the native people, plant and
birdlife would inevitably be rendered extinct by European colonists. Although he was
involved in campaigns to protect some species of bird, Buller did so reluctantly and
continued to collect specimens for his own research. In paintings such as Waiting
for Buller, Hammond moves away from mutated forms and renders the birds in a
painstaking, accurate manner reminiscent of scientific illustrations.
Birdlife
Birds in all cultures across time feature in creation myths, sagas, parables, liturgies
and fairy tales. They have come to represent among many things, the realm of the
spirit world. They are harbingers of both fortune and evil, and in dream mythology
they represent the personality of the dreamer. Shape-shifting, zoomorphism and
anthropomorphism too are recurrent features found in stories both old and new
and Hammond has invented his own range of hybrid bird, horse, human and
serpent figures that change and morph before our eyes. A major shift in
Hammond’s practice came in the early 1990s after he returned from a trip to the
remote Auckland Islands, where there are no people and birds still rule the roost.
Inspired, Hammond imagined himself in Old New Zealand, before even Māori had
arrived.
Bill Hammond, Eagle & Bone, 2007. Acrylic
on canvas. Collection of the Dunbar Trust.
Environments under threat, the vulnerability of life in a precarious world and complex relationships between
Māori, Europeans and nature are expressed through Hammond’s strong graphic ability.
TECHNIQUES AND PROCESSES
An enormous range of references that encompasses everything from folk art, popular culture, Renaissance art
and architecture, ancient Assyrian and Egyptian art, decorative arts and Japanese woodblock prints, through to
an impressive knowledge of New Zealand history can be detected in Hammond’s work.
• Ancestors
Hammond’s Ancestral paintings are like underwater or forest scenes – all floaty golds and greens, with sea
serpents and sea horses, lush foliage and reefs. Amphibious birds and winged fish pose in choreographic union
surrounding ancestral figures finely decorated with fern and leaf patterns. These ancestral figures though
perhaps represent Tāne, (God of the forest, all creatures) ancestor in Māori mythology of both man and bird.
Reaching further back into the ancient world of Egypt and Assyria, Hammond’s version of Horus Lord of the skies
is in fact the extinct giant New Zealand eagle. Narrative stone bas-reliefs from Nimrud, in particular Protective
Spirit in Sacred Tree 875-860 BC, depicting a winged eagle-headed magical figure, inform these paintings along
with burial sites, rock drawings, moa in pre-historic New Zealand (prey for the giant eagle), and the shape of the
landscape in and around Banks Peninsula.
• Composition
Hammond’s paintings show a collapse of foreground and background that provides a sense of infinite space in
the art of traditional Chinese painting and Ukiyo-e. Often reminiscent of Italian Renaissance painting and
tapestries, Hammond’s compositions combine a graphic ability with delicate decorative qualities.
• Auckland Islands trip
The three-week trip (part of the ‘Art in the Subantarctic’ project in 1989) to the remote, windswept islands had a
significant impact on Hammond. The Auckland Islands, where the severity of the climate has allowed little
Education resource compiled b Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
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human impact on the natural environment, was something of a revelation. In an interview with Gregory O’Brien
for ‘Lands and Deeds’ (Godwit, Auckland, 1996), Hammond spoke of the islands as a kind of lost world, ruled
over by beak and claw: “The Auckland Islands are like New Zealand before people got here. It’s bird land.”
Pre-historic New Zealand has been one abiding interest for Hammond, who imagined himself in a primordial
New Zealand before the arrival of humans. He developed surreal paintings of birds-becoming-people influenced
by ornithological illustration, colonial topological landscape painting, comics, children’s books, history painting,
Hieronymous Bosch, Grandville, Max Ernst’s Lolop and, crucially, Buller’s Birds.
Patterning
The intricate textiles of the Middle East and Asia and the effects of golden filaments embroidered on clothing and
metallic backgrounds stamped onto fine fabric are echoed in Hammond’s embellishments.
Bill Hammond, Jingle Jangle Morning, 2006. Collection of Chris Deutscher and Karen Woodbury, Melbourne.
TE AO MĀORI – MĀORI PERSPECTIVE
The Prosperous Forest
In traditional times, the moana (ocean) and the ngahere (bush) were considered by Māori as nature’s kai (food)
baskets. Before the arrival of Europeans, forest birds supplied an important source of protein as nutrition.
Aotearoa/New Zealand was without land mammals with the exception of the kurī (dog) and kiore (rat), introduced
by Māori. The main hunting season for many tribes was in autumn when a variety of birds were taken. Kererū
(wood pigeons), kākā (parrots) and tūī were the mainly targeted, often the birds were preserved in their own fat.
The feathers from different birds were kept and used for ornamental adornment and also for making cloaks.1
Mauri - Life Force
Māori tradition considers the life and well being of the birds and trees in the forest is the result of the forest’s
mauri (life force). A mauri stone or other object representing the mauri sometimes hidden in the forest, it was
seen as a place for the atua (gods and spiritual beings) that protected the forest. The tohunga (priest) who placed
the mauri often released a lizard at that spot to guard the mauri. In times when trees or birds were notably less
abundant, a charm (whakaara) was recited to reawaken the mauri.
1 http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/UsesOfTheBush/TeTahereManuBirdCatching/1/en (accessed 1/11/07)
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
3
The first bird caught in the fowling season was
offered to the forest mauri.2
Rāhui – Conservation through Prohibition
Rāhui is a restriction identified at a specified area
prohibiting resources from being taken. A forest or
body of water could be deemed out of bounds for a
period of time, allowing fish and plants to
regenerate in the area. A rāhui could prohibit the
taking of birds from a particular tree, a whole
forest or a certain species of bird. A rāhui was
often marked by a post (pou rāhui), sometimes
painted red. One form of indicating a rāhui was
by tying an item to a stake, the item may have
been clothing, hair or plant matter. Another way of
making people aware of a rāhui was for a chief to
announce the ban, encouraging people to spread
the message to others. Rāhui was a form of tapu
(spiritual restriction/sacred).3
Tapu – Sacred, Spiritual Restrictions
The capturing of birds in traditional Māori society
was affected by tapu (spiritual restrictions). For
example a tapu on an area of water such as part
of a river prohibited people using it for drinking,
bathing, fishing or traveling on the surface in a
waka (canoe). A forest, or part of a forest, might be
under a tapu which stopped anyone going into it.
The tapu may have been initiated to prevent birds
being caught. At the whare mātā, a place where
fowling and fishing equipment was made, women
and cooked food were prohibited, it was considered that tapu could be broken by either, therefore
neither were permitted into the whare mātā. It was
Tane Māhuta, God of the Forest, Waipoua Forest.
believed that if tapu was broken the gods would be
insulted and their supernatural assistance to assure a bountiful food supply would be withdrawn. The first birds
caught were offered to the gods. They were cooked in a ceremonial oven, lifting the tapu over the forest and the
whare mātā.4
TAONGA PŪORO – MAORI MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
MIMICING BIRDS CALLS - KARANGA MANU
Birds were and are still very significant in Māori society. Before the arrival of man to Aotearoa/New Zealand, it
was a kingdom for birds as they had no predators. There are a variety taonga pūoro (Māori musical instruments)
that mimic bird song; amongst these are the karanga weka, the karanga manu and karanga manu tuarōria.
Karanga weka
A karanga weka is an instrument that mimics the call of the New Zealand Weka. The only known surviving instrument resides in the Hall of Mankind at the British Museum, it is made of soap stone, and has a similar shape
to a nguru (Māori musical nose flute). Replications of the surviving karanga weka have been created from soap
stone and are played today. Karanga weka can be played as a melodic instrument or to communicate with weka.
\ is believed that the weka communicate with each other using regional dialects, the pitch of the instruments are
It
adjusted to mimic the distinctive weka calls that vary around New Zealand.5
2 mauri: http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/UsesOfTheBush/TeTahereManuBirdCatching/6/en (accessed 4/11/07)
3 http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/UsesOfTheBush/TeTahereManuBirdCatching/6/en (accessed 4/11/07)
4 Ibid
5 Brian Flintoff
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
4
Karanga Manu
Karanga manu (or kōauau pūtangitangi) are miniature flutes.
They were originally used as a device to lure birds by imitating
their calls; a hunter could draw birds within close range for
easy capture. When played by a skilled practitioner the sounds
produced can mimic several types of bird calls. When played in
present times, the sound these flutes make attract garden
and forest birds, sometimes producing interesting responses.6
Karanga Manu Tuarōria
Tuarōria are leaves that can be used to create bird calls. A
variety of leaves can be used including karamu and taupata
(from the coprosma species), these leaves are good to
experiment with and are widely available around New Zealand. Karanga manu. www.tahaa.co.nz
Tuarōria are played by folding a leaf in half along the centre rib
and holding the stem end between the thumb and fingers of one hand, holding the far end with the other hand,
forming a tunnel along the rib to blow through from the stem end. Adjusting the tensions hold on the leaf while
blowing adjusts the pitch of the sounds produced.7
Poiawhiowhio
The poiawhiowhio is another instrument used to lure birds. It is made from a hollowed out and dried guord with
holes drilled on either side of it, a cord attached to the top allows it to be swung around the head creating the
sound of a soft whistle or a chattering sound.8 The sound of the poiawhiowhio is also reputed to imitate the
sound of a kererū in flight.9
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
A myth is a traditional story concerning the early history of a people or explaining a natural or social
phenomenon, typically involving the supernatural. Similarly a legend is a traditional story popularly regarded as
historical but which is not authenticated. Many cultures around the world include birds in myths and legends;
birds also feature in creation stories. In this section stories from Native American, Celtic and Greek mythology are
highlighted, although there are many more.
Eagles - Native American culture
The Bald Eagle is a sacred bird in some North American cultures, and its feathers, like those of the Golden Eagle,
are central to many religious and spiritual customs among Native Americans. Eagles are considered spiritual
messengers between gods and humans by some cultures.10 According to some cultural traditions, the Creator made all the birds of the sky when the World was new. Of all the birds, the Creator chose the Eagle to be the
Master of the Sky.11 Many pow wow* dancers use the eagle claw as part of their regalia as well. Eagle feathers
are often used in traditional ceremonies, particularly in the construction of regalia worn and as a part of fans,
bustles and head dresses. The Lakota, for instance, give an eagle feather as a symbol of honor to person who
achieves a task. In modern times, it may be given on an event such as a graduation from college.12
Greek Mythology – Icarus
Icarus was the son of Daedalus a member of the Athenian royal household; he became famous for his skill as an
inventor, painter and sculptor. He entered the service of King Minos in Crete after fleeing from his homeland
after a family dispute. After a time he fell out of favour with the King, who imprisoned Daedalus and his young
son Icarus within the walls of his own invention, the Labyrinth. To escape he crafted two pairs of wings by by adhering feathers to a wooden frame with wax. Giving one pair to his son, warning him that flying too near the sun
would cause the wax to melt. But Icarus became overexcited with the ability to fly and forgot his father’s warning.
The feathers came loose and Icarus plummeted to his death into the sea below.13
6 Brian Flintoff
7 Ibid
8 http://www.inza.co.nz/artist/RN/RN-instruments.shtml
9 Brian Flintoff, Taonga Pūoro, Singing Treasures, CD, (Hirini Melbourne, Te Reo Māori)
10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_Eagle, accessed 3/10/07
11 http://www.eagles.org/native_american.htm, accessed 3/10/07
*Definition of a pow-wow (also powwow or pow wow or pau wau) is a gathering of North America’s Native people. The word derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning “spiritual leader”
12 Ibid
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
5
Greek Mythology - Nike
In Greek mythology, Nike (meaning victory), was a goddess who personified triumph. She was the daughter of
adhering feathers to a wooden frame with wax. Giving one pair to his son, warning him that flying too near the
sun would cause the wax to melt. But Icarus became overexcited with the ability to fly and forgot his father’s
warning. The feathers came loose and Icarus plummeted to his death into the sea below. Pallas (Warrior) and
Styx (Hatred), and the sister of Cratos (Strength), Bia (Violence), and Zelus (Rivalry). Nike and her siblings were
all attendants of Zeus. According to myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when the god was assembling allies for the
coming Titan War. Nike assumed the role of the gods’ personal charioteer, a role often portrayed in classical art.
Her Roman counterpart is Victoria. Nike’s wings supposedly symbolized the fleeting nature of victory; she is seen
with wings in statues and paintings.14
Celtic Mythology - Bird symbolism
Birds are usually used to represent prophetic knowledge bloodshed, and skill. In an omen, birds can be either the
message or the messenger. The interpretation of their
calls and actions can lead to knowledge of future events. Birds, especially ravens and crows, usually foretell carnage and battle, when they are associated with it. Birds were also be used to demonstrate a warrior’s prowess
by skillful method of capture. The Morrígan (“terror” or “phantom queen”) or Mórrígan (“great queen”) is a figure
from Irish mythology who appears to have once been a goddess, although she is not explicitly referred to as such
in the texts. She is usually seen as a terrifying figure associated with war and death on the battlefield, sometime
appearing in the form of a carrion crow.15
NGĀ MANU O AOTEAROA/NATIVE NEW ZEALAND BIRDS
PROFILING HUIA & KERERŪ
TE MANU HUIA
The Huia is one of the many native New Zealand birds now
extinct. It is joined by the moa, the koreke and the piopio. The
Huia belongs to a family found only in New Zealand, a family so
ancient that no relation is found elsewhere. Only the Moa and
the Kiwi are likely to be more ancient. Scientific names are;
Heteralocha gouldii, Heteralocha acutirostris.
Appearance, Habitat & Characteristics
The Huia is the only bird in the world that has different beaks for
different genders. The bill of female is curved and longer while
the male bill is straight and shorter. The body feathers were dark
blue/black with an overall greenish sheen–especially around
the head. It’s wattles are one of it’s most notable
features – they are bright orange, even more so when the bird
was very healthy. It’s plumage was always best and most
beautiful in July – apparently Māori hunting parties would wait
until then to ensure the most beautiful feathers. Most famous
aspect of the bird’s appearance was the white band at end of
the tail feathers. In size the Huia were slightly larger than the
Walter Lawry Buller, Huia, in ‘Birds of New Zealand’, 1888.
introduced Australian magpie.
The Huia was only found in the lower North Island, mostly in the Ruahine, Tararua, Rimutaka, Akatarawa and
Kaimanawa mountain ranges. It was largely a ground bird – could be seen hopping about in undergrowth and
also found in deep, long grass. This made it much easier to trap. The female’s beak was very good for getting
grubs in old rotten logs – the abundant huhu beetle grub was it’s main food.
13 Dictionary of World myth, Roy Willis, Duncan Baird Publisher Ltd, 2000, pp 56
14 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike_%28mythology%29, accessed 12/10/07
15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morr%C3ADgan, accessed 13/10/07
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
6
The Huia also ate worms and insects and the small ‘ponga’
berry. The Huia was a quiet, but social bird. They lived in
sexual pairs and mated for life which eventually contributed
to their extinction. They bred once a year and usually had 2
babies. The male and females shared this incubation time, although the larger portion of this was done by the female. They
would also mutually search for food, often working together
– the male would use his shorter beak to break up bark of a
tree, thus allowing the female to access grubs with her longer,
curved beak. They had a whistle-like, quick twittering song
that has been described as having ‘soft
flute-like notes’. But were not strong flyers. Huia birds were
often described as not being super smart - it’s curious,
unafraid nature made it vulnerable. Hunters would mimic its
song and Huia would pop out into a clearing to see who was
calling them.
Te Ao Māori
Traditionally, the Huia feather was a display of great prestige
worn only by the highest of chiefly rank. This head adornment
of feathers is called a ‘raukura’. The beak and wattles of the
bird were also worn as earrings. A plume of 12 feathers – a
complete tail of the Huia was a very highly prized item called
a ‘marereko’–reserved only for chiefs of prestige and worn for
very special occasions or in battle. Originally the Huia feather
was only for those of established high chieftain rank, but with
the arrival of the Pākehā, the traditional structures of
chieftainship were undermined and gradually many Māori
who considered they had claim to chiefly rank desired at least
one to wear for special occasions. Huia numbers had been
low for years before Pākehā arrived as they were so highly
desired, but the hunting of them grew out of proportion once Pākehā traders arrived. Over 600 were caught in
Kaimanawa alone in the year 1874.
Beautifully carved wooden boxes were made to look after Huia feathers – these are called ‘waka huia’ and are
still made to hold family treasures. The kōtuku (white heron), toroa (albatross) and amokura (red-tailed tropicbird)
feathers were the other native feathers of similar esteemed value. In 1893 a waka Huia was found in a rocky
cliffside in Otago, that contained 70 Huia feathers and kākā feathers too. It dated from pre-European contact
– historians believe these feathers would have been traded for pounamu between North and South Island iwi.
In te ao Māori/Māori worldview, tapu protected these birds – this was a bird tapu above all other birds in te ao
Māori. This understanding of individual tapu was broken down by Pākehā ways during the process of
colonisation. The tapu of the bird and the tapu of the chiefs and the tapu of the head were all connected in the
practice of high chiefs wearing Huia feathers, as the tapu of all three elements was heightened by their
connection.
Demand & Extinction
Many different influences contributed to the extinction of the Huia bird. One of the most significant was the
large-scale destruction of native bush and homelands, especially in the mountain ranges. The introduction of
guns played a large role as the Huia were not strong flyers and became easy targets for hunters. Pākehā traders
paid (comparatively) large amounts of money to Māori hunters for the birds and their feathers, there was large
demand worldwide for Huia feathers – especially for museums and other collectors.
The introduction of foreign pests—as rabbit numbers got out of control, particularly in the 1880s, ferrets, stoats,
weasels were introduced to combat this. Diseases brought with the colonists and introduced pests contributed to
the falling numbers of Huia. The February 1892 edition of the ‘New Zealand Gazette’ shows that Govenor General the Earl of Onslow introduced the ‘Wilds Birds Protection Act’ prohibiting the hunting of Huia. However this
seems to have gone largely ignored. The Earl also attempted to establish bird sanctuaries on; Resolution Island,
Fiordland on 6th August 1891; Little Barrier Island, 26th September 1895; Kapiti Island, 31st May 1900; Motu
Ngaro Island, Marlborough, 24th October 1901.
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
7
The problem escalated after the 1900 Duke and Duchess of York visit to New Zealand. During a pōwhiri for the
visitors – one wahine presented the Duke with a Huia feather taken from her own headwear. This story and
image was relayed throughout the country and commonwealth. Following this was a huge fashion trend of
wearing raukura and therefore a heightened demand for Huia feathers. By 1917, traders would pay around £1 for
one feather. It is recorded that £5 was paid in Wanganui in the same year for a single feather. This is ten years
after the last Huia was sighted. In 1835, Rev Williams Yate’s ‘Account of New Zealand’ we see the first recorded
reference of the Huia bird. After this, Museums ‘required’ specimens – several thousand were sent to United
States and Europe at that time.
John Gould was the first orthinologist to examine and name the Huia. He wrote about it in ‘The Synopsis of the
Life of Birds of Australia and Adjacent Islands’ published in London, 1837. Sir Walter Buller did extensive study
on the Huia as well, he was most prolific orthinologist in New Zealand at that time. Buller also hunted many Huia
during his study and outlandishly sent a live Huia to London Zoo in 1870. Where it died shortly after.
It is estimated that a very small number of Huia birds probably survived in secluded pockets of native bush after
1907, however that was the last official sighting of the Huia. There are currently about 119 Huia specimens in
New Zealand museum collections. Most of these are not on display and some are in a very deteriorated state.
TE MANU KERERŪ
New Zealand wood pigeon, Kererū, Hemiphaga
novaeseelandiae. In Northland and parts of Canterbury the
bird is known as Kūkupa.
Appearance, Habitat & Characteristics
The Kererū is a forest bird, favouring
lowland forest but it can now be
found in bush patches on farmland,
in gardens and in city parks. The
Kererū is a plump purple and
bottle-green pigeon with a white
bib, and red eyes, bill and legs.
Kererū are about 51 centimetres
long and 650 grams in weight.
Kererū, Kōkako and Weka are the
only native birds that can eat large
fruits (more than 12 millimetres in
diameter). Only Kererū can distribute
the seed of the North Island’s
Miro Seeds and foliage. New
large-fruited trees, such as tawa,
Zealand Plant Conservation
taraire, karaka, kohekohe and pūriri. Network. Photograph by Jeremy
Rolfe. www.teara.co.nz
Kererū also spread the seeds of
another 60 forest plants. They are entirely vegetarian not
even feeding insects to their young.
Unlike most birds, pigeons can drink without raising their
heads to swallow. Kererū also eat the fruit of native plants
such as miro, kahikatea, nīkau and coprosma, and
introduced plants like privet, elderberry and plums. When fruit is scarce most birds also eat leaves, favouring
kōwhai, tree lucerne, willow and poplar. Kererū fly considerable distances in search of food, including across
30-kilometre Foveaux Strait, between Stewart Island and Invercargill. Kererū is usually a silent bird, a soft “ku”
is sometimes heard along with the growl of the hen bird and the slightly sibilant whistle of welcome to their own.
The various Māori names, Kuku, Kererū, Kukupa, tend to be onomatopoeic. They also reputed to sometimes
shower in light rain, turning over with feet firmly gripping a branch to allow the rain to fall on their bellies.
Kererū. Photographer, Tom Lynch
Nesting usually occurs in spring or early summer and their mating is characterised by spectacular aerial displays,
by both sexes but particularly males, close to the time of egg laying. They lay one egg which is peculiarly long,
narrow and white. Both adults brood the egg during the 28 day incubation period.
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
8
Te Ao Māori
Kererū become especially thirsty while eating berries, something Māori used to their advantage in hunting them.
They would place drinking troughs with nooses beneath berry bearing trees. To Māori, the plump Kererū was an
important game bird, being plentiful and tasty eating. The Kererū’s colourful feathers were used to make cloaks.
Their tail feathers adorned tahā huahua and pātua - containers for holding preserved birds. In one tradition,
the Kererū’s feathers were originally white. The legendary trickster Māui wanted to find out where his mother,
Taranga, went during the day. He hid her skirt to delay her, but she left anyway. Māui changed into a white Kererū
to follow her, still holding the skirt, which became the bird’s beautiful multi-coloured plumage.
For many tribes, the main fowling season in autumn was a vital
part of life. A variety of birds were taken—Kererū (wood pigeons),
Kākā (parrots) and Tūī were particularly important. They were
often preserved in their own fat. Feathers of different birds were
also used for adornment and making cloaks. The waka manu,
also known as a waka kererū, was a wooden trough filled with
water and left in a tree or on its trunk. When the birds became
used to the trough, snares were set. Waka manu were often used
in miro trees, as birds feeding on miro berries got thirsty. They
would drink from the trough and become caught in the nooses.
The troughs were often quite long – around 1.5 metres. Waka
Waka kererū (pigeon snare), about 1900. Photographer unknown,
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa(B843)
kererū were usually made from tōtara, which was carved out.
A pair of mānuka sticks was placed at each end of the wood blocks, and harakeke (flax) snares suspended between the sticks. The snares were then placed in the trees, ready for a thirsty Kererū. The Kererū would go to the
waka kererū to drink, place their head through one of the flax loops, and, as they lowered their head, the noose
would tighten, ensnaring the bird. Kererū would then be cooked and preserved in their own fat in tahā huahua
(gourds). During snaring season, fowlers would go out at dawn, check the snares, remove any captured birds,
and reset the snares again. If Kererū were plentiful, this would be done twice a day.
Demand & Endangerment
Like many long lived birds, Kererū breed very slowly. Studies in Northland, Hawkes Bay and Marlborough have
found that fewer than 15% of chicks survive long enough to become independent. If this decline continues the
species will not be able to sustain itself. Although habitat loss is a major concern, the most serious threat comes
from predators, especially Homo sapiens. They seem totally unafraid of humans which is much to their detriment.
There are two sub species, novaeseelandiae, which breed on the three main islands and chathamensis, which
breed on the Chatham Islands and which are a larger bird. A third sub species is extinct, spadicea which survived
on Norfolk Island until the 1800s.
In 1865, a law was passed against using snares and traps
to catch native birds–shooting was the only approved
form of hunting. This restricted traditional Māori fowling
methods. The law was repealed in 1866, but reinstated in
1907. In the 1880s and 1890s, the Kererū hunting season
became an issue between European hunters and Māori.
Hunters wanted the season open in early autumn when the
Kererū was still reasonably agile, making it more suitable
as a game bird. Māori hunted the bird for food, not sport,
so they wanted it to be fatter. They preferred late autumn
and winter for the open season. In 1907, preserving native birds after the hunting season was banned. This was
to stop large numbers of Kererū being stored and sold by
hunters. However, Māori preserved Kererū in the birds’ own
fat for personal use. This was recognised in a 1910
amendment which gave Māori the right to hold potted
birds.
Hunters with kererū, Nelson Provincial Museum, Tyree Studio Collection Reference: 176893/3 Hunters pose by their haul of kererū, around 1900.
At the end of the 20th century, Far North kaumātua (elder)
Sir Graham Latimer caused a public outcry when he publicly admitted to providing a Kūkupa (as Kererū are known
in the north) for community leader Dame Whina Cooper on
her deathbed. However, in the 2000s, a number of tribal
groups have come out against this practice and taken part
in Kererū protection programmes. Information gathered
from www.teara.co.nz, www.tepapa.govt.nz, www.nzbirds.
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
9
PRE AND POST VISIT ACTIVITIES
To get the best value from an LEOTC visit teachers should plan lead-in and follow-up activities. This will help students observe at City Gallery in a more focused way and understand concepts more fully. Activities are a suggestion only and can
be adapted to the age/level achievement objectives of your class.
PRIMARY & INTERMEDIATE
CURRICULUM LINKS:
• Visual Art: Developing Practical Knowledge
(PK); Developing Ideas (DI); Understanding Arts
in Context (UC); Communicating & Interpreting
(CI)
•English: Listening, Viewing and Speaking
•Social studies: Place and Environment
•Science: Making Sense of the Living World
• Music: Developing Practical Knowledge
• Marautanga Māori: Nga Toi ataata, Te Reo
Māori, Tikanga a Iwi, Pūtaiao, Toi Pūoro
KUPU HOU/
NEW VOCABULARY
Ngata Dictionary
• Manu – bird, kite
• Ngahere - forest
• Nguru – flute, grunt
• Te ao Māori - Māori worldview
• Weka – wood-hen, Gallirallus
australis
(for a comprehensive list
please view the glossary)
TOPIC THEMES/IDEAS:
• Conservation and preservation of
native/endangered New Zealand
birds.
• Mythological stories of NZ and
World cultures
• Examine how different groups view,
use and interact with the natural
environment.
• Exploring the relationship between
music and visual arts.
PRE VISIT SUGGESTIONS
Junior Primary
• Visit Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, learn about and view New Zealand native birds in their natural habitat.
• Discover the role of New Zealand native birds in Māori mythology. Choose one of the following stories to
interpret into a drama or dance - ‘Hatupatu and Kurangaituku’ (the bird women) or the story of ‘Māui Meets His
Father’ (when he changed into a Kererū).
• Explore some of the many different cultural legends about birds, there are many stories where birds morph into
humans and vice versa.
Senior Primary
• Birds were an integral part of early Māori society. A source of food, clothing, adornment and for ceremony.
Māori had a well developed order for conserving and protecting forests and waterways from being depleted
through over hunting, known as rāhui (prohibition) and tapu Māori (sacred/restricted). Learn about traditional
Māori forms of conservation, while studying an endangered New Zealand bird, research conservation projects
that have been designed to help revive, preserve and protect bird populations.
• Explore some of the many different cultural legends about birds, there are many stories where birds morph into
humans and vice versa.
• Study the life of Ornithologist Walter Buller, a notably controversial historic figure; he was an authority on New
Zealand’s native birds and a magistrate in the Native Land Court. He was immortalized in Bill Hammond’s Buller
Bird Series.
• Observe, photograph and identify the birds in your school environment, local bird sanctuary, park or native
bush.
AT CITY GALLERY WELLINGTON
JUNIOR PRIMARY - Years 1-4
• Students will participate in an interactive tour of Bill Hammond’s exhibition.
• By examining and discussing a selection of Hammond works, students will uncover references to some of New
Zealand’s endangered birds, and relate the mythological creatures represented in the works to bird myths and
legends of Aotearoa/New Zealand and beyond.
• In the classroom, students will be introduced to the Māori legend about Māui transformed into a Kererū and
respond by constructing their own 3D mythical bird mask using a range of mixed media.
SENIOR PRIMARY – Years 5-8
• Students will examine a selection of Bill Hammond’s paintings, discuss and investigate his technical approach,
thematic concerns and the influence of music. The discussion will also explore Hammond’s conceptual
consideration of: the endangerment of natural wildlife, mythological representations of human/bird forms and
the role mood plays in his works.
• Classes participating in workshops will create their own layered painting using a variety of mixed media. In the
classroom, they will incorporate a variety of Hammond’s techniques to build up a painted mythical habitat for a
human/bird form.
• Students will learn dry-brush painting techniques to embellish their landscape with metallic paints, draw their
own mythical bird form from exemplars and layer their painting with a variety of techniques while listening to a
selection of music linked to the exhibition.
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
10
POST VISIT ACTIVITIES
Junior Primary:
• Research these two extinct native New Zealand giant birds – the moa and the Haast Eagle (Pouakai). Visit Te
Papa’s Mountains to Sea exhibition to view the Pouakai on display, and the Blood, Earth, Fire exhibition to view
the Moa displays.
• Explore some of the many different cultural legends about birds, there are many stories where birds morph into
humans and vice versa.
• Create your own bird sounds with leaves from the New Zealand bush. Waxy, shinny leaves are best for
imitating bird sounds such as Karamu or Taupata leaves from the coprosma species are ideal and widely
available, experiment with other varieties. Use this resource for tips on producing sounds with leaves.
Senior Primary:
• Create your own bird sounds with leaves from the New Zealand bush. Waxy, shinny leaves are best for
imitating bird sounds such as Karamu or taupata leaves from the coprosma species are ideal and widely
available, experiment with other varieties. Use this resource for tips on producing sounds with leaves.
• Combine a visit to City Gallery with a visit to Te Papa viewing the following exhibitions: Wings exhibition
resource and unit plans available online: http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/wings/matauranga.htm and view different
New Zealand native birds. At the Mana Whenua exhibition, view kākahu and korowai. Learn about the use of bird
feathers as a resource in making these special cloaks. The cloaks enhancing the mana (prestige) of an
individual. Also in the Mana Whenua exhibition view the taonga pūoro (Māori musical instruments) and hear
sound recordings of the various instruments.
NOTE: Explore the Secondary activities listed below as extension options for your gifted and talented students
NCEA STANDARDS VISUAL
ARTS
• Visual Arts 1.1
Research art and artworks from
Māori and European traditions and
their contexts
• Visual Arts 1.4
Extend ideas in media and
techniques to produce new work
• Visual Arts 3.1
Research and analyse approaches
within established painting practice
INTEGRATED NCEA
STANDARDS
• Science 2.3 Describe the
factors and processes involved in the evolution of New Zealand’s plants and animals.
• Art History 2.2
Examine subjects and themes in art.
• Art History 3.2
Describe the meaning of iconographic motifs.
• Classical Studies 2.5
Communicate knowledge of an aspect of the
classical world.
TOPIC THEMES/IDEAS:
• Preserving native/endangered New
Zealand birds and Ornithology (the
study of birds) in New Zealand.
• New Zealand birdlife as captured in
the artwork of leading contemporary
New Zealand artists.
• Mythological stories of New Zealand and World cultures.
SECONDARY
PRE VISIT SUGGESTIONS
• Examine and compare the cultural perspective of Māori and Pākeha toward conserving the wildlife of New
Zealand forests both past and present. Find examples of how wildlife has been captured in Māori and European
art works.
·• Hammond travelled to Tokyo, Japan in 1990 and the influence of Asian art can be found in much of Hammond’s work. Before visiting the gallery introduce students to a range of Japanese woodblock prints and decorative arts, view and discuss images.
AT CITY GALLERY
• During a tour of Jingle Jangle Morning, students will investigate the compositions and techniques Bill Hammond uses in his painting practice. Discussion will be focused on: the use of a restricted colour palette flattened
layering techniques, references to music, the use of repeated motifs, symbolism of human/bird forms, use of a
variety of painting surfaces. DI, UC.
· • Students will be encouraged to analyse and comment on the ideas and concepts expressed in Hammonds
paintings, including ecological preservation themes, mood and emotion, cultural representations of mythical human/bird forms and spirituality. DI, CI, UC.
POST VISIT ACTIVITIES
• Research the ways in which Bill Hammond has appropriated imagery and explored environmental issues in his
works. Use drawing processes and procedures to record information and identify pictorial ideas from Hammond’s
work. Make a series of two-dimensional works (e.g., prints, photographs, paintings) based on Hammond’s works
informed by other artists working with the same subject matter and in the same field.
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
11
GLOSSARY OF TE REO MĀORI WORDS
Aotearoa
Amokura
Atua
Hapū
Huia
Iwi
Karanga
Kai
Karanga manu
- The Land of the Long White Cloud
- native New Zealand red-tailed tropicbird
- gods and spiritual beings
- sub-tribe
- native New Zealand wattle bird, now extinct
- people, tribal group
- call, shout, related person
- food, to eat
- small flute musical instrument, mimics bird
song
Karanga manu tuarōria - leaf blowing technique used to mimic
bird song
Karanga weka - musical instrument made from sandstone,
used to mimic bird song
Kaumātua
- elder
Kaupapa Māori - Māori contexts, concerns, issues
Kākā
- parrot
Kererū (or kūkupa) - native New Zealand wood pigeon
Kiore
- rat
Kiwi
- native New Zealand nocturnal, flightless
bird, endangered
Kōauau pūtangitangi - another term for ‘karanga manu’
Kōtuku
- native New Zealand white heron
Kurī
- dog
Kupu hou
- new vocabulary
Māui
- demi-god, a well-known Polynesian
character of narratives. He performed a
number of amazing feats. Also known as
Māui-tikitiki-o-Taranga and Māui-pōtiki.
Māori
- normal, aboriginal
Mana
- prestige
Manu
- bird, kite
Marautanga
- curriculum, syllabus
Marereko
- a headdress, a plume of 12 feathers of the
Huia tail
Mauri
- life force
Mātauranga Māori - Māori knowledge
Moa
- native New Zealand large, flightless bird,
now extinct
Moana
- sea, lake
Pākehā
- non-Māori, of European descent
Pātua
- container for holding preserved birds
Poiawhiowhio
- musical instrument made from a gourd
Nguru
- flute, grunt
Ngahere
- forest
Pounamu
- native New Zealand nephrite jade
Pou rāhui
- a post to mark a ‘rāhui’
Puoro
- sing, sing bass, timbre of voice
Rāhui
- ‘no trespass’ sign, embargo, flock of
birds, herd, quarantine
Raukura
- feather plume, treasure.
Tahā huahua
- container for holding preserved birds
Tangata whenua - people of the land, indigenous, citizen,
host
Taonga
- property, treasure, apparatus, accessory,
thing
Taonga pūoro - musical instrument
Tapu
- sacred, spiritual restrictions, set apart
Taranga
- Māui’s mother
Tōhunga
- expert, specialist, priest, artist
Te ao Māori
- Māori worldview
Te reo Māori
- the Māori language
Tikanga
- culture, custom, practice
Tohunga
- Māori priest
Toi Māori
- Māori artforms
Toroa
- native New Zealand albatross
Tūī
- native New Zealand parson bird
Waka
- canoe, vehicle, container, descendants of
historic canoe.
Waka kererū
- trap for catching kererū
Waka huia
- customary carved wooden treasure box
Whare mātā
- a place where fowling and fishing
equipment was made.
Waka manu
- another term for ‘waka kererū’
Weka
- wood-hen, Gallirallus australis
Whakaara
- a charm, to arouse, motivate, inspire,
erect, put up, inflame.
- Ngata Māori Dictionary by H.M. Ngata
- The Reed Dictionary of Modern Māori by P.M. Ryan.
- Te Aka Māori-English, English-Māori Dictionary and
Index. by John Moorfield.
FURTHER READING
Gregory O’Brien, ‘Lands and Deeds’,
Godwit Publishing, 1996
Brian Flintoff, ‘Taonga Pūoro, Singing Treasures,
Potton Publishing, 2004
Warren Pohatu. ‘Taniwharau : guardians of the land,’
Reed, Auckland, N.Z, 2007
Elsdon Best, Forest lore of the Maori.
Wellington: Te Papa Press, 2005, p. 408
(originally published 1942).
USEFUL REFERENCES & WEBSITES
• www.citygallery.org.nz
• http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/Conservation/KaitiakitangaGuardianshipAndConservation/en
• http://www.inza.co.nz/artist/RN/RN-instruments.shtml
• http://www.radionz.co.nz/cfm/programmes/hearapuoro
• http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/NativeBirdsAndBats/LargeForestBirds/4/en
• http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/wings/matauranga.htm
• http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/English/Learning/OnlineResources/Matariki2007/MatarikiMusic/
• www.nzbirds.co.nz
• http://www.kereru.org.nz/downloads/Kereru%20Unit%20Plan%20-%20Science%20-%20Social%20Studies.pdf
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ui_(M%C4%81ori_mythology)
• http://www.sanctuary.org.nz/education/resource_material.html
• http://www.pataka.org.nz/uploads/60548/birds.html
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
13
POST VISIT ACTIVITIES CONTINUED
•Select art works by five artists who have used birds as a theme or subject matter. Examine how each artist has
treated the subject matter within their particular context or style. Compare formal properties, underlying ideas
and contexts to identify similarities and difference in personal, regional or period styles. Choose from a range of
New Zealand artists’ works ie: John Bevan Ford, Don Binney, Rob Cherry, Bruce Connew, Shane Cotton, Jim Dennison, Leanne Williams, Paul Dibble, Charlotte Fisher, Fred Graham, Kowhai Grace, Michael Harrison, Matt Hunt,
Gavin Hurley, John Johns, Maureen Lander, Tony de Lautour, Saskia Leek, Richard Lewer, Colin McCahon, Andrew
McLeod, Moana Nepia, Brendan O’Brien, Hamish Palmer, Seraphine Pick, Martin Poppelwell, Fiona Pardington,
Michael Parekowhai, Peter Peryer, Paul Raynor, Brydee Rood, Jeff Thomson, Ronnie van Hout, Warren Viscoe,
John Walsh, Robin White, Emily Wolfe and/or Carey Young.
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
12
IMAGE CREDITS (clockwise):
Bill Hammond, Unknown European Artist, 2004. Acrylic on
canvas. The Stevenson Collection;
Bill Hammond, Waiting for Buller. Bar, 1993, Acrylic on
canvas. Collection of the artist, on loan to Christchurch Art
Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu;
Bill Hammond, Whistlers Mothers 2, 2000. Pencil, ink and
acrylic on paper. Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o
Tāmaki;
Bill Hammond, Whistlers Mothers, Sticks and Stones, 2000.
Collection of J. B. Gibbs Trust.
All images contained within this Education
Resource appear courtesy of the artist and
are for education and research purposes
only. The artist retains copyright of the
images. No image may be copied or
reproduced without permission of the
artist.
Education resource compiled by Kay Benseman, Educator and Julie Noanoa, Educator, Māori, City Gallery Wellington, Te Whare Toi 2007.
City Gallery Wellington Schools Education Programmes are supported by LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom), funded by the Ministry of Education.
14