The pou begin their journey home at part of the repatriation ceremony at the South Australian Museum. Photo: South Australian Museum
They depict Māori ancestors, they have been described as cultural treasures, they are made from wood and shell - and they are now returning home after more than a century overseas.
Two pou - ornate carvings - that have been in the South Australian Museum's collection for more than 130 years are now destined for New Zealand after a ceremony in Adelaide on Tuesday.
The repatriation has been made possible by the work of many in the Māori community, and is part of efforts by museums around Australia to give back cultural objects to their countries of origin.
The SA Museum said the outcome followed a "historic decision" to return the carvings to the Tamatea Pōkai Whenua (TPW) cultural corporation, based at Hastings.
"These carvings are a snapshot of our past," said TPW chair Pōhatu Paku, who was in Adelaide for the ceremony.
"It's very important in the sense that they are carrying almost like a time-stamp."
The wood carvings, with abalone shell inlay, depict four Māori ancestors.
The SA Museum said the pou had been in its collection since 1891 and were part of a group of about 60 that was commissioned by Māori chief and parliamentarian Karaitiana Takamoana for a wharenui, in the 1870s.
But the project was abandoned after he died and the items were instead sent to Dunedin, before being dispersed across the globe.
On Tuesday, the museum handed back the carvings to descendants of Karaitiana Takamoana at a poroporoaki, featuring traditional song.
The pou on display at the South Australian Museum. Photo: South Australian Museum
Brothers Reyne and Zenon Waetford were delighted to be in attendance.
"It's pretty heartwarming," Reyne said.
"I found it pretty emotional," Zenon added.
"I'm not fluent in Māori, but it's almost like you can feel the words that are being spoken, and you can almost tell what's going on, just by body language."
Jonathon Waetford, from Māori cultural group Kotahitangā O Adelaide, was part of the ceremony and said it felt like a "farewell".
"It feels very liberating to witness a prominent museum release these treasures," he said.
"It also fills me with hope - this being one of the first [museums], that I know of, to be able to give these treasures back."
The SA Museum is understood to be the first institution outside of New Zealand to return its pou to the TPW.
"It brings a lot of healing back to us," Mr Paku said.
"All of the museums [in New Zealand] that have been housing these pou have agreed for their return, which is great.
"The South Australian Museum here in Adelaide is the first of the international repatriation, so it's very exciting - shortly we will be looking at North America and talking with some of the museums over there, so it's a staged approach."
Paku's son RJ said the pou had intergenerational significance.
"It's important for young ones to carry on the knowledge and let it be passed down," he said.
The repatriation ceremony at the South Australian Museum. Photo: South Australian Museum
Repatriation of cultural remains and artefacts stored in museums has been gaining momentum across the world in recent years.
In 2019, the remains of 11 Kaurna ancestors in the Natural History Museum in London were returned to country in Adelaide's south, and Germany's Grassi Museum last year returned Kaurna artefacts which had spent more than 180 years overseas.
The pou will be transported to Te Whare o Heretaunga, near Hastings.
The journey of the two-and-a-half-metre carvings back to New Zealand will take several days - they will be driven to Melbourne, then loaded onto a plane.
A freight company that specialises in the transport of cultural items will oversee the carvings' trip home.
The SA Museum's Aboriginal heritage and repatriation manager Anna Russo said the return was an act of mutual respect.
"It's particularly important for us because we need to build our relationships with traditional custodians, we need to be responsible allies, authentic allies," she said.
"For us here at the museum, we received the claim maybe about 12 months ago and just worked on it and started meeting with the claimants and talking about their ambitions.
"We need to work with traditional custodians to bring out the best stories in the collections, and when that means returning the collections … they should go home."
- ABC
