A new dawn for the James Henare Research Centre

At first light on 19 May, the James Henare Research Centre was re-cloaked in whakairo.

In a dawn ceremony under a clear sky, Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland and members of the Henare whānau gathered for the rededication of the nineteenth-century cottage, re-establishing its presence as a whare of rangahau Māori.

The ceremony was a moment of renewal for the centre, with significance for Māori research, Te Tai Tokerau and Tāmaki knowledge, and the University.

Among those present were Matua Bernard Henare, Chair of the James Henare Research Centre and son of Sir James Henare, and Peeni Henare, mokopuna of Sir James Henare, who spoke on behalf of the whānau. Their presence connected the ceremony back to the rangatira whose name, legacy and vision continue to guide the centre.

Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Māori Kaiarataki Michael Steedman led the rededication alongside Matua Bernard and described it as an honour.

“The University has the honour of being home for the James Henare Research Centre. We are privileged to be a custodian and curator of mātauranga important to Te Tai Tokerau and Māori.

“I’m also here as a nephew of Professor Sir Hugh Kawharu, the first director of the centre. It is a special privilege to be part of this ceremony alongside my colleagues to stand with the Henare whānau who are here today.”

About the whakairo

The whakairo were originally created more than 30 years ago under the direction of tohunga whakairo Dr Pakāriki Harrison, then artist-in-residence at the University and the master carver who oversaw the construction of Tāne-nui-a-Rangi, the wharenui at Waipapa Marae.

The works were carved by Pakāriki and his son Fred Harrison, with some of the original carving done using stone chisels, linking traditional and contemporary knowledge and technology.

The carvings were removed around 2014 after the wood suffered rot. Their restoration and return restore the centre to its original state, they preserve and protect the tapu and mauri of the centre, while visibly reaffirming its purpose as a Māori research space.

James Henare Research Centre Director Dr Tia Dawes says the carvings are central to the identity of the centre.

“The carvings are important to the centre’s sense of identity as a Māori research centre focused on the wellbeing of our people in Tāmaki and Te Tai Tokerau,” he says.

“They will clearly signal that it’s a Māori research centre and help nurture the mauri of the space.”

For Ngāti Porou carver Fred Harrison, restoring the whakairo has been both a return and a continuation.

He first worked on the carvings as a teenager alongside his father. More than three decades later, he has restored them with the help of his daughter, Aniwa Harrison.

“They should reach 100 years and still retain their original mauri and look and feel,” Fred says.

“They will remain transmitters and receivers of the knowledge of the people who pass through.”  

The restored entranceway carries layers of meaning. The koruru, the carved head above the doorway, represents Tāne as Kupu, the bearer of the words of knowledge.

The maihi, or horizontal lintel, sits above the doorway and represents a single layer in a whakapapa, with the carved figures symbolising different departments of knowledge: social, cultural, spiritual and economic.

Supporting the lintel are two amo, featuring Rua-te-pupuke and Rua-te-kukune, who represent the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge. Together, the whakairo speak to the role of the centre itself: a place where knowledge is gathered, protected, shared and carried forward.

While traditional stone chisels were used for some of the original work, Fred has used modern hand and power tools for the restoration. The whakairo have also been coated with resins and acrylic paints to help them withstand the elements.

The establishment of the James Henare Research Centre

The building at 18 Wynyard Street carries its own layered history. It was originally built in the 1860s as accommodation for married army officers during the land wars.

Around 60 years later, it was purchased by prominent architect Malcolm Draffin, who designed the Auckland Museum and expanded the house. In the 1960s, it was purchased for the University by Sir Ernest Davis and later modified to become the Vivien Leigh Theatre.

Its story is one of transformation: from a building tied to colonial military history, to a domestic home, to a cultural space, and now a Te Tai Tokerau and Māori presence advancing Māori interests within the University and wider community.

The establishment of the centre followed a series of hui in the early 1990s focused on Māori resources, research and the role of the University.

At Waimanoni in 1991, Professor Sir Hugh Kawharu and Dr Margaret Mutu were among those present as the need for a research programme to support Māori knowledge and resources in Te Tai Tokerau became clear.

At a later hui at Tāne-nui-a-Rangi, Dame Mira Szászy challenged the University, asking: “What is it that Waikato has and Auckland doesn’t that got the University of Waikato a Māori research centre?”

Sir Ian Barker, then Chancellor, replied: “You have made your case.”

The University Council later approved funding for the centre. The house nearest the Māori Studies and marae complex was chosen as its home, refurbished, and culturally, spiritually and artistically enhanced through the addition of the carved entranceway.

Sir Kawharu was appointed director and Dr Dorothy Urlich Cloher assistant director. The building was blessed and opened by Bishop Ben Te Haara in mid-1993, at a hui attended by more than 200 kaumātua and leaders from throughout Te Tai Tokerau.

The return of the whakairo symbolises rebirth and the beginning of a new phase.

At dawn, as the carvings were welcomed back to the whare, the ceremony restored taonga to their place and reaffirmed a centre established to hold, protect and advance Māori knowledge for generations to come.