Gift of The Peaks

Gift of The Peaks

  • 900mm Round
  • Acrylic, newsprint and compressed charcoal on board
  • 2022
  • $4100

In September 1887, chief Horonuku Te Heuheu Tūkino of Ngāti Tūwharetoa gifted the peaks of Tongariro, Ruapehu and Ngāuruhoe to the nation – a process which led to the creation of New Zealand’s first National Park and the first in the world to be gifted by a country’s indigenous people. Horonuku wanted to protect the peaks, declaring his connection to the land: “Ko te Ha o tāku Maunga, ko tāku Manawa.
The Breath of my Mountain is my Heart”

This artwork topographically charts Tongoriro National Park, comparing the ‘Gift of the Peaks’ (white boundary 1887) with that which exists today (yellow boundary). Now a World Heritage site, the park is recognised for its universally significant cultural and natural values.
(ABWN 8102 W5279 Box 344/ WGN 742 – collections.archives.govt.nz)