Inspiring a New Generation

I have vivid memories of Te Maori, and I am constantly reminded of that experience in my day-to-day tasks as the Collections Coordinator at the Australian Museum. I have the privilege of working with a diverse collections which represent the breadth of Pacific material, through to the ancient material culture belonging to the Indigenous peoples of Australia and Torres Strait. I’d suspect that a whole generation of specialists who work in the field of Cultural Heritage, were inspired by this watershed exhibition.

For me personally, the most memorable time of all would be during Tainui’s time on the paepae at the Auckland Art gallery. Our daily morning karakia “pai marire” conducted by matua Clark that took place at the feet of the enigmatic tupuna Uenuku was truly magical. Although a youngster at the time, and having limited knowledge about my identity, I took to the opportunity with vigor; this allowed me to interact with our treasures, and learn more about our rich culture, as we didn’t normally see too many positive examples elsewhere at that time.

Since this event, I have been on a steady path of progression that has allowed me to interact more with taonga, be inspired and educated by this interaction, and facilitate the connection between taonga and descendants, it’s extremely powerful and can be credited to such events.

Dion Peita