​TE HONO KI AOTEAROA - The Link to New Zealand

The ceremonial waka taua Te Hono ki Aotearoa (The Link to New Zealand) was carved in 2010 and is based in the Netherlands at Volkenkunde Museum in Leiden. This is a 100 year partnership between the Museum and Toi Māori. Click this link for the Te Hono ki Aotearoa Documentary.

This waka is used a vehicle for promoting contemporary Māori arts on the world stage in Europe. Since handing over the waka to the Dutch in an elaborate ceremony on the picturesque Dutch canals during October 2010 in Leiden, it has been used in the following events;

• City of London Festival 2011 on the River Thames where New Zealand was the ‘Feature Country’ and was used to open the festival.
• Queens Diamond Jubilee Celebrations 2012 where the waka was the ‘Official Representative’ of New Zealand. The waka was one of 1000 vessels on the River Thames; 1.2 million people lined the shores to witness the occasion; 3.2 billion people around the world watched the televised event.
• Commemoration of the 100th centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele; waka used at Menin Gate ramparts ceremony, Belgium, October 2017.

​Toi Māori have also used other ceremonial waka taua as an iconic  feature to promote Māori arts globally;

• Golden Gate Bridge during ‘Māori Art Meets America’ in San Francisco 2005.
• The America’s Cup in Valencia, Spain in 2007.

Since 2010 Dutch rowers who have been trained as kaihoe for Te Hono ki Aoteaora have been hosted at the annual national waka pageant at Waitangi.