After having strolled down town we decided to visit the Maritime Museum, though it didn't look too big from the outside. We were utterly misled by the outside aspect and size, once we walked in and realised the Museum was much bigger and much more interesting than we had initially expected.
Waitangi, Gaff Cutter - Built by Robert Logan Sr, Waitangi is an outstanding example of late 19th century design and craftsmanship.
The flowing tides - Considereda traditional Maori Art form, tukutuku panels grace the interior walls of meeting houses. The patterns are supposed to play an important role in the storytelling. In this particulat case, the panels especially made for the Museum by women of Ngati Whatua Orakei, the local iwi tribe, represent proverbs of the Ngai Tai people.
I was taken by surprised when I passed a framed picture of a Maori young lady, who unexpectedly started talking to me. That's what new technology is about and what an effect it has on people !.. I felt the approach was rather interesting as she proceeded to introduce herself and the important role the Polynesain navigators had in steering their canoes towards the country.
We moved onto exploring the different types of traditional canoes, some of which were particularly interesting, both regarding the way they had been built and the ocean voyages they covered.
Sema Makawa - a sacred canoe fit for a chief. Sema Makawa is an outstandingly beautiful Fijian drua like a double hulled canoe used for ocean voyages and warfare. Drua are said to have sailed at considerable speed once the bow could become the stern and vice versa.
Each of the bonito fish (bonito fishing still considered as significant in Solomon islands) depicted on the bow, hull and stern of this traditional canoe have been captured in the jaws of birds or dogs
Turuturukiteniu - sailing canoe from Solomon islands. Highly dependant on fishing and transportation between remote islands Solomon seaworthy forms evolved significantly.
Apart from the canoes and historic vessels there were quite a few interesting artifacts, from shark calling bells made out of coconut shells to menus presented on the earlier cruise ships, scrimshaw Art and references to the role played by the Portuguese in the maritime routes in a quest for riches and the unknown.
Several sea related aspects and the country's maritime past were focused on in the various galleries and they were, I must confess, astonishing pieces of information.
The gallery dedicated to the whale catching reminded me of the ones I saw in Faial, one of the Azorean islands, whose inhabitants were involved in such activities. There were a few examples of scrimshaw carved on sperm whale teeth and whale bone as well, apart from some reanacting of such difficult sea "adventures".
I couldn't resist looking out from time to time and getting the real dimension of the number of yachts docked in the Viaduct Harbour.
The upper floor almost entirely dedicated to the history of the yachts cup New Zealand won and the Black Magic was equally interesting.
Before we left we still strolled around some galleries displaying replicas of ship liners and the typical kiwi batches (holiday homes with very basic living conditions and rudimentary facilities), as well as a small gallery on Maori fishing and lighthouses.
This fairly big Museum exceeded my expectations because the truth is that when we stepped onto it I couldn't possibly imagine it was so much bigger and interesting as it turned out to be. The sun was shining and we took advantage of that fact, having reached the food Court too late to have dinner and having had to select another restaurant (which ended up being an Indian one, fairly close to the hotel we were staying at).
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