The carvings, which had been commissioned by the college, had only been installed on Monday at the entrance to the Te Maramara a Tane Maori Studies block at the school.

The sculpture is crafted from a tree that is estimated to be over 2,500 years old. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Wiremu Puke carved a replica carving in totara wood of a wooden panel collected by Joseph Banks, botanist of Captain James Cook’s first visit to New Zealand in 1769.