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Cloak with a history comes home to Te Papa
Thursday, 19 February 2009
MAARTEN HOLL/
OUT OF THE CLOSET: Angela Ewing gifted a cloak given to her father in the 1950s to Te Papa. The historic garment had been hanging in the back of a cupboard.
Angela Ewingalways knew her British father's Maori cloak was special.
Covered in kiwi and kaka feathers, with a solitary kereru feather, the cloak, say museum experts is an unusual and distinctive taonga.
"I just didn't know how special", she said as she gave it back to New Zealand at Te Papa yesterday.
Ms Ewing, a Londoner visiting relatives in New Zealand, said her father came to this country on exchange as a teacher in 1953.
Though its origins are unknown, it is believed to have had an illustrious history, even adorning a prime minister's shoulders.
After working in Dannevirke, he was given the cloak, or korowai, by a colleague surnamed Walker and was able to take it out of New Zealand without trouble.
She thought her father had an idea of the cloak's significance but said he gave it to her when he next travelled to Asia.
Mr Walker was apparently a wrestler, and the cloak had been given to him by New Zealand's first Labour prime minister, Michael Joseph Savage, who shared a love of the sport, Ms Ewing said..
"I've been meaning to give it back for at least 20 years . it's just been stuck in a cupboard," she said.. Ms Ewing was presented with a greenstone necklace after she gave back the cloak. .
Te Papa planned to include the cloak in a publication in the next 18 months, as well as a public exhibition within four years, Mr Hakiwai said.
The stories and history of the cloak she had shared would help to track down its origins, he said.
Marks of the weaver were clear, from a series of small triangles in one corner to the solitary kereru feather.
Maori curator Awhina Tamarapa said the cloak was especially distinctive as it was decorated with three columns of feathers with tassels in between, and staff had dubbed it a "feather korowai".
. Further research would be done to try to locate the cloak's origins
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Neighbours see woman stabbed to death
– Tuesday, 27 January 2009
A woman has died from stab wounds and her partner is in hospital under police guard after a domestic incident in Dunedin witnessed by horrified neighbours.
Police said the 21-year-old woman died from stab wounds following an incident in suburban St Kilda last night. A man, who police say was her partner, was in a stable condition in Dunedin hospital and under police guard.
Mr McGregor said there had been five 111 calls and police were particularly interested in speaking with those callers.
No-one else was being sought in relation to the stabbing, however, police were seeking further witnesses to help with their inquiry.
Detective Senior Sergeant Steve McGregor said 36 detectives and police staff were working on the case.
"While we have already spoken with a number of people and are continuing to do so today, we are also keen to hear from anybody else who may have witnessed the events surrounding this incident, which involved an argument and physical altercation on Bay View Road shortly after 9pm last evening," he said.
It is understood that the stabbing was sparked by a domestic incident and the man's wounds were self-inflicted.
"She was covered in blood.
A neighbour described seeing a woman running down a road covered in blood with a man chasing her. . .
"Another guy from the house tried to stop him .I saw a guy chasing the girl down the middle of the road," he told The Otago Daily Times. . ."
The witness said the man stabbed himself three or four times in the chest, collapsed, then got to his feet before stabbing himself again. then he just started to stab himself.
The woman was understood to have gone to a neighbouring house to seek help.
Another neighbour said the woman had blood pouring from her arm as she ran along the road.
No-one else was being sought in relation to the incident.
When police arrived they moved crowds away from the scene and set up a cordon.
Members of the public with any information should contact them, he said.
Mr McGregor said police were setting up a caravan near the address at the Kings High School end of Bay View Road.
– with
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A post mortem was due to be carried out today
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Hunted man nabbed
By MICHELLE DUFF – Manawatu Standard Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Manawatu Standard
CALL OUT: A man handed himself after police received calls about a man wielding a gun in Palmerston North.
A slug gun-wielding young man sparked an armed police callout in Palmerston North last night before handing himself in at a cordon less than half an hour later.
Police set up a road block stretching between Malden and McGregor streets in Milson Line about 6.
Senior Sergeant Brett Amas, of Palmerston North police, said a call had been received from an address on Milson Line, where the man was involved in a domestic incident.30pm, after it was reported a young man could be on the loose with a slug gun.
But the man then ran out the back entrance of the property, and his family feared he had taken another slug gun with him out onto the street, Mr Amas said.
It appeared the man had produced a slug gun during the argument, which was then wrestled off him by a family member.
"It was removed by a family member, but it was believed he may be in possession of another one. Charges had not yet been laid last night. .
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Festival-goer faces bus theft charge
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
A ToastMartinboroughreveller was left with more than just a hangover after allegedly stealing a bus, only to crash it moments later and fall flat on his face in front of security guards.
Sunday's festivities, which drew 10,000 wine and food lovers, were drawing to a close when the man commandeered a Transit bus at Martinborough Square after its driver got off to talk to a supervisor, police said.
With six people still on the bus, the man jumped into the driver's seat and took off, Sergeant Caroline Watson said.
The bus hit a traffic bollard, ripping it from its foundations.
The bus was driven around Martinborough Square, but the man at the wheel – who was said to have drunk his fair share of the 12,666 bottles of wine swilled that day – failed to take a corner.
The driver then allegedly tried to run but tripped and fell, directly in front of a passing car of security guards. The man continued driving along Kitchener St before ramming a bus-stop sign, Ms Watson said. .
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Bali bombers’ execution brings family no satisfaction
Monday, 10 November 2008
The family of a Timaru man killed in the 2002 Bali bombings say they take no satisfaction from the execution of his murderers yesterday. .
The executions come six years after the Kuta nightclub explosions that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians and three New Zealanders.15am (Indonesian time) yesterday on the prison island of Nusa Kambangan, off the coast of Java.
"It's not a blip in our lives at all," he said of the executions.
John Parker, the uncle of Mark Parker, who was one of those killed, said nothing could make up for the loss of his nephew. "There's no feeling of closure as they say or justice Mark is not here and everyone has learnt to live with that. It's their own justice process and nothing to do with us," he said.
Bomb threats were received by the Australian and United States embassies in Indonesia last week."
The executions have raised fears of reprisal attacks in Indonesia, with security forces on alert across the country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised against all travel to central Sulawesi, and against non-essential travel to Bali and other parts of Indonesia.
New Zealanders registered as travelling in Indonesia will be notified that the executions have taken place.
Most terrorism analysts believe it is unlikely there will be a major attack but agree there is a risk of mob violence and clashes involving hardline supporters of the trio.
The presence of police has been stepped up across Indonesia amid threats of attacks in Bali and in Jakarta shopping malls.
Right up until their final days, the killers showed no remorse and used the media to claim to be warriors of Islam and predict a wave of attacks against Westerners following their deaths.
The executions follow years of legal challenges to the death sentences, which were handed down in 2003.
Samudra was the operational field commander for the bombings.
Mukhlas was convicted of approving, inciting, financing and carrying out the bombings, while his younger brother, Amrozi, bought the van and chemicals for the explosion, and attended planning sessions for the attacks.