MARITIME STORIES IN STAMPS

Issued in 1898, the eight-penny Pictorial is believed to be the first New Zealand stamp depicting both Maori life and a maritime subject. Melbourne’s E Howard was the artist – though with lines more akin to a pakeha canoe, his waka suggests a degree of artistic licence.

Ethnologists describe the great war waka as being “as big as Viking ships”, propelled by up to 100 paddlers. Howard’s little waka carries seven figures, five of them paddlers. The figure in the bow is probably the kaitaki. The vessel carries a sail amidships, while the taurapa at the stern is unconventional in style. It would be interesting to know the source of Howard’s design.

Many waka were destroyed in colonial conflict to inhibit Maori mobility. The only remaining large, intact waka taua is at Auckland Museum. Built in 1836 in the Hawkes Bay, it found its way to the Manukau Harbour where it was confiscated by colonial militia in 1863. It’s carved from