A Capital Suburb: Pipitea Thorndon
Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club
Unknown Evening Post photographer, Crowd gathered around the meeting house at the dawn opening of Pipitea Marae, Thorndon Quay, Wellington , 31 May 1980, 35mm film negative, Evening Post Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Reference: EP/1980/1751/19a-F
Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club
The 1930s saw many young Māori move from other parts of New Zealand to Wellington to work. Māori leaders Sir Apirana Ngata, Lady Miria Pomare and musician Kingi Tahiwi were among those who saw the need for a place where young people could gather for companionship and to learn and experience their culture.
The Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club was formed in 1937, and has been based in Thorndon since 1944. Throughout the Second World War Ngāti Pōneke performed concerts to entertain visitors and raise funds for troops overseas.
Since that time the group has remained a centre for art and culture and venue for social life. In 1980, Ngāti Pōneke established Pipitea marae on Thorndon Quay; this photograph records the dawn ceremony for the opening of the wharenui Te Upoko o te ika a Maui.
Apirana Ngata biography – Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
Kīngi Tāhiwi biography – Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga O Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image
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| Collection | Evening Post Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library |
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