072hin_100708_postcard: Greetings from Hinemihi!

The meeting house Hinemihi o te Ao Tawhito (Hinemihi of the Old World) was built in 1881 and stood on the North Island in the village of Te Wairoa, a few kilometres from the Pink and White Terraces on the shores of Lake Rotomahana. On June 10 1886, Mount Tarawera erupted, destroying the village and killing 153 of its inhabitants. Hinemihi provided shelter to numerous people during the eruption and was one of the few buildings to survive. In 1892 the Governor of New Zealand, the fourth Earl of Onslow, dismantled and shipped Hinemihi to England with instructions for reassembly in Clandon Park, Surrey.

Finally a word about the all-embracing ‘Sargeant Pepper’s’ image of Hinemihi. She is not a house specifically for Maori. Whilst Hinemihi is of Maori origins, she grew up in England and is today a house for all… and a carrier of culture.

SAY WHAT_!?

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