He rau ringa e oti ai – Many hands make light work

This mural on the wall of the Kāpiti Coast Museum in Waikanae, commissioned by the museum and supported by Council.

This work, named for the whakatauki above, is by Vianney Parata (Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngai Tahu, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, me Ngāti Kahungunu). Vianney dedicates this work to her tūpuna — Wī Te Kākākura Parata and Unaiki Pukehi, who founded Waikanae, as well as their uri (descendants), whānau (family) and hāpori (community).

The hands in this work represent the whakataukī and the spirit of kotahitanga (coming together as one) that built Waikanae from its first foundations. The mural is an acknowledgment of Te Kākākura and Unaiki who dedicated their lives to building a community that held connection at the centre of everything — to whenua (land), home and each other. Bringing people together was their aspiration and their legacy.

The designs woven throughout the work reference the flax processing, timber felling and whaling industries our people worked in over the decades.

The manu (birds) reference the post office that stood as the heartbeat of the town for so long, as well as the abundance of bird life in Waikanae.

The red outlines represent the awa (rivers) that become oceans and oceans that become awa. At the top, three notches make up two niho taniwha patterns referencing our taniwha, Te Kopaeara, who dwells in the Waikanae River and travels from Kapakapanui to Kāpiti guarding our sacred waters.