Matahi Whakataka Brightwell (born Gregory John Brightwell; 22 July 1952) is a New Zealand master carver. He reintroduced the waka ama sport (outrigger canoe racing) in New Zealand. His notable artworks include a sculpture in cliffside stone of

Ngātoro-i-rangi In Māori tradition, Ngātoro-i-rangi (Ngātoro) is the name of a tohunga (priest) prominent during the settling of New Zealand (Aotearoa) by the Māori people, who came from the traditional homeland Hawaiki on the '' Arawa'' canoe. He is the anc ...

at Mine Bay,

Lake Taupō Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's northeastern shore. With ...

, carved from 1976 to 1980, which has been recognised as important to the district and local

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

. In 1985, he built the canoe ''Hawaikinui-1'' in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

, which he and others sailed to New Zealand to reflect Māori migration from Polynesia to New Zealand.

Early life, family and carvings

Brightwell was born in 1952 in

Masterton Masterton () is a large town in the Wellington Region, Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa ...

, New Zealand. He is of Kāti Huirapa,

Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, also called Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and the northern South Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of ...

, Te Roro-o-te-Rangi (

Ngāti Whakaue Ngāti Whakaue is a Māori iwi, of the Te Arawa confederation of New Zealand, tracing its descent from Whakaue Kaipapa, son of Uenuku-kopakō, and grandson of Tūhourangi. The tribe lives in the Rotorua district and descends from the Arawa w ...

), Ngāti Tunohopu and

Rongowhakaata Rongowhakaata is a Māori iwi of the Gisborne region of New Zealand. Hapū and marae There are three primary ''hapū'' (subtribes) of Rongowhakaata today: Ngāti Kaipoho, Ngāi Tawhiri and Ngāti Maru. Ngāti Kaipoho Ngāti Kaipoho descend fr ...

descent. Brightwell was a pallbearer for

James K. Baxter James Keir Baxter (29 June 1926 – 22 October 1972) was a New Zealand poet and playwright. He was also known as an activist for the preservation of Māori culture. He is one of New Zealand's most well-known and controversial literary figures. ...

at his funeral in 1972, and participated in the Māori Land March in 1975. In 1978, Brightwell carved a ''tipuna whare'' (ancestral house) for Ngāti Toa at Takapūwāhia as well as an ancestral

pouwhenua Pouwhenua or pou whenua (land post), are carved wooden posts used by Māori, the indigenous peoples of New Zealand to mark territorial boundaries or places of significance. They are generally artistically and elaborately carved and can be found ...

for the Kāti Huirapa

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

in the South Island. In 1980, he completed a pouwhenua recording the

whakapapa Genealogy is a fundamental principle in Māori culture, termed specifically in this context as ''whakapapa'' (, , lit. 'layering'). Reciting one's '' whakapapa'' proclaims one's identity among the Māori, places oneself in a wider context, and ...

of Parekōhatu, the mother of

Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha ( – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira, warlord, and chief of the Ngāti Toa iwi. One of the most powerful military leaders of the Musket Wars, Te Rauparaha fought a war of conquest that greatly expanded Ngāti Toa south ...

, installed at Tawatawa Reserve in Wellington. In 2022, Brightwell and his daughter Taupuru Ariki Whakataka Brightwell collaborated on restoring and re-designing this pouwhenua. A

tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...

sculpture he created in 1998 is held in the art collection at

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa (Māori language, Māori for 'Waka huia, the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the Nation ...

, New Zealand's national museum. In February 2023, Brightwell lost artworks, sculptures, and waka when his Gisborne house was damaged during

Cyclone Gabrielle Severe Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that devastated parts of the North Island of New Zealand and affected parts of Vanuatu and Norfolk Island in February 2023. It is the costliest tropical cyclone ...

Ngātoro-i-rangi sculpture

From 1976 to 1980, Brightwell worked with a team of four others to carve a sculpture of

into the cliffside at Mine Bay,

. The sculpture is surrounded by smaller sculptures of tūpuna (ancestors) and kaitiaki (guardians). Brightwell's grandmother, Te Huatahi Susie Gilbert, had requested that he carve a sculpture of Ngātoro-i-rangi, and Brightwell had been unable to find a suitable tōtara tree. The sculpture was initially controversial, with a local councillor complaining that "outsiders should not be cutting into our rock". Brightwell decided to leave the sculpture's eyes blank due to the negative reception. In November 2016, a blessing took place to recognise the importance of the Ngātoro-i-rangi sculpture to the Taupō district and local

. Brightwell carved a smaller version of the sculpture on tōtara, ''Ngatoroirangi Iti'', which was displayed at the Taupō visitor centre. In 2019, Brightwell sought donations to support the restoration of some of the smaller sculptures as well as carvers who could take over maintenance.

Waka carving and waka ama

Brightwell has said that he sees waka carving as an artform akin to his sculptural carving. A wooden paddle carved by Brightwell in 1994 is in the collection of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. In 1985, Brightwell built the double-hulled canoe ''Hawaikinui-1'' in

, using wood from tōtara trees from

Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park is a publicly accessible conservation park in the North Island of New Zealand. The park is centered on the town of Minginui and part of the eastern boundary flanks Te Urewera. The Whirinaki Forest is o ...

. To emulate Māori migration from Polynesia to New Zealand, he sailed it to Rarotonga and New Zealand under Tahitian captain Francis Cowan, arriving on 6 January 1986 at Ōkahu Bay,

Ōrākei Ōrākei is a suburb of Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on a peninsula five kilometres to the east of the city centre, on the shore of the Waitematā Harbour, which lies to the north, and Hobson Bay and Ōr� ...

, after a three-month voyage. He was awarded the Blue Water Medal, presented by

Paul Reeves Sir Paul Alfred Reeves (6 December 1932 – 14 August 2011) was a New Zealand clergyman who served as the 15th governor-general of New Zealand from 1985 to 1990 and as Archbishop and Primate of New Zealand from 1980 to 1985. He was the first ...

, for this achievement. The canoe was subsequently displayed at the

Musée de Tahiti et des Îles The Musée de Tahiti et des Îles ("Museum of Tahiti and the Islands"), Tahitian Te Fare Manaha ("the Museum"), is the national museum of French Polynesia, located in Puna'auia, Tahiti. History The museum was founded in 1974 to conserve and re ...

in Tahiti. His time living in Tahiti also led him to encounter the waka ama sport, which he and his wife Raipoia brought back to New Zealand. Brightwell founded the Mareikura Canoe Club shortly after, and travelled around New Zealand reintroducing waka ama to local Māori. The club has since developed into the nationwide Waka Ama Club organisation with over 80 clubs. For this work, Brightwell was bestowed with the Samoan chief's title of ''Avauli'' in 1998, was named Māori Sports Coach of the Year in 2002 and has been inducted into the New Zealand Waka Ama Hall of Fame. In the 2022 Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours, Brightwell was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to waka ama.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brightwell, Matahi 1952 births Living people People from Masterton Ngāi Tahu people Ngāti Toa people Ngāti Whakaue people Rongowhakaata people Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit 20th-century New Zealand male artists 21st-century New Zealand male artists 20th-century New Zealand sculptors 21st-century New Zealand sculptors New Zealand woodcarvers New Zealand Māori carvers New Zealand Māori sportspeople New Zealand male canoeists New Zealand sports executives and administrators New Zealand sports coaches New Zealand boat builders 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen