For the Love of Hinemihi – A Māori Meeting House

Crossing boundaries of difference in an interwoven universe

One of Mark Adams’ photographic series focuses on the story of Hinemihi o Te Ao Tāwhito. The only Māori meeting house in England, she holds multiple meanings for diverse communities. While some regard the whare merely as an architectural object or a colonial souvenir linked to the 19th-century travels of Governor William Hillier Onslow, for her tribal peoples Hinemihi is a whare tūpuna – an ancestral house embodying tribal identity, intergenerational knowledge, and global connections that transcends time. This talk explores the complex layers of significance surrounding Hinemihi, examining how she simultaneously fosters communal unity and reveals tensions among stakeholders, including anthropologists, tourism professionals, and Māori.

From an Indigenous perspective, Hinemihi has long served as a space of gathering, resilience, and cultural continuity. Through the lens of a cultural ‘ethic of care’, Wikitera demonstrates how respectful research for this whare, where tourism practices contribute to cultural sustainability and the important recognition these cultural icons are to our national identity.

Dr Keri Wikitera

Tūhourangi-Ngāti Wahiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Tapuika

Keri is an independent researcher and was formerly a senior lecturer at AUT University. With expertise in social history, Indigenous studies, business, and Māori development, she has an interdisciplinary research background. Her personal and professional interests are focussed on the study of iwi history and knowledge systems. Her most recent research involved developing a Cultural Impact Assessment toolkit for MBIE. She has co-authored Hinemihi: Te Hokianga – The Return (2020) and the Makiha rāua ko Te Paea whānau whakapapa books (2021).

Image: Mark Adams 13.11.2000. Hinemihi. Clandon Park. Surrey. England. Ngā tohunga whakairo: Wero Tāroi, Tene Waitere, 2000, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2014. | Dr Keri Wikitera, with Mark Adams, 13.11.2000. Hinemihi. Clandon Park. Surrey. England. Ngā tohunga whakairo: Wero Tāroi, Tene Waitere, 2000, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2014.

Image credits: Mark Adams 13.11.2000. Hinemihi. Clandon Park. Surrey. England. Ngā tohunga whakairo: Wero Tāroi, Tene Waitere, 2000, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2014. | Dr Keri Wikitera, with Mark Adams, 13.11.2000. Hinemihi. Clandon Park. Surrey. England. Ngā tohunga whakairo: Wero Tāroi, Tene Waitere, 2000, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2014.