CHATHAM ISLANDS

Conservation support given for Tommy Solomon statue

The Board of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is providing funding support from the National Heritage Preservation Incentive Fund to enable the preparation of a condition and remedial action report for the statue of Tame Horomona-Rehe (Tommy Solomon), at Manukau, on the Chatham Islands. The report will be prepared by Wellington and Nelson conservation architect, Ian Bowman.

In 2009, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, formerly the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, listed the Tommy Solomon site as a wāhi tapu under the Historic Places Act 1993, as a place of national significance, and as a memorial to the memory of Tommy Solomon, recognised in New Zealand as supposedly the last full-blooded Moriori. He was born on Rēkohu (Chatham Islands) in 1884 and died in 1933. He was a socially and politically active member of the Chatham Islands community and an important figure in the recognition of Moriori culture and identity. The statue stands at Ōwenga – Manukau Point overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

In 1984, a Memorial Trust Foundation was formed for the expressed purpose of erecting a statue of the late Tommy Solomon. Through three years of significant fundraising efforts of the Solomon family, the statue was commissioned and sculpted by Marinus van Kooten and then erected at Manukau. On 26 December 1986, the Prime Minister the Rt. Hon David Lange unveiled the statue. Since that time the memorial has been one of the most visited places for tourists on the island and it remains an important focal point for the resurgence of Moriori culture and identity.

The statue has now been standing in watch over the seas at Manukau for 34 years. When it was erected the grounds were planted with a row of a sheltering harapepe and hakapiri (Olearia), which now provide substantial shelter for the grounds. Trustee, Maui Solomon, says in the Memorial Trust Foundation Strategic Plan that visiting the statue site provides an opportunity for many to learn more about Moriori history and the importance of the Manukau Reserve to Moriori descendants – being the largest land block allocated to Moriori in the 1870 Native Land Court decision.

“The Trust and the family of Tame HoromonaRehe (Tommy Solomon ) welcome the support of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga with funding assistance to enable us to get an update condition and remedial action report prepared to guide future repair and maintenance work on the statue,” says Maui.

“We are pleased that Ian Bowman, who has considerable experience with masonry statues, is available to help us with this report as soon as possible. This will form an important part in our strategic plan and long term vision for the collective management of this place.”

Writer: David Watt

1. The Tommy Solomon Statue on the Chatham Islands.

2. The statue looks out to the Pacific Ocean

(CREDIT: LAURA KELLAWAY/HERITAGE NEW ZEALAND