WAKA Episode 4: The edge of old times

For nearly three decades, an unfinished kauri va’a hung in a Northland shed, waiting for its creator, the Tahitian master carver Puaniho Tauotaha, to return. He never made it back, but, in 2019, his son was finally able to finish his father’s work. Simone Kaho meets Freddie Tauotaha, who features in Episode 4 of Waka, a six-part video series which traces the revival of waka building through four teams from across the Pacific. Waka is a six-part online video series produced by Tawera Productions in collaboration with E-Tangata and the New Zealand Herald as part of Tuia 250. It was made with the support of NZ On Air. A version of this story was also published in the Herald.