From The Stations series

He pūrākau tā Lisa Reihana 'A Māori Dragon Story' nō Waitaha e pā ana ki te pūhaehae me te whai utu. Hai tā te pūkeka o Kāi Tahu, hai tā Teone Taare Tikao, ka tūtaki atu a Hine Ao nō Akaroa me tōna hākoro, me Te Ake, ki te rakatira, ki a Tūrakipō nō Ōpāwaho, i Ōhikaparuparu. Ināianei, koia rā te paenoho kai te takutai, e tūtata ana e kīia ana ko Sumner. Nō te whakanautaka a Hine Ao i te mātoro a Tūrakipō i a ia, ka mātukutia ia e Tūrakipō kia mate. Tiwhatiwha kau ana a Te Ake, ā, ka tahuri ia ki te ako i te mahi mākutu hai kaki i te mateka o tana tamāhine. Ka tākina e Te Ake tētahi karakia hai whakaara ake i a Hine Ao hai taniwha nunui, ko Te Wahine-maru-kore tōna ikoa. Ka kau atu anō ia ki Ōhikaparuparu, i reira kā tākata o Ōpāwaho e kai ana i tōna kiko, nāwai ka mate. I a Tikao e kōrerorero ana ki a Herries Beattie i te kahuru tau o 1920, ka whakamārama atu ia kai Akaroa tonu a Te Wahine-maru-kore me tōna hoa, me Te Rangi-orahina, e noho ana, ā, ko tā rāua he tiaki i kā “tākata pai ki te moana”. Heoti, ka mea atu hoki ia, “nō nā tata nei, kāore au kia roko kōrero mō ēnei taniwha nei, ā, kua wehe pea rāua i te nohoka mai o te Pākehā.” Mā te karetao me te hākori tēnei pūrākau e tuaritia nei, ā, he tauira tōmua a 'A Māori Dragon Story' nō tā Lisa mahi ata nekeneke e hihiri ana, e auaha ana.

Lisa Reihana’s ‘A Māori Dragon Stor’y is a Waitaha tale of jealousy and revenge. In one version of the kōrero by Kāi Tahu scholar Teone Taare Tikao, he explains how Hine Ao of Akaroa and her father Te Ake met with rakatira Tūrakipō of Ōpāwaho at Ōhikuparuparu, now the nearby seaside suburb of Sumner. When Hine Ao rejected advances from Tūrakipō, he called on his powers as a tohuka to curse her to death. Devastated, Te Ake learnt the art of mākutu to avenge the loss of his daughter. Te Ake recited a karakia that awakened Hine Ao as a giant taniwha named Te Wahine-maru-kore. She swam back to Ōhikuparuparu where the Ōpāwaho people feasted on her flesh and subsequently died. In conversation with Herries Beattie in the 1920s, Tikao explained that Te Wahine- maru-kore still lives in Akaroa Harbour with her companion Te Rangi-orahina and together they safeguard “friendly people on the sea”. However, he goes on to say, “I have not heard of these taniwha lately, and perhaps they have gone now the Pākehā is here.” Sharing this dramatic story through puppetry and animation, ‘A Māori Dragon Story’ is an early example of Lisa’s dynamic and innovative moving image practice.

(Whāia te Taniwha, 20 September 2025 – 15 February 2026)