Remote Te Rua-o-te-moko Fiordland was visited seasonally by Māori for hunting and fishing and to gather the prized takiwai pounamu from near the mouth of Piopiotahi Milford Sound. Traditional Kāi Tahu stories explain the area’s creation by Tū te Rakiwhānoa, who used his toki to carve rocks into fiords, the last of which, Piopiotahi, was considered his greatest triumph. The Australian warship HMS Opal first visited Milford Sound in 1888 with instructions to locate a briefly missing explorer. During a second visit the following year, the ship’s paymaster, Edwin Sandys, made this work to add to his collection of charcoal drawings of places visited.

takiwai pounamu ~ translucent variety of greenstone

Kāi Tahu ~ tribal group of much of Te Waipounamu South Island

toki ~ adze

He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil (from August 2024)