Bay News: Waitangi Day 2021 - festival schedule, events, Eru and the waka
3 Feb, 2021 11:00 PM
8 minutes to read
Ngātokimatawhaorua - the large canoe that was created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Photo / Te Rawhitiroa Bosch
Northern Advocate
Eru and the Waka
If you d been standing on a beach in 1940 at the launch of the largest canoe in the world, you would have seen 12-year-old Eru Patuone Heperi. He was the youngest paddler on board and his father was one of the carvers who helped create the significant waka.
Eru Patuone Heperi comes ashore at Waitangi in 2020. At 12 years old he was the youngest paddler on board when Ngātokimatawhaorua was first launched. At 92, he was the oldest paddler on board. Here he is flanked by the late Wiremu Wiremu (left) and his great nephew Tapua Gudeon (right). Photo / Te Rawhitiroa Bosch