On the eve of Waitangi Day, one of the country's most historic towns has been forced to confront its fraught past.
Local Māori living in Russell have erected two monumental carvings on the wharf in a bold attempt to restore a cultural presence to the predominantly Pākehā settlement.
Some locals aren't sure they belong there and the move has sparked some confronting conversations about race relations ahead of our national day.
Māori lived in the Bay of Island town of Russell for hundreds of years pre-colonisation but their story is not widely known
"Our tūpuna weren't present, we had the cottages that spoke to the heritage precinct, but we were basically invisible," Kororareka Marae chair Deb Rewiri said.
"It's really important that... we actually have... icons that represent us," kaumātua Arapeta Hamilton said.
Two giant carvings on the town's wharf firmly assert their presence with a warrior towering over the dock and a waharoa at the opposite end.
"For me it's the visibility of that beautiful majestic waharoa that actually signifies how important it is to understand for everybody that our tūpuna was her," Rewiri said.
Russell was the site of the first major battle between the Crown and Māori after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi but many tourists don't know anything about it.
Some locals aren't so sure about the carvings while for others it's a long-time coming.
"It's fantastic that the story of Māori pre-European times and during European times is being told," one person said.
SHARE ME