Book Signing - Makereti: Taking Māori to the World

MEDIA RELEASE: 28th May 2008

BOOK SIGNING EVENT:
Makereti: Taking Māori to the World
by Author: Paul Diamond
Writer, journalist, historian and broadcaster.

AT THE OPENING OF TWO CONCURRENT EXHIBITIONS
(Exhibitions to be opened by Chris Saines, Director, Auckland Art Gallery):

Ralph Hotere: Figurative Works
Carnival, Song Cycle and the Woman Series
A Dunedin Public Art Gallery touring exhibition
Exhibited with Hotere - Northland Connections.

AND

Makereti: Taking Maori to the World
A National Library Gallery Touring Exhibition from the Collections of Alexander Turnbull Library based on Paul Diamond’s recently published biography of ‘Makereti’ or ‘Guide Maggie’ as she was also known.

Makereti: Taking Māori to the World by Paul Diamond is a biography of one of New Zealand's first international media celebrities, Makereti (1873-1930). The daughter of a Maori mother and a Pakeha father, Makereti was brought up by her Maori extended family until she was sent to boarding school. She became well-known (as Guide Maggie or Maggie Papakura) throughout New Zealand and overseas as a guide at Whakarewarewa, particularly after the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York in 1901. She led visits of Maori concert parties (complete with carved villages and waka) to Australia and England, but dropped out of the public view after marrying for a second time in 1912 and moving to Oxfordshire. Following her divorce in 1924, Makereti enrolled as a student at the University of Oxford and died just before her thesis about traditional Maori life was due to be examined. While her remarkable story has intrigued many people, it is not well recorded. This book (and exhibition) - a pictorial record of her life together with a series of essays - will help to rectify this situation.

First published October 2007 by Random House New Zealand Ltd.,
A limited number of books will be for sale on the day: RRP $45.00.

TIME, DATE, AND PLACE:
4.00pm - 5.30pm
Monday 2nd June
At the Whangarei Art Museum, Rose Gardens Water Street Whangarei
ADMISSION: Free and open to the public.
Phone 09 430 4240 for further enquires.

ENDS

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