The Right Stone
Mauri Tau Mauri Ora is the 270 kilogram pounamu kōhatu that sits on a Carrara marble plinth at the entrance to Oi Manawa, the Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial. Gifted by Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio, it marks a place for those affected by the Christchurch earthquakes to reflect and remember the people and places they have lost. It signposts a memorial to whenua, whānau, and memories.
For carver Fayne Robinson (Ngāi Tahu – Ngāti Māhaki, Ngāti Waewae; Ngāti Apa ki te Ra To – Puahaterangi), it is also a metaphor of sorts for the before and after of Christchurch city. Its rough crust, he says, resembles rubble; and the “little windows of potential”, showing in places, reflect where we are heading with the city rebuild.