Disgust and dismay at vandalism of prominent sculpture

The phallus on a prominent Māori sculpture in Te Āpiti – Manawatū Gorge has been cut off by vandals, shocking the stakeholders of the popular reserve.

Whatonga, a steel statue standing over six -metres tall, has guarded the top of the Tawa Loop Track for more than a decade.

But someone carted steel cutting equipment to the top of the track and removed its phallus on the night of December 30, a media release from the Te Āpiti – Manawatū Gorge governance group on Tuesday confirmed.

Its Rangitāne o Manawatū representative, Danielle Harris, said Whatonga was a significant ancestor of the iwi and his statue not only acknowledged his place in their whakapapa and history, but he was also a way to educate visitors to Te Āpiti about who they were as an iwi nation.

“To say we are disgusted to have a part of that story so disrespectfully removed is an understatement.

“It clearly shows the ignorance and lack of understanding by some individuals of art and its place in our world. We encourage those responsible to front up to the act.”

Harris said the patterns on the statue told the great story of Whatonga as a chief and explorer.

“Rangitāne have a whakatauki (proverb) that talks about there being as many Rangitāne people on the land as there are stars in the sky, so this vandalism to Whatonga’s reproductive organs is an insult to a belief system we hold precious.”

It is not the first time Rangitāne has endured such disrespect. The vandalism is reminiscent of the defacement of a carving on the Woodville side of the gorge in 2019.

The phallus of Te Hononga Maunga at the Manawatū Gorge Scenic Reserve was removed with a chainsaw by Milton Wainwright, who had been a caretaker at the reserve for many years.

Citing his Christian values, the owner of the Woodville Organ Museum considered the sculpture’s penis to be obscene and immoral, so he sawed it off.

Wainwright was later convicted of wilful damage and ordered to pay $2000 for the emotional harm he caused the iwi.

Rangitāne o Tamaki nui-ā-Rua representative Mavis Mullins said vandalism to history and art was unacceptable.

“Globally art is explicit, from Michelangelo’s statue of David to Titan’s painting of Venus, with certain features being a common denominator.”

She said anyone who felt strongly about the art display in Te Āpiti was invited to have a progressive and educated discussion with the governance group via info@teapiti.co.nz

Te Āpiti – Manawatū Gorge governance group chairperson and Horizons regional councillor Fiona Gordon said the group would work with iwi to have Whatonga repaired.

“Efforts will be made to restore him to his proper state as soon as possible, and we hope those responsible know they will not succeed in diminishing his mana through their premeditated, disrespectful actions.”

She said the sculpture was one of the most visually represented icons of the wider Manawatū and Rangitāne, and it was hard to believe someone would go to so much effort to disfigure it.

“We share the disappointment of our iwi partners. We were made aware of the damage the day following the vandalism and do not know who is responsible.

“If anyone has any information about who is, we recommend they report it to the police.”

Department of Conservation operations manager for Palmerston North Moana Smith-Dunlop said the act of desecration was a loss for all who visited the Tawa Loop Track.

With Thanks Reference to: https://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/301034400/disgust-and-dismay-at-vandalism-of-prominent-sculpture