Weave with Flax - Traditional and contemporary Maori Weaving

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I was born at Rawene Hospital, and my early years were spent at Rawene School — a place full of memories, friendships, and the beginnings of who I would become.

Rawene school was originally built in 1947 and extended in 1952. In 1972 blaze almost destroyed the entire High School complex, leaving only the school hall and one other building standing, this changed everything. The students were sent to Northland College or Kohukohu, but for me, that chapter simply closed. I didn’t go back, and life carried me in a different direction.

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My first taste of weaving began at Rawene High School. We made our own piupiu and hand‑stitched our bodices, learning with our hands, our patience, and our pride. I didn’t realise then, how important that experience would become later in my life.

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For many years after leaving school, I didn’t weave at all. It wasn’t until I was living in Brisbane that weaving found me again. I met a wahine who taught the art of weaving korowai, and something inside me lit up. I booked into her classes, and when I placed the fibers in my hands again, it felt like returning home to a part of myself I had forgotten.

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In 2016, I returned home to Aotearoa and moved back to the Hokianga. That’s where I met T, who took the time to teach me how to weave with harakeke. Those lessons changed everything. Once I started weaving with harakeke, I couldn’t put it down. It became part of my everyday life — a rhythm, a grounding, a way of breathing.

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The more I weave, the more I understand that every strand carries its own story and its own mana. Being a weaver isn’t just about creating taonga — it’s about honoring the traditions, the tikanga, and the Māori weavers who came before me. I feel a deep responsibility to uphold that mana in everything I weave, and to carry our weaving legacy with care and respect.

I’m still growing my knowledge of the different harakeke varieties. I work closely with the plants I know, and each one has its own personality. Learning their differences is part of my ongoing journey as a weaver.

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I now teach those who want to learn, from my home. Over the years, people have travelled from near and far to sit with me and learn. One wahine even came all the way from Vancouver while visiting her husband’s cousin here in Aotearoa. She asked if he could contact me so she could learn how we weave. She weaves with bark, and she spent three days with me, learning, sharing, and connecting through our different traditions. Experiences like that remind me how far our weaving reaches, and how deeply it touches people.

 

Weaving brings me peace and calmness, and every day offers something new — a technique, a pattern, a deeper understanding of the tikanga behind the mahi. It’s more than creating taonga; it’s reconnecting, remembering, and carrying our heritage forward with care.

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Kia mau ki tō Maoritanga — hold fast to your Māori heritage.