Battle exhibition seeks permanent home

Daeshan Paki, 12, is using the Battle of Gate Pa Exhibition to learn about her ancestors. Photo / Rebecca Savory

A Tauranga teenager walks past the walls of the Battle of Gate Pa display as the stories of her ancestors play out before her.

Twelve-year-old Daeshan Paki is a direct descendant of the Maori Chief Paraone Koikoi, who fought in the battle in 1864.

Daeshan was also part of the crowd performing the haka during the 150th commemoration in April last year.

"It was powerful," she said. "You could hear it all from the back."

She was exploring the exhibition for the first time yesterday in its second home at the Tauranga Moana Maori Trust Board Hall.

"A lot more happened than I learnt," she said.

The exhibition was in storage for about six months after its five weeks at the Greerton Hall last year but the new space was just a stepping stone, Gate Pa Trust chairman Terry Malloy said.

The exhibition was set to stay about five months until April before moving again, he said.

In total, 11,000 people saw the exhibition in April and many said they hoped it would find a permanent place as it was story that needed telling, Mr Malloy said.

"We've been looking for a home for it for some time."

The trust was working with the council to find a permanent spot and the warehouses opposite the Cargo Shed on Dive Cres were a possibility, he said.

Pukehinahina Charitable Trust project director Buddy Mikaere said the ultimate goal would be to find a permanent spot for the exhibition.

"It was so popular when we opened it last year that it seemed a waste to just put it into storage.

"It's about time Tauranga made something of its history."