Cloak gifted to Queen Victoria returns to Northland - 156 years later

Prince Charles and Camilla, wearing their own feather cloaks, wait to be welcomed onto the Treaty Grounds. Photo / John Stone

A cloak gifted to Queen Victoria by a Ngāpuhi chief has been returned to New Zealand by her great-great-great-grandson more than 150 years later.

The 2.6m-long muka (fine flax) korowai accompanied Prince Charles when he was welcomed to Waitangi Treaty Grounds on Wednesday, as part of a six-day visit by the future king and his wife Camilla.

The cloak, which was given to Queen Victoria in 1863 by Reihana Taukawau, from Tautoro, south of Kaikohe, is on loan from Queen Elizabeth II for an as yet unspecified period.

It will be carefully unwrapped then displayed in Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi.

One of the speakers during the royal couple's welcome was war veteran Joe Matene, who is descended from Reihana.

''It's an honour and a privilege. We've been blessed that the royal family has brought the korowai back,'' Matene said.

''They didn't have to but they did, so it's a work of love.''

The 2.6m cloak is made of muka (fine flax fibre) and adorned with hukahuka (tassels). Photo / Royal Collection Trust

Matene said Reihana had made the long journey to see Queen Victoria at Osborne House, her retreat on the Isle of Wight, to tell her his people were still being done wrong, more than 20 years after the Treaty which was supposed to protect their land.

''We only have bits and pieces of what he spoke to the Queen about but we're pretty sure it was about land being confiscated or taken wrongly. We're still walking that walk today,'' he said.

When Prince Charles gave his speech on Wednesday, he said he hoped many New Zealanders would take the opportunity to see the korowai while it was at Waitangi.

''For me, it is a taonga that symbolises the real and enduring relationship between the Crown and the Māori people, in which my family has taken immense pride for generations.''

The Prince said he was also looking forward to visiting Waitangi Museum later in the day and seeing some other treasures connected to Reihana's visit to Queen Victoria, including a christening set she gifted to her Māori godson.

Ella Weehuizen, left, and Caitlin Timmer-Arends of Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi carry a wrapped-up korowai gifted to Queen Victoria by Ngāpuhi chief Reihana in 1863, now back in New Zealand. Photo / Peter de Graaf

As reported earlier in the Advocate, Reihana was part of a group of 18 Northland Māori who travelled to England in 1863.

When Queen Victoria saw one of the women — Hariata Pikimaui, wife of Hare Pomare — was heavily pregnant, she asked if she could be the child's godmother. She also requested the child be named Victoria or Albert, after her late husband.

When Albert Victor Pomare was born in London, Queen Victoria gave the family a christening gown and a christening set comprising a gilt-silver goblet and cutlery.

The Queen's godson returned to New Zealand with his parents and was educated at her expense in Auckland.

It is believed Pomare returned to England as a young man and was appointed to the elite Life Guard protecting Buckingham Palace. He later joined the Royal Navy and is thought to have died in a shipwreck.

The christening gifts were stored at Auckland Museum for many years before they were returned to Northland and the new Museum of Waitangi in 2015. Each piece in the set is engraved with the words: To Albert Victor Pomare from his Godmother Queen Victoria, November 1863.

A group of children from Tautoro School took part in Wednesday's pōwhiri to celebrate the link to their ancestor Reihana.