Dame Rangimārie Hetet was a champion of Māori culture and tohunga raranga.
DAME RANGIMĀRIE HETET Master Weaver 1892
Champion of Māori culture and tohunga raranga
Traditional Māori weaving has long been a skill passed down from generation to generation in New Zealand.
One woman in particular is praised for her love and passion for the art form and what she did to help revive it in all its glory; introducing it to the world and ensuring the skill stayed alive.
Dame Rangimārie Hetet was born in Oparure, near Te Kuiti, in 1892.
The woman who would become known as one of New Zealand's most noted tohunga raranga, or master weavers, grew up in a busy home - practicing many crafts alongside extended family members.
However, a unique love grew for traditional Māori weaving - something she would soon understand was a skill that was in jeopardy of dying out.
In 1951 she became a founding member for the Māori Women's Welfare League, alongside Dame Whina Cooper, and started to teach the skill to women as well as in schools.
By the 1960s she was widely known as a specialist in weaving korowai, or cloaks, and soon began to show her works off on a new platform - at museum exhibitions around the world.
Hetet's first exhibition was held in 1965 at the Auckland Institute Museum. Others were held around New Zealand, the Pacific and the US.
In the early 1970s a special tour took place, showcasing a collection of her works, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She would go on to produce works for joint exhibitions with a new renowned master weaver - her daughter Diggeress Rangituatahi Te Kanawa.
Like her mother, Te Kanawa's work is featured in museums around the world. One of the last korowai she weaved was made out of kiwi feathers for King Tuheitia.
Hetet died on June 14, 1995, aged 103.
Many of her descendants continue to practice the art of Māori weaving today.
Now police have now gained a High Court order to confiscate nearly $37,000.