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All New Zealand Te Puka (The Anchor Stone)

Te Puka (The Anchor Stone)

A giant chain sculpture that plays on the Māori myth that Rakiura (Stewart Island) is an anchor stone chained to the South Island.

Stewart Island / Rakiura, New Zealand

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Chain Link Sculpture around the Rakiura Track   Wellyrunner / Atlas Obscura User
Te Puka A Māui   Kristina D.C. Hoeppner / CC BY-SA 2.0
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A 100-meter walk down the Rakiura Track from the car park reveals a giant chain emerging from the tussock and sinking into the sand. This sculpture plays on the idea that Stewart Island (Rakiura) is physically connected to the South Island. There is a matching sculpture on the South Island at Bluff. 

According to Māori folklore, the South Island was demigod Māui's canoe (te waka a Māui) and Rakiura was the canoe's anchor stone. The sculpture is formally known as te puka (the anchor stone). 

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Folklore Maori Sculptures

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Access is very easy along the gravel, all-weather track. 

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Added By

Wellyrunner

Edited By

Michelle Cassidy

  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

August 10, 2023

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Sources
  • http://maorilifestyles.blogspot.com/2009/03/te-puka-anchor-stone.html
  • https://i.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/466612/Bluff-to-replicate-anchor-chain-sculpture
Te Puka (The Anchor Stone)
Rakiura Track
Stewart Island / Rakiura, 9818
New Zealand
-46.863341, 168.122417
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