Western Bay Museum appoints Mana Whenua Liaison Officer

Western Bay Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Hone Winder-Murray as our new Mana Whenua Liaison Officer.

Museum Manager, Paula Gaelic, describes the appointment as a “a momentous milestone”. Hone joins Western Bay Museum with exceptional people skills and with a background grounded in film, digital media production, conservation, taonga o te Taiao and strengths in te reo and Māori studies.  

Speaking to his role, Hone says “it is a privilege and honour to serve our northern hapū of Tauranga Moana here in the museum. I see my role as the embodiment of developing meaningful relationships to achieve the mutual aspirations of hapū, iwi and Western Bay Museum allowing us all to move forward together.”

As Western Bay Museum aspires to be the Best Small Museum in Aotearoa and strives to meet the Code of Ethics set out by Museums Aotearoa, the museum can now begin to really embrace our Māori histories, our storytelling, our connection to the whenua (land) and our role and responsibilities to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Hone will help the museum navigate these initiatives and become the conduit between our hapū of Northern Ngāi te Rangi and the museum.

We were very fortunate to have the support, wise council and assistance of Te Papa National Services Te Paerangi.  Māori in the museum sector has been a key partner and a naturally respected force since the 1980s.  This natural partnership is clearly reflected in the larger museums and institutions of Aotearoa as Māori is where our history begins. Colonial histories have been well celebrated and are clearly identified through written histories, being a much easier story to tell, whereas Māori histories can only be told by Tangata Whenua for Tangata Whenua.

Hapū Representatives - Eddie Bluegum (Ngāi Tamawhariua ki Te Rereatukāhia), Reon Tuanau (Ōtāwhiwhi - Te Whānau-a-Tauwhao) and Riki Nelson (Tuāpiro - Ngati te Wai)  were involved from the outset and joined Paula on the interview panel.  We are grateful for their time, knowledge and collaboration for such a pivotable position within our museum.

Our future looks bright and we are delighted to move forward together.

Funding for this important appointment came through external funding received from the Department of Internal Affairs –Lottery Grants.