Te Matau a Maui Voyaging Trust

Seaweek Royal Society Lecture
Date:
Tuesday 1 March 2016, 7:30pm
Venue: National Aquarium of New Zealand, Marine Parade Napier
Admission: Gold coin donation

Piripi Smith, Maori navigator and Chairman of the Te Matau a Māui Voyaging Trust

Te Matua Trust picture

For thousands of years, Austronesian navigators (Tohunga) piloted primitive, double-hulled sailing ships called “waka” across vast stretches of the Pacific and Indian Ocean. These highly-trained sailors traveled across hundreds or thousands of kilometers discovering uninhabited islands, creating new colonies, and developing trade networks. What’s hard to believe is that these navigators traversed these great distances using no technology or maps, but instead relying on tuning into the stars, winds and Mother Nature.

Up until modern times, these traditional sailing methods had been preserved by Polynesian peoples. There has been a recent revival of this method of transport, and to prove to the skeptics that the accuracy of guiding “waka” does not rely on luck, a new generation of navigators continues to sail between distant islands with no maps, compasses or GPS systems.

One group in New Zealand that prioritizes the preservation of this tradition is Te Matau a Māui Voyaging Trust, which manages a program called Waka Experience. The organization is led by Chairman Piripi Smith, who is an experienced Maori navigator.

Come hear about the local waka, Te Matau a Maui, and traditional navigator Piripi Smith talk about their Pacific voyages.

 

 

Please direct any enquiries to HBBranchRSNZ@gmail.com

Christchurch Earthquake: Restoration of buildings and applicability in Napier

5.30pm on Wednesday 17 February 2016
National Aquarium of NZ, 546 Marine Parade, Napier
Entry: gold coin donation

The Hawke’s Bay Branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand, in partnership with the Hawke’s Bay Chapter of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand, presents The 1931 Hawke’s Bay Earthquake Commemorative Lecture, with guest speakers Andrew Masterson and Guy Lethbridge.

Andrew Masterson is Business Development Manager of Mainmark Ground Engineering (NZ) Ltd in Christchurch. They were the lead contractor who worked with a consortium of international experts from New Zealand, Australia and Japan, to re-level the Christchurch Art Gallery following the February 2011 earthquake, using technology that was developed as a result of the Japanese earthquakes. Guy Lethbridge is a Director of Strata Group Consulting Engineers Ltd in Hastings, a structural engineering consultancy involved in strengthening buildings in Hawke’s Bay and Christchurch.

Their talk will describe re-levelling of the Christchurch Art Gallery and the potential application of levelling technology in Napier after an earthquake event. They will comment on the latest geological mapping underway in Hawke’s Bay and potential implications, and compare pre- and post-earthquake foundation designs, processes and outcomes.

Art Gallery Composition HR JOG + JG A5[1]

The Christchurch Art Gallery, with a graphic of the Jet Grout Machines installing the cement stabilised columns, and the JOG Computer Controlled Grout Injection system lifting the building back to its original inclination.