Meet Hinemihi
Hinemihi o te Ao Tawhito (Hinemihi of the Old World) is a Māori wharenui (meeting house) with an extraordinary story of survival, movement and renewal. Built in Aotearoa (New Zealand) in 1881, she has witnessed volcanic disaster, displacement across oceans and changing meanings in a new land. More than just a structure, she embodies the spirit, history and identity of her people. Today, she remains a living place, holding past and present together, while looking toward a future shaped by care, understanding and connection.
Hinemihi, tīpuna (ancestress)
Hinemihi was a revered tīpuna who lived around the 16th-century. She is the original tīpuna of the Ngāti Hinemihi hapū (sub-tribe). A figure of strength and mana (prestige), remembered in stories that have travelled across generations. At her side is her treasured companion Kataore – her pet said to be a powerful creature and guardian – embodying guardianship, protection and spiritual power.
Hinemihi’s origins in Aotearoa (1880–1881)
Hinemihi was brought back to life in 1881 in Te Wairoa, Aotearoa. Her descendent Chief Āporo Te Wharekaniwha asked master carvers Wero Tāroi and Tene Waitere to shape a wharenui for Ngāti Hinemihi (People of Hinemihi), transforming tōtara wood into whakairo (carvings) that held their knowledge, history and whakapapa (genealogy). Through the act of carving, Hinemihi’s wairua (spirit) was imbued in her whakairo, carrying her presence, lineage and story and binding Hinemihi to the people who carry her name.
She became a wharenui, a place where people gathered, shared stories, marked important moments and welcomed visitors. Hinemihi stood at the heart of community life, offering shelter, connection, belonging and a place to share Māori culture with tourists.
Tourists staying overnight in Te Wairoa before visiting the fabulous pink and white terraces and the neighbouring lake visited Hinemihi.
The eruption that changed everything (1886)
In June 1886, Hinemihi’s world was transformed. The nearby volcano Mount Tarawera erupted without warning, devastating Te Wairoa village and taking many lives. In that moment of terror, she became a refuge. Around 50 people sheltered within Hinemihi and survived.
Though she was damaged, Hinemihi remained standing. From that day, she carried not only memories, but the weight and strength of survival.
We are alive because our ancestors sought shelter in their ancestral wharenui, Hinemihi.
After loss (1886–1892)
In the years that followed, Hinemihi stood in silence under a blanket of ash. The land around her became sacred, and her people were no longer there. Some of her whakairo were stolen during this time and lost as a historical record. Hinemihi began to change before she even left her homeland.
Hinemihi’s journey to England (1892)
By 1891 William Hillier, 4th Earl of Onslow, had resigned as Governor of New Zealand and was preparing to return to England with his family. He wanted to take home a reminder of the country and people he and his son Huia – an honourary chieftan – had built strong relationships with.
In January 1892, he purchased 23 of Hinemihi’s whakairo and carried her far across the world to England.
Hinemihi left Aotearoa, separated from her whenua (land) and her people. It was her whakairo that were valued most in this journey, and with their removal, Hinemihi’s life entered a new chapter.
Hinemihi has always been a part of my life. I was born into this space, learning that she's in a far distant place, a far distant land.
Rebuilt in a new land (1892–1897)
By 1897, Hinemihi was rebuilt at Clandon Park. Her whakairo were attached to a new structure, made using English building methods and designed from William Hillier’s remembrance of the many wharenui he had visited in Aotearoa.
She was shorter than before, different in form, yet still recognisable. Though altered, Hinemihi continued to reflect something of who she was.
Life in the gardens (1897–c.1930)
Hinemihi stood beside an ornamental lake, welcoming visitors once more. She displayed taonga (Māori treasure and gifts) and became a place where stories of Aotearoa and Māori life were shared.
In the years after Hinemihi arrived at Clandon, William Hillier continued to welcome Māori visitors and local communities to spend time with her. Proud of the friendships and relationships he had built in Aotearoa, he encouraged people to visit, took care in restoring Hinemihi, and shared her as a lasting reminder of those connections and of his respect for Māori culture.
Even here, far from home, Hinemihi remained a place of gathering and connection. And after his death in 1911, Māori people continued to remember the Earl with fondness. Writing to Lady Florence Onslow, the well-known Māori guide and ethnographer Mākereti Papakura said, 'Farewell Onslow, our friend, our father [...] Always will we remember your great love for the Māori people; how you visited our chiefs in friendship.'
Movement and loss of meaning (c.1930–1940s)
Around 1930, Hinemihi moved to a different location in Clandon's gardens, close to the mansion house, and then again in the 1940s. With each change, she lost more of herself. Her front wall was removed, her interior emptied and, with the passing of the 4th Earl and his son and the absence of the Onslow family from Clandon, understanding of Hinemihi’s history and significance faded.
Hinemihi began to fall into disrepair, no longer fully understood.
Care under the National Trust (1956–1960s)
In 1956, Hinemihi came into the care of the National Trust. Repairs were carried out in the 1960s, much of her structure was rebuilt, and her roof was rethatched.
Yet at that time, Hinemihi’s deeper cultural significance was still not fully recognised.
Rediscovery and restoration (1970s–1980s)
Over time, people began to relearn Hinemihi’s story from Māori visitors, including descendants of the people who she'd saved. Restoration work brought back parts of her structure, including her front wall, and her whakairo were repainted.
As understanding grew, so too did the care Hinemihi received.
We could feel the presence of our ancestors: those who sheltered inside Hinemihi during the eruption, and those who didn’t make it to safety.
Renewal with her people (1993–1995)
In 1993, some of Hinemihi’s whakairo that had been removed during earlier work on the wharenui were returned to her. Then, in 1995, new whakairo to replace the ones stolen in Aotearoa were created by Ngāti Hinemihi and installed. These carvers are descendants both of the chief who commissioned Hinemihi and of the master carvers who first created her, continuing an unbroken line of knowledge, skill and whakapapa.
Through their hands, Hinemihi felt a profound reconnection, not just physical, but spiritual. Her form was restored, and with it, her identity was strengthened.
Having a skill that can contribute to Hinemihi is very much an honour, and it was very humbling to be a part of that journey at that time.
A living meeting place again (1995–2016)
From 1995 onwards, Hinemihi became a working wharenui once more. Māori and Pasifika communities returned to gather within her. To celebrate, mourn, sing and share.
Even far from Aotearoa, Hinemihi became a place of belonging. She was no longer alone.
For Māori living in the UK, Hinemihi has long provided a place of cultural grounding far from home. She has been a place where language, ceremony, hospitality, grief, joy and belonging could continue to exist.
Caring for her future (2016–present)
In 2016, Hinemihi's whakairo were temporarily removed to protect them and she’s now sleeping in controlled conditions in a conservation store. Her structure remains in use.
Hinemihi’s whānau (family) visit her often. And while she’s sleeping, the timber-framed structure continues to host people, conversations and community life.
Looking ahead
Plans are being made for Hinemihi to return home to Aotearoa in her whakairo. New, original whakairo sharing the history of the last 130 years will take her place here, and a working Māori wharenui will continue to stand at Clandon.
Hinemihi’s story has always been one of change. Through loss, movement and renewal, she remains a place of connection, carrying her past while looking toward the future.
The Hinemihi Project partners
Ngā Kohinga Whakairo o Hinemihi (Hinemihi of the Old World) is a charitable trust based in Aotearoa (New Zealand) working on behalf of Ngāti Hinemihi for the return of Hinemihi in exchange for new whakairo (carvings).
Te Maru o Hinemihi (In the Embrace of Hinemihi) is a UK-based community interest company with multinational members who are united in representing the interests of Hinemihi and the wharenui (Māori meeting house) at Clandon.
Europe’s largest conservation charity. As Hinemihi’s legal custodian, the National Trust shares the care and love of Hinemihi with its partners and wants an ongoing life for the wharenui (Māori meeting house) at Clandon.
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The Hinemihi Project: Celebrating and building on shared histories
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