This is a small model replica of a traditional Maori war canoe. Note the distinctive large tailboard and prow that are carved and pierced with spiral patterns, and the inlaid discs of pāua (abalone) shell. In the base of the boat is a section of bamboo matting.

In Maori language these large decorated canoes are called waka taua which means war canoe (waka means canoe and tuaa means army). The full sized boats can be up to 40 metres long and can be fit up to 80 people. The canoes are carved from a single hollowed out log – the trunk of the native Totara tree.  Traditionally a tree would be chosen many years in advance and ritually felled to the accompaniment of chanting and prayers.

Nobody is quite sure how the Maori people first arrived in New Zealand, which they called Aotearoa but it is believed that in the 14^th Century they sailed from distant Pacific islands that had become overpopulated and ravaged by war. In Maori tradition, ancestors made the journey to Aotearoa in canoes like this one. There is only one surviving Maori war canoe and it is preserved in Auckland Museum. 

Spirals are an important element in Maori decoration and carving.  They may be an abstract representation of a mythical creature called a manaia – half man, half bird or serpent.  It is believed to be a messenger between the human and spirit worlds and a protection against evil, so it seems an appropriate motif to guard against danger at sea.