Parliament's buildings

Parliament House

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Date:
9 August 2006
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Matangireia — former Māori Affairs Committee Room

This special room was dedicated to the Māori Affairs Committee when Parliament House was completed in 1922. The opening ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Massey.

Decoration

Carvings that represent the entrance to a whare rūnanga are fixed to the wall and around the doors of this room, to make it appropriate as a Māori meeting place. These were restored as part of a renovation project in 1955, supervised by John Grace who was private secretary to the Minister of Māori Affairs and a Tūwharetoa chief. As part of the renovation, tukutuku were extended around the walls and red and black kōwhaiwhai added to decorate the ceiling and cornices.

A large panel that reproduces the Treaty of Waitangi is mounted on the wall, alongside portraits of significant Māori members of Parliament:

  • James Carroll
  • Te Rangi Hīroa (Peter Buck)
  • Māui Pōmare
  • Apirana Ngata
  • Eruera Tirikātene
  • Matiu Rata.

Parliament House refurbishment

A new, more prominently positioned Māori Affairs Committee Room was created as part of the 1992-1995 Parliament House refurbishment.

The old Māori Affairs Committee Room was then reopened and renamed Matangireia, which means the thirteenth and uppermost heaven. Today it is a place where all iwi can meet in peaceful, harmonious, and tranquil surroundings.