Child's wrap

item details

NameChild's wrap

ProductionEterina Hokokakahu Aperahama Wright; weaver; circa 1875; Wairarapa

Classificationcloaks, costume

Materialsmuka (fibre), wool

Materials SummaryMuka (processed flax fibre) kaupapa (base), dyed, and woven in the kete-whakawaitara pattern.

Techniquesweaving

DimensionsOverall: 1190mm (width), 790mm (height), 30mm (depth)

Registration NumberME004849/1

Credit lineGift of Florence Rogers, 1949

Overview

Eterina Hokokakahu Aperahama of Akitio, in the Wairarapa, made this beautiful child's wrap in 1875 for newborn infant Florence Rogers. The wrap, used as a decorative outer garment, is said to be indicative of those traditionally made for children of noble birth, and is constructed using the kete-whakawaitara (ornamental weaving) technique.

Eterina Hokokakahu Aperahama
Eterina, daughter of the Wairarapa chief Aperahama Te Apūtūranga and Hine-rireia, was employed by Florence's parents shortly after her birth to care for her, and immediately began to weave a suitable cloak as a wrap for baby Florence.

The Rogers
Florence Rogers was the daughter of Oahanga ferryman Charles Rogers, who later owned the Club Hotel at Castlepoint on the lower east coast of the North Island. Rogers and his family later resettled in Wellington where Florence worked as a nurse. In 1949 Florence Rogers, then aged seventy-four, presented the cloak to Te Papa's predecessor, the Dominion Museum.