Woven women's boots

Chris Brayshaw

20th July 1921 - 8th of June 2016

Chris Brayshaw was a weaver originally from Manchester, England, he migrated with his wife to Aotearoa New Zealand in 1955 where he based himself in the north island eventually settling in Matata. He started weaving after his retirement as a civil engineer in the late 1980s. Chris taught himself basic kete weaving from a book by Mick Pendergrast and he later joined a weaving class taught by the late Katerina Waiari (Ngati Awa) of Te Teko, where he learnt raranga and whatu kākahu. Chris enjoyed the technical challenges and mathematics of weaving which he related to his background in engineering. He was 94 years old when he died with a weaving career of 29 years.

Chis is credited with the creation of several innovative designs of pōtae using a combination of Māori, pacific, and Asian weaving techniques. He successfully adapted bamboo and pandanus weaving to harakeke, which due to the intrinsic differences of materials is a tedious and difficult task. Although he was not Māori, he was regarded by some kairaranga as one of the best weavers of complicated pointed pōtae for his time. He taught many of these designs to other weavers and was a member of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa. Chris frequently attended their hui where he exhibited and taught raranga pōtae to Maōri, giving back knowledge to the community from which the art form of raranga emerged.