It uses footage shot between 1937 and 1940 by R.G.H Manley, and edited 50 years later by Annie Collins and director Merata Mita.
[1] In 1937, in anticipation of the 1940 centennial celebrations, Māori leader Princess Te Puea commissioned seven waka taua (war canoes), in an attempt to recreate the legendary seven canoes of the Māori migration, though only three were built due to funding shortages.
Stills photographer R.G.H "Jim" Manley was asked to film the process, from the felling of massive trees to the maiden voyage.
Merata Mita joined the project in August 1989, editing the film on location at Tūrangawaewae Marae so that the materials could be handled with traditional blessing practices, and to allow elders originally present in the 1930s to advise.
As the original film was almost completely silent, the soundtrack was created from scratch based on the remembrances of these elders.