Riki Manuel

Born in Oamaru in 1960 and one of six siblings, Manuel was brought up in Rakaia, before moving to Cobden, on the West Coast, when he was 10.

[1] Having left school, Manuel tried to enrol at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua at 15 but was initially declined due to his young age.

[2] One of Manuel's highest profiled works is the six-metre-high pou whenua carved in tōtara that stands beside the Avon River / Ōtākaro in Victoria Square, Christchurch.

[2][3] Commissioned by Ngāi Tahu, it was unveiled in December 1994 as part of the 1990 commemorations of the Treaty of Waitangi, and depicts two main themes – mahinga kai (food resource) and tūpuna (ancestors).

They are Kākano Puananī, which tells the Ngāi Tahu creation story, and Tūhura, the design on the exterior basalt wall on Colombo Street alluding to the voyaging of generations from Hawaiki to Te Waipounamu.