According to the tribal narratives of Ngāti Rārua and Te Āti Awa, the first human to travel to the Antarctic was the Polynesian explorer Hui Te Rangiora.

Te Rangiora sits aloft the meeting house Tūrangapeke, at Te Awhina marae in Motueka. He gazes out in his continual search for new lands, and in this way his journey is remembered and honoured.

Te Rangiora also adorns the Pou at the entrance to the Riuwaka Resurgence in Kahurangi National Park. At this place,  he took rest and prepared himself spiritually and physically for his journey into the Southern Ocean.

On 27 July at 3pm, Associate Professor Sandy Morrison (NRAIT owner) and Aimee Kaio speak about their research that aims to document Māori narratives of voyaging and knowledge of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.

For more information and to register for the online seminar visit: https://maoriantarctica.org/voyaging-south/