Te Ahi Kaa - Poupou

Standing quietly in Victoria Square, Te Ahi Kaa – Poupou is a powerful marker of presence, memory, and continuity.

At the base of the poupou, a plaque reads:

He poupou tohu
ahi-kā o Ngāi Tahu
A mark of the long burning
fires of Ngāi Tahu

These words speak of ahi kā (the fires that remain burning), a concept that expresses ongoing occupation, connection, and responsibility to place.

Carved from a single tōtara trunk, the six-metre-high poupou was designed and carved by Riki Manuel and erected in 1990 as part of the commemorations marking the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The carving carries two central themes: mahinga kai (traditional food resources) and tīpuna, (the ancestors) of Ngāi Tahu and Waitaha. These themes are not abstract ideas here; they are grounded in the land itself. The area surrounding the square was once a place where food was gathered, where rivers, wetlands, and seasonal abundance sustained communities over generations.

The poupou stands as a visual reminder that long before streets, buildings, and statues, this place was lived in, worked, and cared for. It honours those ancestors who gathered food here, passed on knowledge, and maintained relationships with the land and waterways. At the same time, it asserts continuity, that Ngāi Tahu remain connected to this place, with fires still burning.