Ceremony marks return home of kiwi feather cloak

A ceremony has been held to mark the return of a Māori kiwi feather cloak to New Zealand by a British museum.

The kahu kiwi was one of the farewell gifts presented by Māori leaders in 1900 to Dr George Cleghorn, a medical doctor who had been working in New Zealand.

It was loaned to the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford by Cleghorn's widow in 1913.

The return was organised by the charity the Homebound Project which specialises in reuniting indigenous artefacts with their country of origin.

Dr Lorraine Eade, chair of Ngāti Rārua o Te Wairau Society, which now owns the item, said the cloak was "crying to come home".

She said its significance was "beyond measure" and its return was an opportunity to acknowledge Cleghorn's work for Māori people.

The doctor advocated for their right to attend a local hospital instead of being required to travel further afield for medical treatment, Pitt Rivers Museum said.

He also spent time educating families at their homes on the importance of taking public health measures, it added.

Shane Graham, chief executive of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rārua, a Māori authority, said the return was a momentous occasion.

"It restores mana [prestige] and honours the deep emotional and cultural significance of our living connection to this taonga [treasure]," he said.

Prof Laura Van Broekhoven, director of the Pitt Rivers Museum, said: "We are very pleased that the day has come for the Kahu Kiwi to return home."

A ceremony was held in Oxford earlier to mark the cloak's departure.