As you drive towards the southern end of  Patea your attention will be taken by the sight of a very large sculpture of a whale skeleton—Patea’s very own “Lovely Bones”   -  a work created by artist Kim Jarrett called the Garden of Tutunui.  This piece was commissioned by the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust in 2006 and later gifted to the South Taranaki District Council.

The TSB Community Trust funded the cost of Tutunui and later the installation of the sculpture in Patea.

An initiative led by Ngati Ruanui and Ngaa Rauru Iwi, endorsed by the community of Patea and negotiated through Council, brought the sculpture to it’s resting place in South Taranaki for all to enjoy.

                 Up-lit at night creates a wonderful eerie effect    

            (Photo courtesy of South Taranaki DIstrict Website)

The Artist :

Kim Jarrett is a Landscape designer and this work was originally created for the Taranaki Rhododendron and Garden Festival.  Kim’s best known work was for his part in the award-winning design of 100% Pure New Zealand Ora garden showcased at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2004.

>>>Enter here       to view the current works of Kim Jarrett

                                Artistic Aspects in Daylight

The Story :

The story of Tutunui the whale comes from the Pacific Islands and has links to Patea traditions.  The whale was the pet of the great chief Tinirau.  When a son was born to Tinirau, the tohunga Kae was called upon to perform the birth ceremonies and fed a morsel of flesh from the whale.  Tinirau allowed Tutunui to take Kae home across the sea.  Remembering the wonderful taste of the whale, Kae manipulated the death of Tutunui and cooked its flesh in an oven, wrapped in koromiko leaves, used to hold in the flavour.  Kae was found out by Tinirau and put to death.

                                   A young Bull whale at Waverley Beach

 Tena te kakara o Tutunui  -  There rises the savoury smell of Tutunui

This is a proverb (whakatauaki) handed down as a moral lesson that we should not covet others goods or enjoy another’s property.

The Sculpture :

The Sculpture is approxmately 23 metres long, 7 metres wide and  6 metres high, made from foam covered with fibre glass and bolted to a steel frame.  Situated in a park-like garden full of native shrubs and grasses, Visitors are invited to stop, look and rest in what is now Tutunui’s paradise.