A ceremony has marked the return of a Māori kiwi feather cloak from a British museum to New Zealand. The kahu kiwi was among farewell gifts given to Dr George Cleghorn, a medical doctor, by Māori leaders in 1900.
Cleghorn's widow loaned the cloak to the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford in 1913. The Homebound Project, a charity, funded the item's return, stating the cloak was "crying to come home".
Dr Lorraine Eade, chair of the Ngāti Rārua o Te Wairau Society, which now owns the cloak, described its significance as "beyond measure". She added that its return acknowledges Dr Cleghorn's work for Māori people, including advocating for their right to attend a local hospital and educating families on public health measures.
Shane Graham, chief executive of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rārua, called the return a momentous occasion. Professor Laura Van Broekhoven, director of the Pitt Rivers Museum, expressed pleasure that the cloak had returned home.