Maori influenza pandemic memorial

This carved wooden Maori cenotaph was erected at Te Koura marae in memory of those who died in the 1918 influenza pandemic. The cenotaph was designed and carved by Tene Waitere of Ngati Tarawhai. He also created a similar cenotaph at Te Ihingarangi marae, Waimiha. This photograph was taken in 1920 by Albert Percy Godber.

Historian Geoffrey Rice suggests that higher death rates among Maori (about seven times that of Pakeha) may be attributed to their isolation from ‘the normal circulation of colds and minor respiratory ailments’, as Maori were then a largely rural population. He also suggests that ‘lower standards of housing, clothing and nourishment’ amongst Maori communities put them at greater risk.