Huia feathers were predominately worn by rangatira as a symbol of their status. The saying Huia tangata kotahi—Huia your destiny is to bring everyone together is also a metaphor for the Living Pā.

More than a building, the Living Pā leans into significant socio-cultural and environmental challenges and asks, is what we’re doing enough?  The project activity seeks to enable a broad range of initiatives and conversation around this topic.  One such collaboration involves the School of Biological Sciences and the Adam Art Gallery and the preservation of two huia birds, formerly used as teaching tools in Biology.

The manu huia pictured will be expertly conserved and homed in the Living Pā as a poignant reminder that some actions are irreparable. Rhonda Thomson, Co-Project Manager for the Living Pā explains, “We’re losing an estimated 68,000 native birds a night to introduced mammalian predators, that's every night. We have the highest proportion of threatened indigenous species in the world.  We currently have a total of 4,000 separate species that are threatened. These two birds sum it up. You see them and it’s so sad, but the opportunity is to make people think.”

The full story of the huia’s journey to the Living Pā is featured in Victorious 2022.