Te Aue Davis was born at Marokopa and lived for much of her life in Waitomo before moving to Auckland. For many years, Te Aue has worked as a leading Māori weaver and has been active in the area of conservation of natural resources used in raranga, as well as maintaining woven items held in museums. Her weaving has been exhibited widely in New Zealand, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, USA, Noumea, Rarotonga and Australia. Recent exhibitions include “Nga Taonga o Aotearoa: Treasures of New Zealand Māori Art” at the 8th Festival of Pacific Arts in Kanqaky/New Caledonia in 2002, and “Te Iti Kakurangi – Small but Treasured” at the 9th Festival of Pacific Arts held at Koror, Republic of Palau, in 2004. With Ranui Ngarimu and other weavers, Te Aue was responsible for weaving the kakahu worn by Beatrice Faumuina at the Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games.
Alongside her weaving, Te Aue has also engaged in researching Māori place names and writing non-fiction articles and publications. In 1993, Te Aue was the visionary behind the New Zealand Geographic Board’s project to produce two wall maps of New Zealand that noted the original Māori place names and wahi tapu. She travelled extensively throughout the country doing research for this project.
Te Aue has received various awards for her services to Māori including a Te Waka Toi award for her research into natural cultural resources; an Individual Art Award from the Council for Māori and South Pacific Art in 1986; a New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal; and in 1993 the Order of the British Empire for her services to Māori. In 2005, Te Aue was appointed Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to New Zealand’s heritage in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. She is Deputy chair of the Historic Places trust’s Māori Heritage Council and is a J.P.
Biographical sources
- Correspondence from Te Aue Davis in 1997 and 26 March 2004.
- Amokura: O Te Māori. Catalogue of Exhibition organised by Aotearoa Moana nui-a-Kiwa Weavers, the Council for Māori and South Pacific Arts and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, New Zealand, 1986.
- Ngā Tāonga o Aotearoa: Treasures of New Zealand. Māori art at the 8th Festival of Pacific Arts in Kanaky/New Caledonia. Creative New Zealand, 2000. 12.
Non-fiction
- Summary Report: National Conference On The Role Of The Doctor In New Zealand: Implications For Medical Education, Palmerston North, N.Z., 7-11 October 1985. Trans. Te Aue Davis. [Dunedin, N.Z.: Medical School, U of Otago], 1985.
- Issued by the Conference Participants. Text in English with Māori translation.
- Te Tumu o Tainui: A Commemorative Souvenir of the Opening of Te Tini o Tainui Dining Hall by the Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. David Lange, Maketu Marae, Kawhia, November 1, 1986. Comp. Tuauru Forbes. Ed. Te Kohu Douglas and Te Aue Davis. Kawhia: Maketu Marae Trustees, 1986.
- He Kōrero Purākau mo ngā Taunahanahatanga a ngā Tupuna/Place Names of the Ancestors: A Māori Oral History Atlas. Comp. Te Aue Davis. Ed. John Wilson. Wellington, N.Z.: The New Zealand Geographic Board, [1990]
- Introduction by Tipene O’Regan. Illustrations by Cliff Whiting. Maps by Department of Survey and Land Information. Editor John Wilson writes that this "first Māori Oral History Atlas, relates specific place names to the exploits of early Māori discoverers, explorers and travellers. Its smaller companion, Place Names of the Māori, provides a framework within which Māori place names can be grouped according to types of names." The book is composed of eleven stories written in Māori and English with accompanying maps and lists of place names taken from the journeyings of Māori explorers Kupe, Tōhē, Kahupeka, Ngātoro I Rangi and Tia, Kahumatamomoe and Ihenga, Paikea, Turi, Tamatea, Poutini, and Rākaihautu. The book includes "A Lullaby for Wharau Rangi", a bibliography, an index of place names and a general index.
- Ngā Tohu Pumahara: The Survey Pegs of the Past: Understanding Māori Place Names. Comp. Te Aue Davis, Tipene O’Regan and John Wilson. [Wellington, N.Z.]: The New Zealand Geographic Board, [1990].
- Compiled for the New Zealand Geographic Board Nga Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa. The authors state that this publication provides a basis for "understanding Māori place names in a systematic way. It builds on the pioneer work of one of New Zealand’s greatest literary scholars, H. W. Williams, who as long ago as 1912 set out a framework for a culturally appropriate approach to Māori place names. Subsequently Johannes Andersen in his 1942 book Māori Place-names built on Williams’ work." The book is divided into categories dealing with the "Hawaiki’ names, place names incorporating people’s names, the descriptive names, and names commemorating Maui." This book was published in association with He Kōrero Purākau mo ngā Taunahanahatanga a ngā Tupuna/Place Names of the Ancestors: A Māori Oral History Atlas.
- "Puhiwahine Te Rangihirawea Rihi." Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Vol. 2: 1870-1900. Wellington, N.Z.: Bridget Williams Books; Dept. of Internal Affairs, 1993. 400-401.
- "Davis, Charles Richard 1895-1964. Davis, Edward Charles 1887-1958." Dictionary of the New Zealand Biography. Vol. 4. 1921-1940. Auckland; Wellington, N.Z.: Auckland UP; Dept. of Internal Affairs, 1998. 129-131.
Other
- Te Ika A Māui: The Land And Its People Circa 1840. Map. Wellington, N.Z.: Dept. of Survey and Land Information for the New Zealand Geographic Board, 1995.
- Co-producers Cliff Whiting, Te Aue Davis, and New Zealand Dept. of Survey and Land information. Illustrations by Cliff Whiting.
- Te Wai Pounamu: The Land And Its People, Circa 1840. Map. Wellington, N.Z.: Dept. of Survey and Land Information for the New Zealand Geographic Board, 1995.
- Co-producers Cliff Whiting, Te Aue Davis, New Zealand Dept. of Survey and Land information. Illustrations by Cliff Whiting.
Reviews
- Dominion 22 Dec. 1990: 9.
Other
- Paton-Tapsell, Bridgette. "Knowledge and Resources Key to Preservation." New Zealand Historic Places Trust Autumn 2003.
- "Te Aue Davis." Aotearoa Moananui A Kiwa Weavers 10 (1989): 7.
- Thomson, Margie. "Historical Mysteries." New Zealand Herald 3 Aug. 1991. No further details.
- Talks to the researcher about controversy over changing place names back to original names.