Beatles tiki tour – How John Lennon's plastic tiki became a Kiwi family heirloom
The Beatles arrive in New Zealand ahead of their 1964 tour.
Rose was in her Wellington flat one Sunday afternoon when the phone rang.
It was her journalist friend Sue Masters, who had just finished interviewing a visiting rock band.
The band members wanted to meet some local women. Would Rose and her two flatmates like to come down and hang out with them for the evening?
It was June 1964. The band was called The Beatles.
John, Paul, George and Ringo had landed in Wellington that afternoon. They were greeted by a Māori kapa haka group who presented them with very unusual hei tiki.
A hei tiki is a small carved pendant made of pounamu (greenstone) that is highly prized in Māori culture. Hei means worn around the neck in te reo Māori and tiki means human form. They are commonly referred to as tiki.
Source: Charlie Gate/stuff.co.nz
