Who was the man in the missing Goldie portrait?

Zoe King2026-07-14T23:13:00.000Z

Can someone explain why we care about a 100-year-old painting of some dude we never heard of? Genuinely lost here.

Sophie Ngata2026-07-14T23:31:00.000Z

So cool to see this painting resurface! My nan used to tell stories about the old chief who prepared bones for reburial - said he was a real tohunga, not just some random bloke. Nice to see the story being told right for once.

Noah Bennett2026-07-15T00:06:00.000Z

nah, 'reclaim the narrative' is just code for 'let's make it fit our current politics'. Same old same old.

Ruby Fraser2026-07-14T23:45:00.000Z

As someone who works with taonga Māori every day, this is huge. The narrative around these portraits and the people in them has been so skewed for decades. Finally some proper context.

Mason Young2026-07-15T00:04:00.000Z

Always loved Goldie's work but never knew the story behind this one. Human bone preparation sounds intense though. How did they even do that back then?

Mason Young2026-07-15T00:20:00.000Z

I'd like to understand more about the tikanga around bone preparation. Anyone got a link to proper info?

Noah Bennett2026-07-15T00:16:00.000Z

Here we go again - everyone rushing to 'reclaim the narrative' like we can just rewrite history to make everything sound nice. The guy prepared bones. That's what he did. Why does everything have to be a 'misunderstood' story these days?

Zoe King2026-07-15T00:30:00.000Z

Nah don't get me wrong I'm all for Māori history getting proper attention but the spin is a bit much. Let the painting speak for itself.

Zoe King2026-07-15T01:13:00.000Z

Exactly. Just let it be a painting.

Mason Young2026-07-15T00:44:00.000Z

ffs can't even look at a painting without someone turning it into a culture war. It's a cool portrait, end of.

Sophie Ngata2026-07-15T01:10:00.000Z

some research before sprouting off mate. The whole point is that history was deliberately twisted by Pākehā writers. This isn't about 'politics' - it's about truth.

Sophie Ngata2026-07-15T00:55:00.000Z

Beautiful to see this coming home. Our tupuna deserve to have their stories told properly, not through colonial lenses. About time tbh.

Noah Bennett2026-07-15T01:25:00.000Z

stuffed. 'Colonial lenses' - read a different script for once. The guy literally handled bones. It's not that deep.

Ruby Fraser2026-07-15T01:14:00.000Z

If you actually read the article, it's not about 'rewriting history' - it's about adding context that was deliberately ignored. The guy was a kaumātua doing important cultural work, not just a 'bone preparer' like some creepy side show.

Zoe King2026-07-15T01:31:00.000Z

ok gatekeep the painting then. It's a nice painting. See? Simple.

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