Created in 1988 for the Balclutha Social Welfare Office, this mural is 2m x 1.5m.

The central figure is the Moko (tattoo) of Tuhawaiki who was the paramount Maori chief of the South Island.

The masks surrounding the Moko represent the ancestors and the lizards signify death.

Although completed in 1988, this work was unveiled at a blessing of the new Social Welfare building by Maori elder Huata Holmes in April 1989.

Angela Fraser, POI Research Team, 2002