In search of what we know
Dawson Clutterbuck >

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Hokianga Nui a Kupe (The place of Kupe’s great return) is said to be the place where the first human contact with New Zealand was made. I was born and raised here, although over the past few years I have lived in Auckland. When you move to any new place initially there is a feeling of exclusion to that place. It takes time to build relationships with the environment, people, and wider community that exist there. For me the people that I begin to notice regularly become the locals because of an evolving familiarity I make with them. By seeing them often, and by them occasionally noticing me, a feeling of being a part of some sort of community begins to emerge.

However, there is something about that original place of where you are from. Hokianga has a very strong connection between the people and the land, which holds a strong sense of belonging. Over time Auckland has offered me some feeling of place, but it is never a truly comfortable place to stand.

I travelled home to make the flag, and will leave with it on the morning of 05.05.10, hitchhiking back to Auckland using the flag as a gesture of my desired consciousness.

Dawson Clutterbuck