The Pākehā carver who, rightly or wrongly, made Māori designs his own.

By Bill Morris, on behalf of Frank Film, June 2026

150 years ago, in a remote nook of Banks Peninsula, a Pākehā farmer carved intricate Māori designs like his life depended on it. Today, his legacy is treasured by those who hold these idiosyncratic pieces dear. But how should we as a society view the work of John Henry Menzies today?

Menzies, a sheep farmer from northern England, arrived with his family in the bay that now bears his name in 1877. He farmed the land around Menzies Bay and built a succession of homesteads there, only one of which–Rehutai–survived into the 21st century.

Rehutai was built around a central hallway in the style of a Māori meeting house, with carved panels covering the walls and ceiling. It’s not clear where Menzies picked up his love of Māori designs. It seems he never had access to, or sought, formal training in the techniques and styles, and yet it clearly obsessed him. “He constantly carved,” Rick Menzies, John Henry’s great grandson, tells Frank Film. “Wherever he was, he took a bit of carving with him. He just couldn't resist seeing plain wood that wasn't carved.” 1

Menzies left behind more than 80 carved furniture pieces – including tables, desks, chairs, clocks and church fonts. A large cabinet based on a Māori pātaka, or storehouse – perhaps Menzies’ most admired piece – is on display in the Christchurch Art Gallery. Menzies also produced a book called Maori Patterns Painted and Carved.

While his designs draw heavily on the Māori style, he also included local flora in his works, in the style of the Arts and Craft movement of the early 20th Century. “I think he appreciated the Māori patterns, but he also wanted to do his own thing,” says Rick Menzies.

In 1906, the remote Little Akaloa community was in need of a church. Menzies paid for half of it, and designed, built and decorated it himself. The St Luke’s church, finished with pebbledash made from local sand and adorned inside with Menzies’ signature carvings, is still in use today.

Unfortunately the Rehutai homestead had deteriorated beyond repair when Paddy Cotter purchased the Menzies Bay farm in 2001. Like many others who have fallen under the enigmatic carver’s spell, Cotter became a Menzies obsessive. “I describe him as a doer, not a talker,” he says. “He wouldn't be a person who sat on committees, he just wanted to get out and do things. He was a driven man. He was a husband, a father, a grandfather, a great grandfather, a farmer, a businessman, a builder, an architect, an artist. His range of talents was just extraordinary.”

Cotter demolished the dilapidated homestead, but saved the art; “my instructions to the builders were quite simple–keep every conceivable piece of painted, carved item you can lay your hands on,” he says.

Once the demolition was complete, Cotter built a museum to house Menzie’s carvings. The central hallway is faithfully recreated, with every carving in its original place. It's a place for visitors to come and appreciate the remarkable legacy of a true 19th century polymath.

But how should we view Menzies’ art today? Helen Brown of Ngāi Tahu, who has researched Menzies’ story, says there’s no one answer to that. “He's co-opting forms which are part of a language he isn't privy to,” she says. “Is it Māori art? Absolutely not. Is it cultural appropriation? It absolutely is, indeed, it's misappropriation. However, I think it's really important to consider the context in which Menzies was operating.”

Menzies, she says, was under the impression he was helping keep the art of Māori carving alive. “Like many other Pākehā in the late 19th century… he was infected with this misunderstanding...that Māori were a dying race.”

Despite her reservations, Brown confesses a “fondness” for Menzies. And perhaps, overt analysis of his work is unwarranted –there is no evidence he sought glory or recognition for his carvings. “John Henry carved because he loved the patterns,” says Rick Menzies, who grew up making daily use of one of the artist's carved dining tables. “It's all done for his family.”

Thanks To:

Annabel Menzies-Joyce
Rick Menzies
Paddy Cotter
Helen Brown (Ngāi Tahu)
Akaroa Museum & Daniel Smith
Ōnuku Marae
St Luke’s Anglican Church, Akaloa

Archive supplied by:

John Henry Menzies, Stanford Family Pātaka Cabinet, 1895. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery te Puna o Waiwhetū and Akaroa Museum, jointly purchased 2019.
John Henry Menzies, Carved Long Case Clock, 1890s, on loan from the Harris Family to Akaroa Museum.
Family photo Collection - Rick Menzies
Rehutai stills and Flythrough - Paddy Cotter
Menziesbay-1 - “The Recollections of Frances Elizabeth Menzies”

Director, Producer and Camera: Gerard Smyth
Second Camera: Antony Miller
Line Producers: Kirsty Cooper & Antony Miller
Editor: Sarah Grohnert
Research: Bill Morris
Colour & Online: Mike Kelland
Audio Post: Chris Sinclair

Funded by NZ On Air