Post #263164 by Paipo on Sat, Oct 28, 2006 3:42 AM

The year was 1964. Beatlemania was at its height after the release of their second album With the Beatles. Following a whirlwind first promotional trip to the USA, the band returned to the UK to film A Hard Day's Night before embarking on their first "World" tour, including Denmark, The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.

On June 21st, 1964, the band touched down in Wellington, New Zealand, where they were met by 7000 screaming fans. An official Maori welcome by Te Pataka concert party included the presentation of large hei-tiki pendants and flax poi to each band member.

A traditional hongi (touching of noses) was also part of the ceremony, with the well-endowed Ringo responding enthusiastically.

The band were then whisked away to the Hotel St. George, which was besieged by masses of excited but generally well-behaved fans. The Beatles soon made an appearance on the hotel balcony and the crowd roared. An invitation from Paul for the fans to join them resulted in two young men climbing the fire escape, with one managing to shake his hero's hand before being apprehended.

Two concerts were scheduled in Wellington on June 22nd and 23rd before the band flew on to Auckland and Christchurch for further dates. During this time, an enterprising young journalist from the local newspaper managed to use a combination of charm and press credentials to get herself and a couple of friends in to meet the Fab Four in their hotel room. One of the friends was my mother, who wasn't greatly interested in the band but knew it was an opportunity not to be missed. They spent time hanging out and chatting, where some of the rock star behaviour on show (such as stubbing out cigarettes in platters of food) was less than impressive to a strictly-raised girl from the deep south of New Zealand. She was unwilling to ask for their autographs but did find Paul particularly charming, and, most importantly, was lucky enough to be gifted John Lennon's hei-tiki and poi that had been presented to him at the airport.

Years passed, and the story and artefacts of this meeting were occasionally mentioned at family gatherings or when the items briefly surfaced from time to time. My uncle had the hei-tiki hanging on his bedroom wall for number of years in his youth but at some point it returned to our keeping. It then passed on to my sister, and during a move was unfortunately broken in two. The poi have not been seen for many years now, but knowing my mother they will be safely tucked away deep in a box somewhere. These items were never really treasured or considered valuable - more as curiosities of an interesting chapter in my mother's life.

A week ago I was over visiting my mother, and having had many recent conversations regarding the "Beatles Tiki" and its potential value I thought it we should really try to find it again - it's probably 4 or 5 years since it was last sighted. After moving her freezer to gain access to several boxes and chests in her garage on the last morning of my trip, we struck paydirt in the very last box. There it was - broken and dusty, covered only in a sheet of newspaper. Even in this state, it brought back a flood of memories, being one of the first tiki images I ever saw as a child. Along with the plastic hei-tiki given to passengers by New Zealand's international airline, it planted a seed that has taken bloom in my life in recent times.

So what now? Well, knowing Mum, it might be another 4 years before anything happens with the hei-tiki. It needs some serious restoration, and I guess she will need to decide how best to part with it. From my perspective, it was fun just to partake in a little "tiki archaeology" - even if it was only in my mother's garage!
Having talked to her about the whole Polynesian Pop / Tiki era, she recalled that a Wellington restaurant she visited in the 1960s possibly had a bar or lounge that was very much along those lines - but that's another story!

[ Edited by: Paipo 2006-10-28 18:47 ]