Nga Toa Maunga nā Kāterina Mataira i tuhituhi; nā John Bevan Ford kā whakaahua. Raglan, N.Z.: Te Ataarangi Publications, 1982.
John Bevan Ford (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Raukawa ki Kapiti, 1930-2005) was one of Aotearoa’s best known Māori artists, acknowledged as a skilled practitioner of traditional carving and leading figure of contemporary Māori art. He was also a prominent champion of Māori arts education. He completed the Department of Education’s specialist Arts and Crafts training year at Dunedin Teachers College in 1951, with guidance from Gordon Tovey and support from Māori artists such as master carver Pine Taiapa. Ford became an arts advisor to schools in 1952, later holding the position of Senior Lecturer in Māori Arts at Massey University.
Ford was asked by Dame Kāterina Mataira to illustrate these two books. Published in both te reo Māori and English, their English titles are The Warrior Mountain and The River which Ran away. Both stories are adapted by Mataira from ancient Māori stories. In Te Awa i Tahuti / The River which Ran away Mataira acknowledges Tainui storyteller Rore Erueti, and Te Uira Manihera, who was told this story of Waikato River by Eruiti and relayed it to Mataira. In a 1988 Art New Zealand article, Ford says “I think the influence of doing these illustrations may have been a major contribution to why I use the pen.”
Nga Toa Maunga nā Kāterina Mataira i tuhituhi; nā John Bevan Ford kā whakaahua. Raglan, N.Z.: Te Ataarangi Publications, 1982.
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