Jimmy with one of his waka on the shores of the Clutha River.

MADDY HARKER

If you pass through Albert Town often, you’ve likely noticed two long hulls slowly being transformed near the river’s edge. They arrived in Wanaka as second-hand dragon boats, but the painstaking work of Jimmy Brennan is turning the craft into traditional Māori waka.

When the Wanaka App visited on Wednesday, Jimmy had begun the process of adding traditional Māori painting to the waka, which he had already remodelled and refitted. Two elaborate taurapa (stern-piece) have recently been hand-carved by a master carver, which will be added to the waka in the near future.

Jimmy decided early last year that he would build the waka in Wanaka. He parked up at the camping ground with his housebus and two hulls, and has been working away on the project ever since.

His location, along the shores of Clutha (Mata-Au) River just above the Albert Town Bridge, has been good for many reasons.

"I meet people all the time,” Jimmy said. "People are very curious. And the further it goes, the more curious people get.”

Being just metres from the river has its perks too, and affordable accommodation is a plus - Jimmy is working a 40-hour week as well as transforming the waka, a juggling act which Jimmy said can be "full on”.

But the waka are much more than a hobby: Jimmy has a vision for an ‘eco-cultural tourism’ venture incorporating the waka. Drawing on his background in tourism, he wants to incorporate the traditional Māori waka with a water trip (either on the Clutha or the lake), indigenous music performance and education on the history of Māori waka.

He’s got the right background for all aspects of the project: Jimmy has had extensive careers in tourism and joinery. He’s also a professional musician, and seven of his 12 guitars live with him in his housebus.

Jimmy has two ideas for what he might do with the boats on the water. The first is to paddle out to a floating pontoon/catamaran on the lake, within 200m of the shoreline, on a war canoe which takes 18 people. They would reach a double hulled boat (decorated in traditional Māori style) where an indigenous instrument concert would be hosted.

The second option is similar but on the river: clients could paddle to a yet-to-be-determined destination and have a concert there.

"Those are the two options I’m floating. I’m still information gathering and networking and figuring it out. I’m looking for advice for what people would like to see.”

He’s eager to get onto water: "There’s nothing I’d like more than going down the river with the boats fully laden,” Jimmy said.

If Jimmy was to choose the first option, the two hulls would be connected to form a catamaran-style boat where he could hold the indigenous music performances. The process of turning the waka, or war canoes, into a double hull craft, is likely to be laborious. "That’ll be the interesting bit,” Jimmy said.

But it won’t be Jimmy’s first boat building venture, and his other boats in Rotorua will eventually join him down here too.

While war canoes are the most commonly seen traditional Maori boat these days, double hulls hold an important place in Māori history, Jimmy said.

"It was a double hull that got us here [to Aotearoa/New Zealand]. But then we went to the war canoe to protect it. The depth is in the double hull. There’s a whole history there: it tells the story of the great migration.”

"The canoe you came in represents your tribe. It’s the first thing you learn at primary school: your waka, then your mountain, then your ancestors.”

As well as - and possibly before - the boat trips, Jimmy is interested in conducting educational visits to the waka on land. "I can start showing them soon - what they are, what the components are and what they signify.”

For Jimmy to get his on-water venture off the ground, he will have to jump through a few hoops. The project will need approval from the harbourmaster, local iwi and the council, he said.

It’s a project Jimmy hopes the community will get behind. "I think the idea could go really well here. In New Zealand, and especially here, people are environmentally conscious because of how nice the environment is.”

In the short time he’s been here, Jimmy’s become part of the local community. Some of the curious people who have shown up to ask what he’s doing have turned out to be experts in the trade, and have become both friends and what he calls his "technical advisors”.

His love for music has also been a way to connect with people, and he’s helping to organise a fortnightly open mic night at the Luggate Hotel (the first one is to be held on February 18, with special guests for the grand opening).

PHOTO: Wanaka App