{{Short description|New Zealand Māori weaver}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2019}} '''Te Aue Takotoroa Davis''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|CNZM|OBE|JP|size=85%}} (1 September 1925 – 28 November 2010), also known as '''Daisy Davis''', was a key figure in the Māori renaissance in the field of weaving. Born and raised near her ancestral marae Tokikapu in Waitomo, of Ngati Uekaha and Maniapoto descent, she received early grants from the Council for Maori and Pacific Arts and Department of Labour to fund her work.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10693648 |title=Protector of Maori tradition |work=nzherald.co.nz |year=2011 |accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.olympic.org.nz/nzoc/news/honour-te-aue-davis |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110611173520/http://www.olympic.org.nz/nzoc/news/honour-te-aue-davis |url-status= dead |archive-date= 11 June 2011 |title=In honour of Te Aue Davis |work=olympic.org.nz |year=2011 |accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://news.tangatawhenua.com/archives/8285 |title=Weaver and heritage advocate Te Aue Davis dies &#124; |work=news.tangatawhenua.com |year=2011 |accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref>

Davis worked in the conservation of te Reo as a taonga, for the Department of Survey and Land Information. She worked on a Polynesian language oral history map that traced migration routes across the Pacific through the naming of places, plants and animals. She was also a member of the Cultural Conservation Advisory Council (a council that existed from 1987–1991 to "guide and facilitate collection conservation and the training of personnel through funding allocation and the provision of policy advice").<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=Spring 1990|title=People: Te Aue Davis|url=|journal=Aotearoa Moananui a Kiwa Weavers|volume=10|pages=7|via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=1987-01-01|title=Cultural Conservation Advisory Council (N.Z.)|url=https://natlib.govt.nz/records/40544538|access-date=2021-01-07|website=Cultural Conservation Advisory Counci... {{!}} Items {{!}} National Library of New Zealand {{!}} National Library of New Zealand|language=en}}</ref>

Davis never formally learned to weave, but said "you retain what you learn when you learn through working with the material. My interest started with one or two of our own family cloaks. Then from that came the realisation that there were a whole lot of fibre things that needed restoration, particularly on marae, such as the whariki and old kete that people hold dear."<ref name=":0" />

A rain cape made by Davis in the collection of Te Papa was worn by the Crown Princess Masako of Japan on a visit to New Zealand in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/ObjectDetails.aspx?oid=381673 |title=Hieke (rain cape) |publisher=Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa |work=collections.tepapa.govt.nz |year=2011 |accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref>

Davis and Rānui Ngārimu, with the assistance of Jane Morgan, Kelly Walker, Iri Morunga and Delphina Te Tai, wove Te Māhutonga (the Southern Cross).<ref>{{Cite Q|Q104668139|page=86}}</ref> Te Māhutonga is the cloak worn by the flag bearer of the New Zealand Olympic team. It took over seven months to make and includes kiwi, tīeke (saddleback), toroa (albatross) and kākāpō. Te Māhutonga was named by Dame Te Atairangikaahu.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Te Kanawa|first=Kahutoi|date=22 October 2014|title=Te raranga me te whatu - Kākahu – woven cloaks|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/te-raranga-me-te-whatu/page-2|access-date=2021-01-06|website=teara.govt.nz|language=en}}</ref>

In 1990, Davis was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal,<ref name="HBTQ">{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Alister |last2=Coddington |first2=Deborah |authorlink1=Alister Taylor |authorlink2=Deborah Coddington |title=Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand |year=1994 |publisher=New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa |location=Auckland |isbn=0-908578-34-2 |page=117}}</ref> and in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to weaving and the community.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=53334 |date=12 June 1993 |page=38 |supp=3}}</ref> In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to New Zealand's heritage.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-2005 |title=Queen's Birthday honours list 2005 |date=6 June 2005 |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |accessdate=27 July 2019}}</ref>

In 1986, she was awarded the inaugural Te Waka Toi supreme award, and in 2011 she was posthumously conferred an honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Canterbury.<ref>{{cite web |title=Honorary graduates |url=https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/media/documents/forms/Annual_Recipient_List_Feb-2019.pdf |publisher=University of Canterbury |accessdate=27 July 2019 |pages=1–3 |archive-date=7 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407024720/https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/media/documents/forms/Annual_Recipient_List_Feb-2019.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/our_stories/toi-iho-honouring-te-aue-davis/ |title=Honouring Te Aue |date=7 April 2012 |publisher=Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu |accessdate=27 July 2019}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Te Aue Takotoroa}} Category:1925 births Category:2010 deaths Category:People from Waikato Category:People associated with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Category:New Zealand Māori weavers Category:New Zealand weavers Category:Ngāti Maniapoto people Category:New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:20th-century New Zealand women textile artists Category:New Zealand justices of the peace Category:Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Category:20th-century New Zealand textile artists