Acrylic, Ink & Gouache on Canvas
Tasmanian Oak Frame
54x43.5
.
The legend of Taranaki, Pīhanga, and Tongariro tells of the mountains' original home in the Central North Island, where Tongariro and Taranaki (formerly known as Pukenaki) fought a bloody battle that went for days, for the beautiful female mountain Pīhanga.
After Tongariro's victory, a defeated Taranaki fled west, carving the Whanganui river with his tears and settling in his current, solitary location stopped by a spur of the Pouākai ranges. He settled in his current location, where he remains in lonely isolation, still gazing longingly towards his lost love, Pīhanga.
In the central plateau, Pīhanga remains with Tongariro. As legend goes, Tongariro continues to smoke and smoulder with anger and jealousy, sometimes letting out fiery outbursts from his peak. Pīhanga herself is said to sigh, and the mists that shroud Taranaki are seen as her visible signs of longing for her banished love.