12 HUIA BIRDS
A Cautionary Tale
An interactive and print book that tells the tale of New Zealand’s lost huia, reimagined in a mythical journey. Their plight symbolizes unity, loss, and a spark of hope for nature’s future.
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The Lost Call of the Huia
The huia were said to start the morning chorus of bird song in NZ. Sadly, their beautiful calls were never recorded as they vanished in the early-mid 20th century. We do have a few notations created from the memory of those who did hear the huia’s songs. One of the most famous is a recording made in 1954 by the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation of of an elderly Maori man named Henare Hemana (or Hamana or Haumana; sources differ on his name). Henare, who remembered the song of the Huia from his youth, was able to whistle an imitation of it for the recorder.
The calls and sounds of the huia present in 12 Huia Birds are a re-creation using a variety of accounts. Now you can hear what the morning chorus may have sounded like with tui, kokako, saddlebacks and now the huia..
ACG Sunderland School in Auckland performs 12 Huia Birds the play.
