The Kāpiti Coast is a place abundant in natural resources. The acquisition and settlement of this land sparked conflict throughout its history as boundaries were drawn and redrawn by successive waves of people. Global events, like colonisation and the spread of firearms, influenced the story of the region. The first people probably arrived in the canoes Matiti and Uruao, before they migrated onwards to the South Island. Ngāti Māmoe later settled in the area. After initially prospering they were supplanted by the arrival of three related hapū groups from Muaūpoko, Ngāti Apa and Rangitāne. They migrated south to the area from Mahia. The victors split the land between them: Ngāti Apa settled north of the Rangitikei and Kāpiti Island, Muaūpoko settled the Horowhenua and Rangitāne settled in the Manawatū and the southern Hawkes Bay.
Te Rauparaha of Ngāti Toa Rangatira (a hapū of Tainui) travelled south and invited his Raukawa and Taranaki kin to migrate south to join his people in the Kāpiti region. They did this to move away from the musket wars underway in the Waikato / King Country. These allies included groups from Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Rarua. Iwi and hapū battled south to the Kāpiti Coast ‘through dangers both human and natural’ in a migration which came to be known as ‘Te Heke Mai I Raro’. These new arrivals were successful in wresting the land from Muaūpoko, Ngāti Apa and Rangitāne iwi. The volatility of land ownership at this time was influenced by the increasing numbers of whalers and sealers working and settling in the area; the accessibility of guns and alcohol; as well as the influences of missionaries and the burgeoning of colonial forces. Discord culminated in the Haowhenua war in 1834, a significant inter-tribal conflict with battles at Haowhenua, Nga Totara, Pakakutu and Rangiuru. Another key battle was fought at Kuititanga in 1839. These battles resulted in the demarcation of new tribal boundaries in the area; Te Āti Awa’s tribal land now sat south of Pekapeka, and Ngāti Toa and Raukawa regrouped to occupy land from Pekapeka to Whangaehu. Ngāti Raukawa became the kaitiaki for Te Horo.
European Settlement
By the 1820s trading was built around a desire for not just muskets but blankets, clothing, metal tools, jewellery, new varieties of food and alcohol. It was discovered that Southern Right Whales made an annual migration between Kāpiti Island and the mainland and by 1827 several shore-based whaling stations were established, ‘perched like evil-smelling rookeries on rocky islets’. Europeans brought with them Christianity which offered a more peaceful path in renouncing the cycle of utu and infighting between hapū. Octavius Hadfield and Henry Williams were key figures who arrived on the Kāpiti Coast in 1839 and strove to influence local religious practice. The following year Hadfield and Williams used their influence to encourage signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi.
Horowhenua was covered in forest and swamp when pit-sawing of timber began by the Dodds family in around 1849. But a proliferation of small sawmill operations enabled settlers to both clear the land to establish dairy farms and also provide timber for the burgeoning construction industry. A turning point for the region was the establishment of the Wellington-Manawatu Railway line, built with locally milled sleepers. The Waikanae section of this track, of which the Te Horo stop was a part, opened in November 1886. The new railway made it possible for dairy farmers to sell their surplus milk and cream to consumers further afield. In 1881 there were 10 Europeans living in the Hautere-Te Horo area–- this had increased to 477 by 1886. In contrast, it is believed that the Māori population fell ‘dramatically’ in the same period.
The land in question is approximately 1.724 hectares and sits at the centre of what had been a large block grouping collectively known as Ngākaroro. Today this area is the location of Te Horo. Ngākaroro in its entirety was originally comprised of a total area of 27,088 acres which was first awarded title in 1873. The Crown purchased just over 19,045 acres of this land between 1874 and 1880. Much of it was described as ‘hilly to mountainous terrain’.
In 1881 the Native Land Court granted Ngākaroro No.3 (part of the larger Ngākororo block) to Ngāti Huia and Ngāti Kauwhata hapū. There followed various subdivisions. Unlike the wider Ngākaroro area which was acquired by the Crown, the land in question was still in Māori hands until it was privately sold from Rawiri Te Ruru to Wellington-based tram proprietor Archibald Hall in 1906. Archibald, his wife Catherine Hall and other family members had invested in several properties in the larger Ngakaroro block between 1896 and 1906. In 1911 Hall sold it to Herbert Addington, late of His Majesty’s Royal Fusiliers. The following year Addington sold the property to Joseph McChesney, a local builder. McChesney operated a small pit saw-mill on the site which continued in operation until the late 1920s and also built an Edwardian villa on the property. Studio potter Mirek Smíšek and his wife purchased of the property in 1970. He became a renowned New Zealand potter working from this Te Horo base.
Pottery in Aotearoa / New Zealand
Despite a wealth of clay sources around Aotearoa / New Zealand, Māori did not make pottery. The know-how was brought across the Pacific from South-East Asia as far as Tonga and Samoa before the skill was lost. However, the motifs prevalent in Māori art are similar to some designs on the Lapita pottery objects crafted in New Caledonia. When Europeans settled in Aotearoa / New Zealand they soon saw the potential for the wealth of various clay deposits throughout the country. During the 1870s and 1880s many pottery operations around Britain closed due to upheavals caused by the Industrial Revolution. Some of these newly redundant British potters eagerly grasped new employment opportunities in New Zealand where they found their artisan skills valued for the practical tasks of making drainage pipes and bricks.
The Arts and Crafts movement and Anglo-Oriental style
Pottery in New Zealand was strongly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, a trend that emerged in the United Kingdom in the first half of the twentieth century. It promoted pottery as a response to disillusionment with Victorian society. They valorised the ‘honest craftmanship’ of the Middle Ages when crafts were made ‘with love and pride’. Architect JW Chapman-Taylor (1878-1958) was probably New Zealand’s best-known adherent. He explained that ‘beauty in our homes will help put beauty in our hearts’. These ideas fed into the ‘first flowering’ of studio pottery in New Zealand in the 1920s. Most of these early New Zealand potters were women, and included Elizabeth Lissaman, Briar Gardner, Elizabeth Matheson and Olive Jones. The next wave of influence was the Anglo-Oriental movement–- ‘a British interpretation of Asian ceramics’. Beginning in the 1940s and 50s the movement gained in influence just as Arts and Crafts was ‘being quietly put to bed’. Elliott and Skinner explain that studio potters sought to:
‘draw on the strengths of New Zealand’s cultural youth, pioneering origins and bountiful natural resources, while also adopting the exquisite traditions and aesthetic principles that characterised Japanese ceramics.’
The Anglo-Oriental movement resulted in an ‘international pot’ which could equally be crafted in Australia or England.
Influence of Leach and Hamada
British Bernard Leach (1887-1979) and Japanese Shōji Hamada (1894-1978) were highly respected potters who exerted a huge influence on the development of pottery in New Zealand. Connections with both amateur and professional potters in New Zealand were cemented by ‘pilgrimages’ in both directions. Bernard Leach had gained fame as ‘the father of British studio pottery’ when he published the internationally successful A Potter’s Book in 1940. He expounded his philosophies in a filmed interview shot during his visit to New Zealand in 1962. In 1965 the ‘master’ Hamada visited. Hamada, a major figure in the Japanese ‘mingei’ folk art movement, exerted even more influence in New Zealand than Leach.
Kilns and salt glazing
Kilns have been used for centuries to turn shaped clay into various types of pottery, tile and bricks. Beehive kilns are a particular type of kiln, they have a circular brick structure with a domed roof. The pottery to be fired was placed inside and a fire would be started inside the kiln. A flue increased the ventilation and encouraged the distribution of heat. Hot air circulated within the kiln and exited through the flue or the bottom of the kiln. A single firing required regular tending and took around 4-5 days, but the entire process from loading, heating, firing, and cooling could take as much as 14 days. Leach and Hamada both mastered and taught the technique of salt glazing. Salt glazing is a process of pottery firing in which salt is thrown into the kiln at a high temperature and the salt vaporises. The sodium from the salt reacts with the silica in the clay and forms a hard coating of sodium silicate on the object being fired. Salt glazing began in the Rhineland of Germany in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and became popular in England in the fifteenth century. Pots produced in this way were usually a distinctive orange colour, but potters were able to experiment with the process to create different effects with the texture and colour. Its results can be ‘unpredictable, unique, and beautiful’.
Mirek Smíšek (1925-2013)
Smíšek was a potter not just remembered for his ‘award studded career’ but also for a ‘creative life well lived’. He was born in Czechoslovakia in 1925, emigrating to Australia in 1948 to escape the occupation of his homeland and the labour camps and factories he had been forced to work in. He explains that these formative experiences of ‘horror upon horror’ made him ‘worried about humanity’ and concluded the solution was ‘to be creative’. He began learning about pottery in Australia where he worked in a brickworks and pottery and undertook a course in ceramic design at East Sydney Technical College. He then moved to New Zealand where he found work as an assistant to potter Ernie Shufflebottom at Crown Lynn Potteries in Auckland. There he experimented with ‘free-flowing Bohemian’ vases. He then shifted to Nelson in 1952 where he worked at the Nelson Brick and Pipe Company. He continued to experiment with pottery in his spare time. During this period he also taught pottery at Nelson Technical School (part of Nelson College) and night classes at Waimea College. Seeking new opportunities away from factory production in 1954 he built his first salt-glaze kiln and began experimenting with the salt glaze firing technique.
At this time Smíšek was part of a cohort of potters working around New Zealand. They included Wilf Wright, Helen Mason, Mary Hardwicke-Smith, Doreen Blumhardt, Yvonne Rust and Patricia Perrin. Smíšek formed particular friendships with pottery ‘trailblazers’ Barry Brickell, Len Castle and Terry Barrow who together set out on prospecting trips throughout the Nelson region in search of new and interesting clay deposits. Together they discussed ‘technical problems, clays, glazes and especially kilns … long into the night’. Smíšek’s work developed and by 1956 he was established as New Zealand’s first full-time professional potter, producing work recognised as being of a quality in its own class.
Smíšek was influenced by international trends. He travelled to Japan in 1961 and studied at the Ceramic Department at Kyoto University. In 1963 he went to St Ives in England to study with celebrity potter Bernard Leach. Fellow potters Peter Stitchbury and Len Castle also spent time overseas. They were exposed to new techniques and ideas and flourished in an environment where pottery was ‘a complete way of life’ – underpinned with the belief that ‘the slow perfection of line and form should take years and absorb the craftsman utterly’. The influences of these overseas experiences can be seen in Smíšek’s work; ‘a new earthiness and freedom’ were evident in his creations.
Smíšek moved to Manakau on the Kāpiti Coast in 1968 with his partner, fellow potter Jane Beverley, and their daughter was born there shortly after. He built a temporary beehive kiln on their property. But they were seeking a more permanent base and found and purchased the Te Horo property in 1970–- an ideal place to both live, teach and work. They moved into the Edwardian homestead on the property that previous owner and local miller McChesney had constructed c. 1915. Smíšek then set out to create a hub for the creation and sale of pottery. It was common in the 1970s for potters to establish potteries in rural areas. Potters experimented with kiln construction, sharing designs and expertise. Barry Brickell had designed and constructed a salt glaze kiln at nearby Reikorangi.
Smíšek designed and built the first glost kiln (a kiln for firing stoneware) at the Te Horo property in 1970 and a second kiln beside it, specifically for salt glazing in 1971. To do this he repurposed 4,000 second-hand bricks sourced from Golden Bay, possibly from the former Onekaka Ironworks smelter which had featured beehive coking kilns. Smíšek took six weeks to build each of the kilns, hand chipping bricks to fit together into their iconic beehive shape. The bricks were not fixed together by mortar, but rather ‘a mixture of clay and dust and grog’ which enabled the bricks to expand in the heat. The salt glazing kiln was designed to be heated up to 1,300 degrees. Smíšek experimented with the salt glazing process. The firing time was approximately 18 hours–- every firing required around 59kg of salt, feeding into the kiln ½ kilogram 40 to 50 times during a firing. To shelter the kilns from the elements he constructed a timber shingle roof over them made from old apple boxes.
Smíšek became a leading figure in New Zealand pottery circles and the ‘freedom and independence’ of his own style developed. A major exhibition at the Dowse Art Gallery in 1973 really ‘put him on the map’. Salt firing became the process for which Smíšek was most well-known. He explained: ‘I saltglaze to simplify the procedure, to depend more and more on the simplest materials; to make textures which are natural and do not demand excessive preparations for special effects.’ Smíšek’s subsequent partner Pamella Annsouth, also an accomplished potter, joined him at Te Horo in 1979, by which time the kilns were in regular use. Smíšek himself described his Te Horo kilns as a ‘significant cultural asset in the history of New Zealand pottery’.
Smíšek moved two structures on to the property. He purchased the former Te Horo railway station and relocated it onto the property to provide accommodation for visitors. The first Te Horo Station burnt down in November 1923. The new replacement station (No 3, Class A) was built to a design by George Alexander Troup (1863-1941) and was completed in 1924. Troup was in charge of the architectural branch of the New Zealand Railway Department and left a legacy of railway stations around the country. Described at the time as a ‘more modern structure’, it was comprised of a lobby, ladies’ waiting-room, porter’s office and toilet. It is believed that the original paint scheme was brown and cream. Advertised for sale when it was no longer required, Smíšek won the tender to purchase it in 1971 for $100 and he relocated it onto his Te Horo property for a further $1,000. He also moved a small cottage, called ‘the red shed’ onto the property. It was originally built elsewhere (c.1860s) and moved by Smíšek in the early 1970s. Little is known about it, but it is believed to have been a former railway workers’ hut. It was used as a working space and show room for the sale of pottery work crafted there.
Pottery dominated craftwork in New Zealand in the 1970s. Smíšek found a ready market in the Kāpiti Coast for his ‘elegant salt glazed teapots, casseroles, bowls and cider-jars’. The period is described as ‘a time when many people were questioning society’s expectations and values and opting for a return to a basic self-sufficient life.’ Smíšek’s centre became a hub for both aspiring and accomplished potters from all over New Zealand with similar aspirations. From supervising digging clay, teaching kiln construction and undertaking potting and firing, Smíšek had a talent for teaching and bringing people together. He became a well-known resident in the area and the kilns became a local landmark, a particularly dramatic landscape visible from the main road when the beehive kilns were lit up for an overnight firing. He taught two-week long pottery courses, he and Annsouth sold their pottery from the site and held regular open days. In doing so they became part of the Te Horo community, hosting a Christmas Festival for the locals every year at which Deirdre Tarrant’s Dance School ‘Footnote Dance’ and other musicians performed.
Smíšek was influenced and inspired by the Kāpiti Coast and the forms and colours he saw around him. When they purchased the property in 1970 it was largely farmland, with a stand of Tōtara trees, but they encouraged the northern portion of the property to gradually return to regenerating native forest. He created a marked path through the forest. The form of his work reflected horizon lines of the Tararua Range and the colour of his pots echoed the ‘subdued tones of native bush’. Shades of grey and brown came from manipulating the iron content in the clay. Wishing to see the Cook Strait from the property, he erected a 10-metre high ‘crow’s nest’, a perch from which he could view the surrounding area. It became dangerously derelict and was eventually demolished.
Film director, screenwriter and producer Peter Jackson sought out Smíšek for the pottery he required for the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, released in 2001, 2002 and 2003. He commissioned him to create about 700 items in 8 months including an assortment of goblets, bowls, wine bottle and jugs. Smíšek explains: ‘Before I started making the pots, I re-read the books again to get a fresh approach to everything I was going to make’. The task was ‘to make three sizes because the size of the people–- dwarves, normal and giant. That was a bit of a challenge because they all had to look the same’. Smíšek embraced the work which he found both ‘exciting and challenging’.
Smíšek and Annsouth sold the property in 1997 after a final pottery sale on the property in 1996. They moved south to Waikanae where they again set up a small glost kiln but chose not to pursue salt glazing again. In recognition of his achievements in pottery Smíšek was awarded an OBE in 1990 and in 2009 the Czech Government awarded him the Medal of the Senate. Smíšek died in 2013 shortly after an exhibition of his life’s work called ‘60 Years 60 Pots’ held at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington. At this exhibition curator Gary Fremantle brought together pots from both public and private collections to celebrate his life’s work. Smíšek is recognised as a leading potter of his era alongside the likes of Barry Brickell, Len Castle and Peter Stichbury. His work has been collected by major New Zealand museums including Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the Dowse Art Museum, Auckland Museum and Nelson Provincial Museum. It is highly sought after and regularly passes through various auction houses.
Later History
In 1997 the property was purchased by potter John Wi Neera and his wife Helen. John continued in the tradition of creating salt-glazed pottery on the site, although with his distinctive organic style inspired by the natural environment, and built another kiln for this purpose on the land (now gone). The railway station building had by now fallen into disrepair. The Wi Neeras initially considered turning it into a place for pottery display but instead opted to undertake a major and sensitive refurbishment which included the addition of a new veranda awning. They chose to paint the building red, green and cream which was ‘not authentic’ but they though it ‘more attractive’ than the original colour scheme. In 2003 work was complete and they opened as a self-contained bed and breakfast. They hosted guests there until John passed away in 2008, whereupon the property title transferred solely to Helen’s name.
In October 2010 the land parcel upon which the kilns sit was transferred to the Crown for the State Highway One Wellington Northern Corridor – Pekapeka to Ōtaki Expressway (O2PP). Through consultation with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, The Mirek Smíšek Arts Trust/ The Kilns at Te Horo, tangata whenua and the Kāpiti District Council and artists, a plan was devised to relocate the kilns 20 metres east and restore the buildings. Potter and kiln-builder Duncan Shearer and master brick layer Rick Meade dismantled, moved and rebuilt the kilns and flue. Jamie MacDuff project managed the ‘tremendous 3D jigsaw’. Meade described the task as ‘a little bit technical’, using compass points with measurements. Every course was layered, numbered and stacked in shipping containers on site so that every brick went back into its same position – to make them ‘like they are ready to be lit and ready to be used’, although they were now non-functional. A replica timber and timber-shingled roof was also built to shelter them. Fletchers undertook this work for them with the involvement of WSP as consultants working to retain the heritage values of the property. In 2020 the Edwardian villa was relocated off the property to Ringawhati Road in Ōtaki. The restoration of the former railway station building was completed in 2023.
Mirek Smíšek Arts Trust / The Kilns at Te Horo
The Mirek Smíšek Arts Trust/The Kilns at Te Horo formed in 2019 in response to the O2PP proposal to secure and preserve the kilns and their site, with the mission: ‘Hei whakamanawa, hei whakaako me te whakanui’ / ‘To inspire, educate and celebrate’. The Trust are working towards creating a centre to celebrate both pottery and other arts and crafts of tangata whenua. The Trust plans to use the restored railway building as accommodation for visiting artists. The red shed will also be restored and road access improved. They are keen to celebrate what are believed to be the only remaining beehive kilns in New Zealand. From the early 1980s beehive kilns lost popularity in New Zealand because of the huge quantity of time and effort required to operate them. Today the skill of designing and building beehive kilns has been lost as potters opt to use more efficient and easier to use gas or electric kilns for firing their pots.
