Hapupu Dendroglyphs

Ancient Moriori figures carved into living kopi trees in a quiet forest reserve

The J.M. Barker (Hapupu) National Historic Reserve protects one of the most remarkable indigenous art sites in the South Pacific: a grove of kopi trees whose smooth trunks were carved by Moriori with stylised human and animal figures, some hundreds of years old.

The site sits in a small reserve in the northeast of Chatham Island. A short boardwalk leads through the bush to the surviving trees, with interpretation panels explaining the carvings and the broader Moriori cultural context. Walk slowly and quietly — this is a sacred place to local Moriori and the carvings are fragile.

things to do sight
A story
The dendroglyphs — human and animal figures cut into the soft trunks of kopi (karaka) trees — were carved by Moriori over many generations. Most of the original trees have now died of old age, but the survivors are protected and a few of the carvings have been replicated in a small heritage display. There is no equivalent art form anywhere else in Polynesia.