Te Aue Davis


Te Aue Takotoroa Davis , 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.
A rain cape made by Davis in the collection of Te Papa was worn by the Crown Princess Masako on a visit to New Zealand in 2002.
In 1990, Davis was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, 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. 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.
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.