00:00So that was the very first one he sailed to Rotonga.
00:05Michael Taffrey's sharing the colourful seafaring history of his ancestors with Ilpeti
00:10Rubbings.
00:11The double hull canoe is called a waka houroa.
00:14It's been empowering.
00:15We're sharing the same sea, sharing the same stars and we're talking about the same language.
00:20So it's nice to sort of bounce those familiarities.
00:24There's a distinct New Zealand and Pacific Island flavour to this year's Australian Wooden
00:29Boat Festival, including traditional boats and exhibits showcasing how birds, clouds
00:34and the stars once helped navigate the seas.
00:38So we knew there was a significant land mass here because the birds told us so.
00:42In New Zealand it's very common to know all about the Polynesian history and how the Pacific
00:48was populated with humans, but here it's a very unknown story.
00:53A partnership with the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival has helped bring boats over from
00:57across the ditch, including the recently restored Nataki.
01:01We tried to do a restoration as original as possible.
01:07This boat raced across the Tasman in 1934.
01:11They were hoping for more boats, but the only two that ended up on the start line was Nataki
01:16and Tivapanga.
01:19The latter now resides in Hobart and their reunion was celebrated this weekend with a
01:24race on the Derwent.
01:25The Wooden Boat Festival wraps up today.
01:28Around 60,000 people have visited over four days, making it Tasmania's largest free event.
01:34Organisers say around half of those people are from outside of Tasmania.
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