One example of Mātaki taking direct action to protect our taiao is rooted in a whakapapa that traces back to 1837, when colonial violence reshaped lives, lands, and futures across two countries.

Possums were forcibly removed from Aboriginal Country and introduced to Aotearoa New Zealand for fur trade profits by colonists. What followed was environmental devastation in Aotearoa New Zealand and cultural disruption in Te Whenua Moemoea (Australia), who consider the possum a taonga (treasure). It became a story all too familiar. Two Indigenous peoples paying the price for colonial economic decisions.

Fast forward to today, and there are an estimated 30 million possums in Aotearoa destroying native forests, decimating native bird populations, and silencing our dawn chorus. On the other side of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (The Tasman Sea), Aboriginal communities have been outlawed to hunt possums on their own lands, which has nearly eliminated important cultural practices that sustained their peoples for over 70,000 years.

But, Mātaki refused to let this story end in colonial harm. We are reclaiming the narrative and, through this initiative, we continue to transform this story into one that speaks to Indigenous solidarity, cultural revitilisation, and healing that crosses borders.

We called it (Re)Storying the Possum because, for some, this is a new story but many others will know that the Possum already has a storied history in both Aotearoa and in Te Whenua Moemoea. To us, the name represents reclaiming the narrative for our own while acknowledging the whakapapa and spirit of the possum. Sometimes healing the future begins with telling a better story about the past.

From Burden to Ceremony – Healing the Hunters

For thousands of years Aboriginal peoples across south-eastern Australia created possum skin cloaks, garments that carry identity, genealogy, story and place. Cloaks were made from many pelts carefully stitched together, with each skin inscribed with symbols marking the life journeys of the wearer. They were worn in ceremony, used for warmth, and passed down through generations.

Colonisation disrupted these practices. Cloaks were taken, traditions suppressed, and possum populations in many areas declined. In recent decades Aboriginal communities have been reviving this cultural practice, but access to possum pelts in Australia remains extremely limited because the animals are protected.

Meanwhile in Aotearoa, possums, introduced in the nineteenth century, have become one of the most destructive invasive mammals in our ecosystems. Millions are culled every year as part of conservation efforts to protect native forests and wildlife.

(Re)storying the Possum was sparked, in part, during a Predator Free 2050 gathering Te Tira Whakamātaki hosted in Ōtautahi in 2023, when a from a Mātaki network member shifted our thinking: “If possums are taonga to Aboriginal mob, what might it mean to return the skins?”

This question opened our minds to new possibilities. We were already removing possums from our taiao, but what if we could also be serving another purpose at the same time? What if we could return these animals to their rightful spots while contributing to a cultural revitilisation for our brothers and sisters across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa?

Mātaki acted on these possibilities and in 2024, through our long-held relationships shaped by trust, care, and shared visions, the idea of returning possum skins to Aboriginal peoples became reality.

At Pipitea, we hosted a two-day wānanga titled Te Whare Māta o ngā Kirearea: (Re)storying the Possum where Māori and Aboriginal peoples explored the complex and evolving role of the possum, from taonga to colonial commodity, from pest to a catalyst for Indigenous collaboration.

At this event, Māori kaitiaki gifted possum pelts to Aboriginal cloakmakers from southeastern Australia. Representatives of a Mob where possum-skin cloaks hold deep ancestral and spiritual significance, and where their making is an act of honouring and living in tradition.

For many of us, this was a moment of transformation. Māori spoke openly about the emotional and ethical weight of killing animals, especially when those animals are unwanted here but sacred elsewhere. In return, Aboriginal artists showed us how this burden could be turned into beauty, healing, and cultural restoration. The exchange was not just symbolic, it was an act of Indigenous reciprocity, solidarity, and resistance to colonisation.

Powered by the will of Mātaki members, we turned this event into a wider campaign of exchange, healing, and sovereignty.

The Second of Many Exchanges

In December, representatives from Te Tira Whakamātaki were invited to stand with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria during the cultural assent of their Statewide Treaty, marking the first Treaty between Indigenous peoples and a state government in Australia. We were honoured to lead the only international delegation invited to participate. Our presence reflected the growing relationship between Māori and Aboriginal communities.

This would be the site of the second exchange, where we would use skins from Aotearoa and return them to tell a powerful story in Te Whenua Moemoea.

Made possible through individual donations and a major sponsor from the Macpac Fund for Good, we were able to gift 80 possum pelts from Aotearoa (the pelts you helped source, tan, and ship) to First Guardians in Te Whenua Moemoea. It was a small act in the grand sweep of history, but one filled with meaning.

The event brought together Elders, leaders, and many dance groups in a way that was grounded, collective, and deeply cultural. The Treaty was marked in ochre on kangaroo skin, a powerful symbol of continuity, resilience and sovereignty. Moments like this remind us that conservation is not only about species and landscapes. It is also about restoring relationships.

If you’d like to learn more, you can read about the celebration here, and about the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria here.