Kronfeld 'Ie Tōga

Introduction

This ‘ie tōga was presented to the Kronfeld family by Her Majesty Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga when Leo Kronfeld passed away in 1947. The Kronfeld family lived in Eden Crescent in a large villa called ‘Oli-Ula’ (named after a flower in Sāmoa), which was located on the current site of the University of Auckland Law School. Leo was one of the ten children of Gustav Kronfeld, a Prussian Jewish trader, and his wife Louisa Silveira, who was Sāmoan-Portuguese.  The Kronfelds lived in Tonga for a period of time before they immigrated to New Zealand in 1890. Sālote was the same age as Leo, and she stayed with the Kronfeld family in Auckland for several years when she was young. When Leo later passed away, Sālote gave this very fine ‘ie tōga to the family. 

‘Ie tōga represent a form of Indigenous wealth and hold high cultural value in Sāmoa, Tonga, and Fiji. They are exchanged and presented at weddings, funerals and other ceremonies. Often described as ‘fine mats’, ‘ie tōga are made from the leaves of the pandanus tree (Fā in Tongan, Fala in Samoan, Vadra or Voivoi in Fijian) and feature red feathers from the Fijian sega (collared lory). These highly prized feathers were historically exchanged for whale teeth from Tonga and fine mats from Sāmoa— a trading practice dating back many hundreds of years before this ‘ie tōga was produced. ‘Ie tōga are so important that they may be given a name.  Along the edge of this ‘ie tōga are the words ‘muli o aiga’ —meaning 'the youngest member of a family'— which reinforces the close ties between Sālote and the Kronfeld family. 

Oli-Ula was a cosmopolitan home that welcomed visitors from around the Pacific, and its walls were covered with taonga, measina and artefacts from around the world. The house was situated within what was then Auckland's Jewish community, with the synagogue and Jewish school located just around the corner. Both Sāmoan and Jewish traditions were observed in the Kronfeld home, although the family also attended the Anglican church. 

In 1904, Gustav Kronfeld established a successful trading business on Customs Street East, which had become one of Auckland’s most important commercial streets after the destruction of Britomart Point and the reclamation of the foreshore in the late 19th century. Using his own vessels, Kronfeld traded throughout the Pacific, importing fruit, copra (dried coconut flesh) and other products from Sāmoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Rarotonga and Papua New Guinea. The Kronfeld building still exists today, with the family name just visible on its facade. 

This ‘ie tōga tells the story of a small but flourishing Pacific community in colonial Auckland in the late 19th and early 20th century, and highlights the strong family, cultural and economic connections that continued between New Zealand and the Pacific Islands during this period. The ‘ie tōga was gifted to Auckland Museum in 1987 by Leo’s wife, Joyce Heni Kronfeld.  

 Text by Andrea Low, Emily Parr and Lucy Mackintosh