War canoes (waka taua) were the largest and most important of the various canoes built by Maori and could reach up to 24 metres in length. They were used to transport warriors in times of conflict and possibly also for the ritual transfer of ancestors' bones to burial sites. This rare nineteenth-century model is more than 3 metres long. It was presented to The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary) by the Arawa people in 1901. The royal couple were visiting Rotorua as a part of a global tour, and there they enjoyed a traditional Maori welcome (pōwhiri) of haka posture dances and poi songs, followed by the presentation of gifts.