These panels are traditional Māori artwork that you would find as decorative wall panels in a wharenui, the patterns and stories varying from iwi to iwi. Traditionally, panels would have typically been woven with materials such as kiekie, harakeke and pīngao. The Cathedral panels use toetoe, kiekie, leather and rimu. They were woven and carved by many hands... Much of the weaving took place among craftsmen at Rolleston Prison, with the final work being undertaken in the Cathedral by worshippers and visitors. Given the collaborative manner in which the work was undertaken, these panels truly celebrate the Māori proverb on the memorial plaque, He aha te mea nui? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata. (What is the most important thing in life? It is people, it is people, it is people.)
The outer panels depict Roimata - the splashing of tears, the memorial and redemption of loved ones. The inner panels depict Poutama - the stairway to heaven. The red colouring points to the feathers of the red-breasted parrot, worn as a mark of chieftainship by the Kākākura (leader of a flock). This refers both to the memory of Bishop Allan Pyatt and in a wider context to Christ as leader of his people.