Two with one shot considers the impact of colonisation in Aotearoa, in particular on the extinction of the huia. Naturalist Sir Walter Buller referenced the shooting of these birds in a Remutaka Range hunting party in 1883:

As they were caressing each other with their beautiful bills, a charge of No.6 [shot] brought both to the ground together.

While huia lost habitat spaces when forests were burned off, and introduced pests devastated populations, a key factor in their ultimate extinction was the demand in Europe for exotic museum exhibits and jewellery. An example of this is the huia beak brooch (c.1900), which can be found in Te Papa’s collection. 

This sculpture is a call to preserve our wild environments.

E hoa ma, puritia mai tāku huia.
(Friends, take care of my huia, my treasure.)
Quote from a waiata, sung at the induction of Governor Onslow’s new-born son into the Ngāti Huia tribe, Ōtaki Marae, 1891.*

* Michael Szabo, “Huia, the Sacred Bird”, New Zealand National Geographic 020 (October–December, 1993), https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/huia-the-sacred-bird/