Excerpt from and article in the Laie Newspaper Kaleo o Ko'olauloa (September 27, 2001)

Barney (Epanaia) Christy, a Maori master carver at the Polynesian Cultural Center and affectionately known to most people as Uncle Barney, will celebrate his 80th birthday on Oct. 16th.

He was one of the foremost New Zealand Maori carvers of this generation: “Seven other boys and I were chosen to work with the master carvers of the [LDS Church] branch in New Zealand. The master carvers were brothers Pine and John Taiepa.

“These two master carvers, with their eight apprentices, designed and carved many of the meeting houses. There was a time when we had no one to supervise us, and so we would get up in the morning and draw a design, then pray about it and discuss it; and if we agreed on it, that is what we would carve that day.

“We got so we would dream of carving. Many times we would wake up in the middle of the night and make drawings,” Christy said, with tears coming to his eye as he talked about those long-ago dreams and making sketches.

Uncle Barney was born in New Zealand, the second of 14 children. He recalled that the LDS Church played an important part of his life.

Christy was born in Hawkes Bay, on the east coast of the North Island, and attended Wairoa School in Nuhaka, then went to college for two years at TeAute.

His great-great-grandfather, Ihaka Whaanga, fought for Queen Victoria who presented him with a sword engraved with “For Gallantry” in Maori and English.

By 1964 Uncle Barn was employed as a supervisor in a cardboard factory and was also LDS Branch President of his local church. When the branch grew large enough to become a ward, LDS Apostle Spencer W. Kimball made him its first bishop.

In 1973 Uncle Barn came with his wife, Marge, to work at PCC, and has been here since. They brought three of their nine children with them — sons Angus and Doug, and daughter Marino. Their family has since grown to 35 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren.

September 14, 2004: Uncle Barney (Epanaia) Christy Passed away peacefully at home with his family. 82 years old, just missed his 83rd (16 Oct 1921) Was diagnosed earlier in the year with cancer. Retired from P.C.C. this year after 31 years as master carver.  HAERE MATUA, HAERE KI TE MATAU MATUA I TE RANGI.