In Tonga, tapa is known as ngatu, it is of great social importance to the islanders, often being given as gifts and is a must for all celebrations of life. In Samoa, the same cloth is called siapo, and in Niue it is hiapo. It is also known as tapia.

Nowadays tapa is often worn on formal occasions such as weddings. Other uses also include blankets and room dividers. It is highly prized for its decorative value and is often found hung on the walls as decoration.

The patterns of Tongan, Samoan, and Fijian tapa usually form a grid of squares, each of which contains geometrical patterns with repeated motifs such as fish and plants eg. four stylised leaves forming a diagonal cross.

Traditional dyes are usually black and rust-brown.

When some islanders emigrated to NZ traditional materials were hard to come by, new materials were found to create decorative wall pieces and mats.  

'It was really cool to learn about different patterns from the Pacific.' - Amelia 

'I liked creating an artwork that was part of a bigger class artwork. I also enjoyed learning about patterns from the Pacific.' - Elsie 

'I liked learning about the different patterns.' - Izzy 

'I liked using all the different colours.' Desmo

'I enjoyed using all the different colours and the different media like pencils, pastel and dye.' - Davy