Pou pou, pole or stake

This one is outside the Tasman District Council buildings in Richmond where the ladies from the research room spent the day reading historical Motueka Harbour Minutes.
Pronounced roughly the same as Poe (as in Edgar Allan Poe) perhaps more like por por they are erected at the doorway to many NZ buildings to show that this is the peoples place or marae. Carved with traditional figures and with traditional meanings but with modern or individual styles to reflect the place it is at.

Thanks Hobbs for the Looking Up Challenge which I managed at the end of the day with more ease than expected.