SKT-424191-12-456-1:crg BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENT COURT ENV-2016-AKL-000267 IN THE MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 AND IN THE MATTER of an appeal under section 120 of the Act BETWEEN TUWHARETOA MAORI TRUST BOARD Appellant AND WAIKATO REGIONAL COUNCIL Respondent AND ROTOKAWA JOINT VENTURE Applicant AND NGATI TAHU-NGATI WHAOA RUNANGA TRUST Section 274 party EVIDENCE OF CHRIS TĀMIHANA WINITANA ON BEHALF OF THE TŪWHARETOA MAORI TRUST BOARD Dated: 4 June 2017 Westpac House 430 Victoria Street PO Box 258 DX GP 20031 Hamilton 3240 New Zealand Ph: (07) 839 4771 Fax: (07) 839 4913 tompkinswake.co.nz Solicitor: B A Parham [email protected]Counsel: L F Muldowney [email protected]PO Box 9167, Waikato Mail Centre, Hamilton 021 471 490
Transcript
SKT-424191-12-456-1:crg
BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENT COURT
ENV-2016-AKL-000267
IN THE MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 AND IN THE MATTER of an appeal under section 120 of the Act BETWEEN TUWHARETOA MAORI TRUST BOARD Appellant AND WAIKATO REGIONAL COUNCIL Respondent AND ROTOKAWA JOINT VENTURE Applicant AND NGATI TAHU-NGATI WHAOA RUNANGA TRUST Section 274 party
EVIDENCE OF CHRIS TĀMIHANA WINITANA ON BEHALF OF THE TŪWHARETOA
INTRODUCTION 1. My name is Chris Tāmihana Winitana. I reside at Rotorua.
2. Te Heuheu Tūkino IV Horonuku, the fourth of his line of paramount chiefs
of Tūwharetoa, is my great, great grandfather. His daughter Te Mare is
my great grandmother. She married Hura Kumeroa of Ngāti Waewae and
Hikairo at Tongariro, my great grandfather. They bore Pāteriki Hura my
grandfather. He married Hariata Asher of Tūrangitukua, my grandmother.
They bore Te Atamira, my mother. She married Tāmihana Winitana of
Tūhoe, my father.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE 3. I am a former tutor of the Wānanga of Tūwharetoa, a traditional assembly
of higher learning promulgated by Te Heuheu Tumu in 1998 and
convened in 2002 to teach on a Tūwharetoa worldview, its values,
language, tikanga, whakapapa and history.
4. I was traditionally trained by my family, hapū and tribe in the
aforementioned areas. Training consisted of spending thousands of hours
with elders over the majority of my life, learning whakapapa, history,
karakia incantations, formal and informal oratory, songs, traditional
weaponry, and Te Whare Atua – The House of Nature plus the
philosophies which fall out of it and which inform our practises on the
ground.
5. One of my professional roles is as a consultant specialising in the
ancestral Māori worldview, culture and language. I am also a journalist,
broadcaster, award-winning television producer and writer with over 37
years of experience.
6. In 1999, I authored the Māori section of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa
Environmental Strategic Plan at the request of the Tūwharetoa Māori
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Trust Board (‘Trust Board’)1. Its purpose was to provide a platform of
thinking to inform the tribe’s approach to its traditional custodian role
over the environment – “to sustain, promote, protect, and enhance the
Mauri of Ngāti Tūwharetoa taonga for current and future generations”2.
This document forms the basis of Tūwharetoa’s approach to its role as
kaitiaki of the environment and surrounds of the tribal estate. It provides
the basis for its interface with the many other groupings who oversee,
manage and administer various elements of the environment within the
Tūwharetoa region. My evidence here draws from this pool.
7. In 2014, an adjudication process was established under the Central North
Island Forests Land Iwi Collective Settlement to determine the mana
whenua of the respective iwi involved in that settlement. I was part of
the Tūwharetoa Settlement Trust3 team tasked with identifying our mana
whenua over the Kaingaroa area for the Central North Island Inquiry. My
evidence also draws from this pool4.
8. I give this evidence as an expert on the matters identified in the ‘Purpose
and Scope’ section of my evidence on behalf of the Trust Board which is
the appellant in this matter. In doing so I fully acknowledge and declare
my interest in this proceeding based on my whakapapa set out in
paragraph 2.
9. I have been provided with the Environment Court Practice Note 2014 and
have read the Code of Conduct for Expert Witnesses. I agree to comply
with that Code. Other than where I state that I am relying on the advice
of another person, this evidence is within my area of expertise and I have
not omitted to consider material facts known to me that might alter or
detract from the opinions that I express.
1 Winitana C.T (1999), Ngati Tuwharetoa Environment Strategic Plan. Commissioned by Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board. 2 Ibid, page 1. 3 Ngati Tuwharetoa Post Settlement Governance Entity which manages financial resources acquired from the Central North Island Waitangi Tribunal settlement. 4 Te Ropu Mana Whenua (2014), Tuwharetoa – Te Kaingaroa a Haungaroa. Commissioned by Tuwharetoa Settlement Trust for the Central North Island inquiry.
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PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF EVIDENCE 10. Its first purpose is to show Tūwharetoa’s traditional relationship to the
Ahi Tāmou geothermal resource which is a whakapapa-lineage-defined
connection with incumbent natural duties of responsibility.
11. Its second purpose is to show how our whakapapa-lineage-defined
connection has been broken by the Waikato Regional Council’s (‘WRC’)
consent approval and draft conditions.
12. Its third purpose is to explain the effects of its breaking of our genealogy.
13. Its fourth purpose is to provide a pathway for remedy.
14. Its fifth and final purpose is to provide an overview of Tūwharetoa history
and mana whenua in the central plateau region for context.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 15. In my opinion the WRC approval of consent with conditions for mitigating
cultural effects over the Rotokawa Joint Venture Ltd (‘RJV’) geothermal
station is flawed.
16. It failed to appreciate the unique nature of the historical and traditional
connection that Tūwharetoa has to the geothermal resource which sits
at the heart of the consents. Because of this failure, in the context of the
use and development of the resource, Tūwharetoa now has no ability to
engage with its Kaitiaki role over the Rotokawa geothermal area which is
a whakapapa lineage-defined resource.
17. For absolute clarity, I am not talking about Tūwharetoa’s asserted mana
whenua to the Rotokawa area. I am talking instead about Tūwharetoa’s
natural Kaitiaki role over a whakapapa lineage-defined resource, the
geothermal fires of Ngātoroirangi.
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18. In my view the critical issue is not mana whenua, the right to speak for
the land. It is instead an issue of mana tipuna, the right to speak for an
ancestor. WRC’s resource consent decision has effectively given another
tribe the right to speak for an ancestor who is not theirs.
19. Further, WRC’s failure to give proper weight to Tūwharetoa’s ability for
on-going meaningful engagement with its whakapapa lineage-defined
geothermal resource has in itself produced the most insidious and
profoundly negative of all cultural effects. And that is, broken lineage, the
inability of a descendant to speak for their ancestor.
20. Because of this decision, Tūwharetoa has not only had its genealogy
broken but has now no means by which to apply its unique form of
Kaitiakitanga, which is based on genealogy with its incumbent
responsibility of care. It is precisely because of this type of fundamental
negative cultural effect that I was commissioned almost 20 years ago to
author a platform of thinking to inform the Tūwharetoa approach to
caring (Kaitiakitanga) for its genealogy based resources.
21. Our self-defined approach of whakapapa and whanaungatanga bonafide
lineage connection informing bonafide lineage responsibility, are now
deeply imbued into the Tūwharetoa psyche and the many tribal entities
tasked with the stewardship of the tribal estate, its people and resources.
22. Tūwharetoa has fought tenaciously to remove or mitigate this
overarching negative cultural effect through all its dealings with the many
entities that manage the various natural resources of our tribal estate.
And this fight is not new. It merely carries on the evidentially provable
track taken by the Te Heuheu dynasty of Tūwharetoa paramount chiefs to
secure and hold fast the mana motuhake of our people through the
colonisation process, of two heads/two ways in one space, which
continues today.
23. Tūwharetoa has an internationally recognised tradition of origination of
the geothermal resource in the Te Arawa canoe area and into the South
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Island. This tradition of origination, whakapapa lineage supported by
historical tradition, is our tribe’s version of how the resource came to be.
24. To be clear, I am not saying our tradition negates anyone else’s. What it
does is confirm that we have a tradition. What it does is put up our
tradition, as one of the traditions connected to the resource in question.
25. According to the evidence of Roger Pikia, chairman of Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti
Whaoa Rūnanga Trust, their tradition is based on historic usage.
Tūwharetoa is very happy that they have a tradition over the geothermal
resource. This is not our issue.
26. The Tūwharetoa tradition is different. It is based on origination lineage.
There is a fundamental difference between the two. My point is, this
difference was not recognised in the resource consent process and the
WRC approval decision plus conditions.
27. The conditions of consent in this case provide for Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti
Whaoa to perform a Kaitiakitanga role. In its judgement, the WRC
perceived that the cultural effects on the two tribes were ostensibly the
same and could be mitigated or dealt with in the same way. This
perception is wrong.
28. Whilst Tūwharetoa through Mr Mark Ross representing two Tūwharetoa
hapū was given the opportunity to speak to cultural effects, the
fundamental principle was missed.
29. That fundamental principle is this. Tūwharetoa is connected by blood
whakapapa lineage to the ancestor accredited and acclaimed for the
origination of geothermal resources in the Te Arawa canoe region. By the
very nature of whakapapa bonafide ancestry, the cultural effects on
Tūwharetoa are profoundly different from those affecting Ngāti Tahu and
associates who are not connected to that whakapapa. And indeed,
members proclaiming to be representatives of Ngai Tahu have, in their
own evidence, dismissed this connection.
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30. For me, the issue is not the right to speak for the land. It is instead the
right to speak for an ancestor. The questions are these. Who speaks for
Ngātoroirangi? Who speaks for my ancestor? Ngāti Tahu members who
dismiss him? Or me? Tūwharetoa? His descendants? Who care for him?
And in our care, strive to ensure his integrity and that of his resource?
31. So here’s the critical issue for me. The WRC’s conditions to mitigate
cultural effects has produced the most devastating negative cultural effect
of all. Broken Lineage. I am now divorced from my whakapapa lineage
and someone else who dismisses it, is now exclusively empowered to
speak for it.
32. It is worth noting here that the Tauhara North No. 2 Trust, one of the RJV
partners, clearly acknowledges Ngātoroirangi and his connection to the
geothermal resource, even when some members of Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti
Whaoa in evidence do not. On its website and in reference to its logo,
they say the following:5
Tauhara North No2 Trust acknowledges Ngatoroirangi and his sisters
Hoata and Te Pῡpu, for carrying the heat source to save his life from
the freezing cold of Tongariro Mountain. The swirls on each side of his
face represent the geothermal steam. His hands are extended to
embrace all.
33. Here are the cultural effects that concern Tūwharetoa over the expansion
activities of RJV. I frame them here as questions for clarity’s sake. Who is
going to conduct the ritual of placation? What karakia formal incantations
will be used? Where are they sourced from? Are they appropriate? Will
the person doing the conducting have the appropriate mana and tapu?
Can you prove it? Who will measure the spiritual/holistic effect of the
5 Retrieved from Tauhara North No. 2 Trust website 22 May 2017 https://www.tauharano2.co.nz/the-trust/
activity? How? How will the success of the rituals be made known? Who
will they be made known to? There are many other questions.
34. Here is the single answer to all of the questions. The ritual, its
incantations, their source, their appropriateness, their mana and tapu,
their proof, their measure, their application, their success, their
acknowledgement can only be conducted by a descendant of the
originator of the ritual. The originator is Ngātoroirangi. The descendant is
Tūwharetoa.
35. All of the above, and more, embody the natural concerns of the
mokopuna grandchild for the tipuna ancestor and his mana and tapu.
Conversely, these are not the concerns of a not-related-by-genealogy
party.
36. Our premise of cultural effects fall within the Tūwharetoa approach to
holistic guardianship (Kaitiakitanga) of our lineage-defined natural
resources and defined by whakapapa and whanaungatanga.
37. I now turn to the effects of Broken Lineage. They are simple and direct.
38. When the greatest ancestor in your whakapapa lineage is trampled there
are serious effects. And they affect you. In the spirit, in the heart, in the
mind, in the body.
39. When his mana and tapu are damaged and you can’t fix it, it destroys you.
40. When the descendant is disallowed from caring for an ancestor’s gift, it
destroys you.
41. When a non-descendant is allowed by default to speak on his behalf and
you are not, it destroys you.
42. When this is what you have fought against all your life and it continues to
happen, it destroys you.
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43. When your lineage is broken, it breaks you.
44. This is how it feels, and it is not right.
45. There is a remedy. It too is simple and direct. Tūwharetoa ask if you could
please give them the means to maintain our whakapapa and its
whanaungatanga basis.
46. Tūwharetoa ask for an amendment to Condition 2 of the consent to allow
Tūwharetoa to express its Kaitiakitanga role.
TŪWHARETOA’S ESTATE 47. Ngāti Tūwharetoa maintain exclusive mana whenua over the central
plateau Lake Taupō region from Tongariro in the south to Tauhara in the
north.
48. Our exclusive mana whenua derives from Take Raupatu conquest, Take
Taunaha naming and bequeathing, and Take Tīpuna intermarriage and
alliances.
49. We maintain inclusive mana whenua over all our borders, north to south,
east to west.
50. Our inclusive mana whenua on all our borders derives from Take Tīpuna
intermarriage, alliances, pacts and Tatau Pounamu formal peace
settlements.
51. Our north to northeast boundary extends well past the Rotokawa area to
include the Kaingaroa Crown Forest Lands known as Waimaroke and
Pukuriri. These two areas are the subject of mana whenua claims by both
Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Tahu. It is my understanding, having been directly
involved in those discussions in another forum, that both tribes
acknowledge the presence of the other in those areas.
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TŪWHARETOA – TE AHI TĀMOU: THE COVERED FIRES
52. The geothermal resources in the domain of Ngāti Tūwharetoa are part of
our whakapapa lineage. This lineage is sourced to two independent
bases.
53. The first base explains how the heat of the earth, magma and lava came
into existence as well as geothermal and volcanic activity.
54. After the separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku by Tāne-tokorangi,
Tāwhirimatea warred with his brothers. Ruaūmoko the baby was still with
his mother. She and Rangi still grieved for each other because of their
separation. As a result their tears flowed and threatened to flood the
world.
55. Tāne and his brothers decided to turn Papatūānuku over to stop their
crying. As they did so, Ruaūmoko implored them to retrieve him because
he didn’t want to be left by himself. The brothers, however, decided to
leave him be to placate their mother in her loneliness and sorrow.
56. One of the brothers Rakahore (the father of bedrock and stone) imbued
the sacred ‘ahi tāmou’ heat into the bedrock of Papatūānuku to keep the
pair warm. Ruaūmoko disagreed and vowed to take revenge on his
brothers by shaking the world and causing earthquakes to devour their
offspring.
57. Later, Tāne-te-waiora married Hine-tū-parimaunga and produced Pūtoto
(magma) and Parawhenuamea (water). Pūtoto produced lava and other
volcanic fires sourced back to the original heat imbued into the bedrock
of Papatūānuku.
58. The younger sister of Mahuika (the goddess of the fire of man), whose
name was Hine Tapeka, was assigned by Tāne to oversee the hidden fire
children (lava) who bubbled deep with the core of the earth. However,
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the heat often became so intense, that Ruaūmoko was caused to move
about in discomfort and in the process he produced earthquakes.
59. His movements weakened the fabric of the earth’s crust, giving escape
routes to Te Ahi Tapu a Tapeka (the sacred fire of Tapeka) and geothermal
and volcanic activity was born to the world. The vents are today seen as
the volcanoes that erupt, the geyser blowholes, the mud pools and hot
water springs of the land. They are controlled by Hine-pūia. She opens
and closes them to release the pressure built up from Ruaūmoko’s
movements.
60. The second base explains how the volcanic line of fire from Whakaari
(White Island) to the mountains of Tongariro and down south to Ukura
Mountain near Christchurch came into existence through the act of
Ngātoroirangi.
61. The high priest of Te Arawa Waka was himself a descendant of the elders
of the fire clan through his grandmother Waiheketua, principal wife of
Atuamatua at Hawaiki.
62. When Ngātoroirangi arrived at these parts to claim land for his
descendants, he ascended Tongariro Mountain. He arrived at the summit
and was overcome by a snow blizzard. He invoked his ancestors Pupū and
Te Hōata, the elders of the fire clan of Hine-tapeka, to come to his aid.
63. He implored their offspring Kautetetū and Te Moremore-o-te-rangi to
produce the fire he needed to save his life. His sisters Kuiwai and
Haungaroa, who were still in the homeland Hawaiki, heard his prayer and
with their aid conjured up their fire ancestors to help him. The pair
travelled underground and at different places along their route emerged
to ensure they were travelling in the right direction. These places became
geothermal or volcanic spots and include Whakaari, Tarawera, Paeroa,
Ōrakei-kōrako, Taupō and Tokaanu. The fire emerged at the summit of
Tongariro and the priest was saved.
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64. He then sent Te Pupū and Te Hōata to the South Island to save Tamatea of
the Takitimu canoe who was exploring there at the time and was freezing
on the ranges at Whakaraupō near Christchurch. This history is held in the
names of the mountain range at Lyttleton Harbour – Te Ahi o Tamatea
and Te Poho o Tamatea.
65. The names of the three mountains Tongariro, Ngāuruhoe and Ruapehu
hold Ngātoroirangi’s history.
66. Tongariro was named for the blizzard wind from the south (Tonga) which
just about took his life (riro). When his fire ancestors arrived,
Ngātoroirangi became angry because only one kit of the three sent from
Hawaiki remained intact. The bottoms of two of the kits had caught fire
and burned away allowing the embers to fall out. Only one still held fire.
This is remembered in the name Ketetahi (one kit), after which the
Ketetahi springs is named.
67. In anger, Ngātoroirangi violently stabbed the end of his staff (hoe) into
the ground causing it to shake and reverberate (ngāuru). The name
Ngāuruhoe was born.
68. Again in frustration, he stamped and pounded (pehu) his foot as in the
haka war dance causing a hole in the ground (rua). The name Ruapehu
was born.
69. Tāpeka is the name of Te Heuheu’s ancestral meeting house at Waihī on
the southern shores of Lake Taupō. It holds the explanations given here.
TŪWHARETOA – KAITIAKITANGA GUARDIANSHIP PRINCIPLES 70. Our stories (oral histories), such as those detailed above, serve a range of
purposes. One of those purposes is to give context to our existence as
beings on this planet. We are one species of many. Our ancestors kept a
detailed record of the origination of all things. The reason for this is
Whakapapa, ancestrally bonafide lineage.
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71. Whakapapa lineage is the axis upon which the Māori world spins. It is not
confined to people. It is the domain of all things. And it informs behaviour.
72. Whanaungatanga is the way we bring our whakapapa to life.
Whanaungatanga is the way we relate to our kin. Because they share the
same blood lines as us and are thus within our natural circle of arohā, we
take responsibility for them, care for them, feed them, laugh with them,
tend their hurts, assist when they need help.
73. This principle applies equally to all within our whakapapa, human and
non-human (the natural world around us). We make no differentiation
between the two because our lives are inextricably tied together. If we
do not relate with our relatives, relationships die. The same applies to our
non-human kin. If we do not relate with them, our non-human kin in our
whakapapa such as trees, birds, water, wind, mountains, geothermal
activity relationships die.
74. Our whakapapa lineage of origination goes back to Papatūānuku the
earth and Ranginui the sky. They produced 70 children who are the first
guardians of nature. In the ancestral Māori ethos, humans are the last
born, the babies of the family as it were.
75. The way we relate to people around us, kin and non-kin, is dictated by
specific tikanga or social mores and lores. This is our ancestral code of
behaviour. This behaviour targets good relationships.
76. The same principle applies to our non-human kin.
77. The tikanga set in place to establish how we relate to the natural
environment in the best interests of all parties, are laid down in nature’s
own calendar. The children of Rangi and Papa (Tāne Māhuta, Tangaroa
etc) oversee as guardians these natural calendars and systems whereby
all things fit.
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78. These systems were translated by our people into calendars which
organised the reaping and replenishing of all food resources and the
guardianship of the specific environments within which those foods were
produced.
79. The natural calendar maramataka is the traditional resource
management system of the Māori people. Its basis is whakapapa and
whanaungatanga.
80. Its implementation is holistic. This is based firstly on our ancestral
whakapapa to nature and secondly on the principle and lores of
whanaungatanga. The responsibility built innately within
whanaungatanga run at a physical, spiritual, psychological and social
level.
81. All of the above principles apply to Rotokawa. It is a geothermal field.
Tūwharetoa whakapapa to it through the actions of Ngātoroirangi.
TŪWHARETOA – NGĀTOROIRANGI AND EARLY HISTORY 82. Ngātoroirangi was a man of immense mana – personal and spiritual
power, authority and benefactorship – incomparable to that of normal
folk. His mere presence demanded respect and recognition. The biggest
testimonies to this simple fact is the attribution to him alone of the calling
up of the Ahi Tāmou geothermal subterranean fire to save his life as he
froze atop Tongariro mountain. In other words, no one else before or
after him had the necessary mana and tapu to complete such an
endeavour. The history of Ngātoroirangi and the covered molten fires and
its significance to Tūwharetoa is told elsewhere in my evidence.
83. The second testimony to his authority is that the places he named, and
there are many, still retain those names – including many locations within
Ngāti Tahu’s core lands as well as others further afield. The obvious needs
to be spelt out here. Ngātoroirangi’s mana was such that he could
name/rename the land. And, further, his names would remain forever.
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This is exactly what came to pass. For instance, Te Reporepo was the
previous name of Tongariro Mountain. Ngātoroirangi renamed it
Tongariro because he had the mana and tapu to do so. Ruataiko was the
previous name of Taupō Lake before he renamed it Taupō.
84. Here are some of his names. Please refer to the Map in Attachment 1 for
the locations listed:
(a) Te Paeroa o Ngātoroirangi, where he observed the water guardian
Torepatutai.
(b) Te Tapuae o Ngātoroirangi, where he left footprints.
(c) Te Waiotapu o Ngātoroirangi, where he ritually washed.
(d) Waihurua, where he heard water bubbling up.
(e) Waimahunga, where he recited special incantations.
(f) Te Haupapa, where he found only bedrock.
(g) Te Puna Takahi o Ngātoroirangi, where he unearthed a secret
water pool. Te Ōhākī o Ngātoroirangi, where he rested and
visualized his journey.
(h) Kaimanawa (hill), where he ‘ate’ his own breath.
(i) Te Arawhata Tawhito o Ngātoroirangi, a stepped
area on the Kaingaroa.
85. Attachment 1 shows some of the places Ngātoroirangi named between
Tarawera and Tauhara mountains in the heartlands of Ngāti Tahu.
86. The third testimony to his nationally recognised mana is that he alone
subdued and/or placated the spiritual guardians of the lands he traversed.
This means he had the mana to engage with the unseen guardians of the
land where all others did not. He fought and subdued Tamaohoi the
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guardian of Tarawera Mountain. He challenged and bested Torepatutai
the guardian of water on the Kaingaroa. He passed the testing of Ririo the
guardian of Tongariro Mountain. He called up Te Pupū and Te Hōata the
guardians of subterranean fire. We have many other examples available.
87. It is necessary for clarification to give context to his acts of placation of
the spiritual guardians he encountered. In the ancestral Māori worldview,
the non-physical world produces and informs the physical world. Spirit
creates body. Ngātoroirangi, with his Polynesian worldview – from which
the Māori version springs – was holistically engaging with and making
safe the area he travelled through. This concept of holistic guardianship
underpins Tūwharetoa’s approach to Kaitiakitanga.
88. In a nutshell, Tūwharetoa’s modern day understanding and application of
Kaitiakitanga – holistic guardianship – directly follows the example laid
down by our ancestor Ngātoroirangi. We care for and steward over the
natural environment – Te Whare Atua House of Nature – holistically as
exemplified, in a defined and trackable way, by our ancestor. The nuts
and bolts of our application of Kaitiakitanga are explained in another
section.
89. I return to our tribal histories of Ngātoroirangi. With the intent of
claiming land for his descendants, he followed the rivers and high points
from the Bay of Plenty to the central plateau, arriving at Tauhara, before
scaling Tongariro in the south. His epic journey setup Ngāti Tūwharetoa’s
eventual move into the Lake Taupō region.
90. Ngātoroirangi did not settle at Taupō. He did not have the means to –
resources and manpower. What he did have was his mana and tapu. Here
is what he did about it:
He scaled the mountain summits, off-limits to everyone else.
He placated the spiritual guardians, beyond the ability of everyone
else.
He named the land, beyond the authority of everyone else.
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He called up molten fire, beyond the capacity of everyone else.
He claimed the central plateau, beyond the mana of everyone else.
He left a prophecy of conquering, beyond the power of everyone else.
His prophecy was fulfilled.
91. Ngātoroirangi completed all of the above. His weapon was his mana and
tapu. He undertook a perilous journey. He walked from the coast to
Tongariro. Why? To claim land for his descendants. Why else go to all that
trouble?
92. The way in which he claimed and conquered the land is different from all
others. This is because he was different. His weapons of conquering were
his mana and his tapu.
93. He prophecised that in the eighth generation following him a descendant
would be born who would conquer the peoples of the central plateau and
claim the land he had named and bequeathed to them. That descendant
was the man Tūwharetoa himself.
94. Ngātoroirangi’s prophecy runs thus: ‘Tahi ki te whitu mau pūangaanga, ko
te waru ka noia ki te rangi.’ He used his ancestor Ruamuturangi’s giant
octopus (which led the famous explorers Ngahue and Kupe to Aotearoa)
to hang his words on. His words mean: ‘The first to the seventh tentacle
hold fast to the head, the eighth shall hang to the sky.’ This meant it
would take seven generations for his descendants to establish
themselves and then the eighth would be strong enough to conquer the
central plateau.
95. As history shows, this is exactly what came to pass.
96. Other members of Ngātoroirangi’s family also played a role in naming
various locations in the central plateau.
97. A short time after the arrival of Te Arawa canoe to Aotearoa, his sisters
Kuiwai and Haungaroa journeyed to this country to carry a curse by
Kuiwai’s husband Manaia concerning Ngātoroirangi. They travelled from
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the Hawkes Bay region inland where their deeds are memorialised in
many of the major place names at the southern end of the Kaingaroa and
around Tauhara Mountain. This includes Waiwhakaari, named for the
great exhibition of steaming fumaroles and geysers, which borders
Rotokawa.
98. Eight generations later in about 1600 the eponymous ancestor of our tribe,
whose birth name Manaia was changed to Tūwharetoa in deference to his
warriorship, was born in the Bay of Plenty at Pūtauaki Mountain.
99. During the late 1600s his sons and grandsons marched from Pūtauaki to
conquer the central plateau. The main tribes in possession of Taupō and
its surrounds at that time were Ngāti Kurapoto and Ngāti Hotu.
100. By the early 1700s, within two generations and after numerous battles,
Tūwharetoa had conquered the central plateau from Taupō to Tongariro.
TŪWHARETOA – PĀKIRA 101. The consolidation of the mana of Tuwharetoa at Tauhara occured in the
time of the ancestor Pākira, son of the Tūwharetoa ariki Waikari – one of
a number of chiefs who oversaw the movement of the tribe from
Pūtauaki to Taupō. This cementing included conquest and intermarriage.
It was the precursor to the establishment of Ngā Hapū o Tauhara in the
north east of Taupō.
102. Ngā Hapū o Tauhara is the name given today to represent the sub-tribal
grouping living to the northeast of Taupō and around the eastern shores
of the lake at the Hikuwai (northern) end of Tūwharetoa. It has six
subtribes connected to it, Ngāti Rauhoto, Ngāti Tutetawhā, Ngāti Hinerau,
Ngāti Hineure, Ngāti Te Urunga and Ngāti Tūtemohuta.
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103. Pākira in his time formalised his boundary thus:
We begin at the rivermouth at Nukuhau
And follow the Waikato River
Past Huka Falls and Aratiatia
To the stream Torepatutai
We turn to the east to the Rangitaiki River From there direct to
Tītīokura
We turn west over the Kāweka and Kaimanawa ranges
To meet the Tongariro River
Which flows into Lake Taupō
We follow the current back to northern Taupō
To the starting point at the Waikato River mouth!
104. The boundary shown in the map in Attachment 2 is important because it
set up the tribe’s northern to northeast edge and this was later fulfilled,
with the agreement of all hapū and neighbouring tribes, by the
Tauponuiātia Determination of 1885/86. I deal more fully with this
determination in a later section. Attachment 2 shows the mana whenua
of Pākira in the light blue triangular area.
TŪWHARETOA – TŪTETAWHĀ 1 & TE RANGIITA 105. One of Pākira’s contemporaries was Tūtetawhā 1. He was another direct
descendant of Tūwharetoa-the-man and was responsible for one of the
Tatau Pounamu peace agreements between Tūwharetoa and Tūhoe of
the Urewera forest. This agreement was made in the north of
Waimaroke. Tūtetawhā 1 married Hinemihi the younger sister of Hinearo
the wife of Pākira.
106. Additionally, Pākira was responsible for the first Tatau Pounamu peace
settlement between Tūwharetoa and Tūhoe. This peace was secured with
his marriage to Hinearo from that tribe. A second marriage to Tawhirangi
further sealed it.
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107. The second Tatau Pounamu occurred when Tūtetawhā 1 was escorting his
wife back to her homelands at Whakatāne so that he could meet her
family. As they reached the outer edge of Tūwharetoa’s northern
boundary at Torepatutai stream, they came face to face with a Tūhoe
warparty on the move. Tūtetawhā 1 hung up his greenstone weapon on
a nearby mānuka tree. The spot is still known as Te Iringa Patu o Tūtetawhā.
108. In about 1750, Tūtetawhā’s son named Te Rangiita, one of Tūwharetoa’s
great overlords, took over the arikitanga of the tribe. His line went on to
lead Tūwharetoa for five generations and each successive ariki played
pivotal roles in keeping the peace over the northern/north-eastern lands
of the tribe.
TŪWHARETOA – NORTHERN/NORTH-EASTERN KĀINGA
109. Tūwharetoa had 88 kāinga sites in its north/north-eastern reaches down
to the Hinemaiaia River at Hātepe which demarcates north and south
Tūwharetoa.
110. There were 11 fortified pā sites, three marae kāinga sites, 40 permanent
kāinga sites and 34 temporary kāinga sites. Refer to the map in
Attachment 3 for the locations of some of these kāinga sites along with
some of the areas cultivated. A full description of all sites of significance
to Tūwharetoa in the north/north-eastern region is available.
111. The main papakāinga of Pākira and his people was at Ōpepe. Ngā Hapū o
Tauhara occupied this kāinga well into the 20th century even though the
Crown took part of the land at Ōpepe for a redoubt fort during the New
Zealand wars of the late 1860s.
112. Sustained occupation east of Ōpepe is evidenced by palisade
construction of a defendable pā namely the remnants of Motuhinahina
fortified pā. This fortified pā was situated near Ōpepe papakāinga fringing
the southern Kaingaroa block. A photograph taken in 1918 and held by
descendants of Rev Hoeta Te Hata shows what was left of a well-
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constructed palisade defence system that was common to fortified
villages in pre- European times. Notes on the back of the photograph
explain that the posts shown were in place over 100 years prior to Te
Kooti’s arrival in the Taupō area in about 1869.
113. Attachment 3 shows some of the kāinga and cultivations of Tūwharetoa
in the north/north-east region of the tribal estate.
114. This means the Motuhinahina pā site was standing in about 1769, during
the time of Pākira and about the time of Captain Cook’s arrival to New
Zealand aboard his ship the Endeavour.
115. Judicious use of the relatively small amount of land available for
cultivation, combined with the optimisation of the harvest of natural
resources from the lake itself, its many tributaries, swamplands and
wetlands, enabled sustainability of the many different types of kāinga. For
instance, the majority of permanent kāinga were located at or near well-
known food sources which could also be readily supplemented by other
foodstores harvested from nearby temporary kāinga built specifically for
that purpose.
116. Further, according to Tūwharetoa elders, in the seasons when particular
food was abundant on the Kaingaroa, Tūwharetoa would make its way
there to gather it. They turned to the forested areas such as Rotoākui,
Pahautea, Hīpawa (behind Tauhara), Te Onepū (near Ōpepe), Motukino,
Motukōkako, Motukīore and Te Aputahou. Te Aputahou was the only
area of substantial forest on the desolate southern Kaingaroa Plains.
117. As the names of some of these bush preserves indicate, the forested
areas were like motu or islands of lush bush on the open plains of
northeast Taupō. Kiore, many species of birds and many edible plants and
berries could be gathered in these forests as well as rongoā medicine and
wood for making canoes and carving. The soils were generally better than
in the open grassland around them so parts were also cleared for planting.
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Swamps contained cultivations of harakeke, raupō and other useful plants
as well as waterfowl such as pārera.
118. Closer to Lake Taupō, the land beyond Patuiwi was not cultivated as it
was too poor. Kaitaha was a seasonal kāinga on the higher and drier
portion of a swamp and the land around it was used for cultivation
especially of the kūmara which was planted in small areas of richer soil.
Ōtoi was a cultivation at the southern edge of Pukuriri suited to peruperu
(potato), although kūmara had been grown there in areas cleared of bush.
119. Tauhara Mountain itself was cultivated because of its volcanic soil which
was far richer than the lands around it. Paetiki was a kāinga at the foot of
Tauhara which was used for cultivations and hunting. There were also
hotpools there. The cultivations on Tauhara included Te Mātai, Kōteao,
Te Taupaki, Hungahungatoroa, Huripare, Awaawaroa, Te Mōrere,
Rohotako, Te Kanutu and Te Karito.
TŪWHARETOA – THE ARRIVAL OF THE PĀKEHĀ
120. With the arrival of the Pākehā from about 1845 onwards, life began to
change drastically for the people of northeast Taupō. Their traditional
lands and resources, were decimated by the impact of colonisation in its
many forms – including land alienation, resource deprivation, new and
unfair laws designed to look after the interests of white settlers at the
expense of Māori.
121. Northern Tūwharetoa hapū have evidence available describing their many
attempts to secure mana motuhake from the late 1800s onwards. For
example, efforts by other tribal groupings to claim areas of significance
under colonial law were directly challenged. As when northern hapū
pulled down the survey flags placed at Hīpāwa (a saddle just north of
Tauhara Mountain) by other tribes6.
6 St George diary, 1 and 5 March 1869. MS 1842-1845. Alexander Turnbull Library; and Taupo Native Land Court Minute Book No 6, p.19.
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122. There is also evidence available describing the many cultivations and bird
fowling practises of northern hapū. For instance, a Pākehā visitor
travelling around lands at Tauhara in the mid-1800s observed how
carefully the numbers of ducks on their nearby lakes were managed7.
Further, early Pākehā visitors remarked on the ‘vast quantity’ of produce
northern hapū had on hand, including potatoes, kereru, and kākā, “of
which they seemed to have great stores ready plucked8.
123. However, from the mid-1800s, events unfurled which led to Tūwharetoa
being conveniently labeled a rebel stronghold by the Crown eager to
separate the tribe from its lands and resources.
124. The first major event occurred in 1856 with the Tūwharetoa instigated
historic meeting at Pūkawa in support of the then infant King Movement.
125. The third ariki of the Heuheu line, Te Heuheu IV Iwikau, disillusioned with
the failed promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi by the Crown, set up
the meeting to consolidate support for the King Movement and decide
on its first King. The King Movement was seen negatively by the Crown
and within five years of Pōtatau Te Wherowhero being crowned King, it
had forced war upon its supporters.
126. The second major event was Tūwharetoa’s open involvement in the
Waikato wars in 1863-64 in support of their close relatives.
127. The third major event was the spread of the blended Christian/Māori
faith Pai Marire which gained many converts from north-eastern Taupō
hapū including the fearsome Te Rangitahau of Tūtemohuta.
128. And the fourth event involved the perceived Māori rebel Te Kooti. He was
invited into Tūwharetoa by Te Rangitāhau and given sanctuary by the
ariki of the time, Te Heuheu Horonuku.
7 Herbert Meade, A ride through the disturbed districts of New Zealand, London, 1870, p. 104. 8 A.H. Russell’s journal of a trip to Taupo, 1850-1851, p.43. MS-1836. Alexander Turnbull Library.
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129. All these events gave the Crown licence to tag Tūwharetoa as a rebel
stronghold and in this way gain a foothold into the central plateau.
130. These events seriously divided Tūwharetoa into two camps – those who
supported the Crown and those who did not.
131. When the Native Land Court arrived in Tūwharetoa in the mid-1860s, this
was the backdrop.
132. In Tūwharetoa’s view, the Crown’s ‘divide and rule’ approach, directly
disallowed Tūwharetoa from fully representing its interests at many early
Native Land Court hearings.
133. There is much evidence available showing that early claimants to the
Native Land Court in Taupō were recognised Crown supporters and
indeed linked to the Militia. Whereas those who fought with the
Kingitanga were shunned.
134. In regards the Native Land Court, Tūwharetoa is of the opinion that it was
a device used by the Pākehā to dismantle the traditional Māori way of life
by removing Māori land from Māori ownership as cheaply as possible, as
quickly as possible.
135. In Tūwharetoa’s view, supported by the Waitangi Tribunal, professional
historians and even the Auditor General of New Zealand, many early land
transactions were unjust and illegal and volumes of well researched
findings illustrate these points.
136. In Dr Ballara’s damning estimation:
Kaingaroa No.1 demonstrates many of the aspects of the Land Court
and land purchasing process that mark them as unsatisfactory,
improper, even fraudulent processes which damaged the customary
interests, the economic base, the livelihood, and the social cohesion
of all the hapū involved.
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137. The Waitangi Tribunal concurs with these statements. And so does Ngāti
Tūwharetoa.
TŪWHARETOA – THE TAUPŌNUIĀTIA DETERMINATION 1886 138. The threat of Crown alienation of Ngāti Tūwharetoa lands moved
Tūwharetoa ariki Te Heuheu Horonuku to develop a strategy to prevent
wholesale confiscation.
139. Tūwharetoa, in collaboration with neighbouring tribes, sought a
determination from the Māori Land Court that their land did belong to
them and its borders were confirmed. The map in Attachment 4
illustrates the area known as the Taupōnuiātia Determination.
140. Attachment 4 shows the 1886 boundary agreed to Tūwharetoa chiefs
and those of neighbouring tribes including Ngāti Tahu.
141. Their vision was to take an inclusive approach to counter the confiscation
process they had witnessed with the loss of Waikato and Taranaki lands.
142. The list of rangatira on the application demonstrates the widespread
support Horonuku had in making the application. This support was sought
in the traditional way, through a series of meetings culminating in the
final decision to proceed.
143. The Taupōnuiātia block was outlined in the Native Land Court by Te
Heuheu Horonuku on the 16th of January, 1886. The Taupōnuiātia
boundary was based on the tribes’ acknowledgement of the pou whenua
that served as tribal markers. All of the places identified were ancient and
recognised historical agreements following battles or other historical
events.
144. A list of 141 hapū was supplied by Te Heuheu. The hapū list was not just
for the benefit of the descendants of Tūwharetoa and Tia, but was
designed to include all of the hapū and tribes on the lands at that time.
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145. The application included the descendants of Tūwharetoa and of Tia, such
as Rauhoto ā-Tia, and of other ancestors including hapū of Te Arawa,
