Pānui #014
Mihi from the Chair
Ko te takanga o Te Rā he tohu o te Atua o tēnei wahanga o te tau, ko Hineraumati, ka rongo ki ngā hīhī o Tamanuiterā, ā, ka kite tono i te puāwaitanga o te pōhutukawa. Ko te tumanako ka whai wā koutou ki te whakatā, ki te noho ngātahi me te kaitahi ki te taha o tō koutou whānau.
As we reflect on 2024, it has been a significantly busy year for Ngāti Pāoa. We have had some major events with the second reading that is one step closer to settlement, hosted 8 hui-ā-iwi across the motu to engage with our whānau, and updated our people on our progress at the recent AGM held at Wharekawa marae. We have revamped the Ngāti Pāoa website so we can have a central point of communications, including these newsletters so if you miss anything you can review through the pānui.
The board, kaimahi, and whānau of Ngāti Pāoa stood with Toitū te Tiriti and the hundred thousand plus in solidarity to oppose the Treaty Principles Bill and we encourage you all to continue to write in opposition to this Bill to protect the rights of future generations.
Take the time to refresh and spend time with whānau. We will have a lot of new kaupapa in 2025 and work towards rebuilding our presence across our rohe, on land and moana.
Hēoti anō, kua whāriki ēnei kaupapa mō te pānui whakamutunga o 2024.
In this pānui:
Annual General Meeting
Taiao
Pou Rāhui
Me He Kuaka Reo o te Kāinga
Te Korowai Aroha
Ko te kai a te rangatira, he kōrero
Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust - Annual General Meeting
This year the Iwi Trust’s AGM was held at Wharekawa Marae, in the newly opened wharekai - ‘Te Whakatutuki’. It was a beautiful day with a big gathering of whānau. Our acknowledgement and appreciation for all those who attended.
For all the tamariki, E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services provided a play area and child-care, freeing parents to attend to the hui. A big shout out of appreciation to Zoe and her team!
Below are some photos from the day. If you weren’t able to attend, you can read the Trust’s 2024 Annual Report by scrolling down at this webpage and clicking the link. You can also find the audited consolidated financial statements for the Trust there.
Taiao
Tēnā tātou ngā uri o Pāoa.
As Hineraumati approaches (and the festive season) I thought I would share some of my thoughts as Mātanga Taiao to ponder over during the holiday break.
Te Tiriti was marked by our tūpuna on two different occasions on the shores of the Waitematā at Kohimarama, a rohe where we held mana whenua in 1840. The third signing was at Te Waiau (Coromandel), but I will leave that for another pānui.
The hui to sign was specifically located in a small bay opposite Motu Korea (Browns Island) on the mainland at a place we call Te Karaka, close in proximity to the mouth of Wai o Taiki (Tāmaki River), which we also call Wai o Mokoia, very near to Orohe (Churchill Park Point) and below Te Whakamuhu (Clover Park) and Te Pane o Horoiwi (the site of Glen Oaks Catholic Church).
The Treaty document marked by our tūpuna was the Māori version that had been signed at Waitangi in February. We signed it in March and July 1840. Noted chiefs signed, such as Te Hoete (Wiremu), Hakopa (Tahakehake), Te Awa, Te Kahukoti (Te Herua), Te Ruinga (Pokai), Hohepa, Paora (Pokaiaka), Pouroto (Patara), Enoka, Te Hinaki (Maihi), Mohi (Te Harare), Te Kupenga, Ngahuka, Te Rangi, Ngamanu, Raromanu and Te Hangi (Pita).
The Pākehā who signed were Joseph Nias Smith, William Thomas Fairburn, Henry Williams, David Rough, John Johnson and Governor Hobson.
Several of the leaders who signed in 1840 were noted on the Treaty document as ‘Thames natives’ from Wharekawa.
The articles of Te Tiriti, since our tupuna signed the document in 1840, have been recognised through time in different ways by colonial and later governments. Treaty ‘principles’ are now embedded in laws, such as the Resource Management Act, Local Government Act, Land Transport Act, and many others. But today such clauses within legislation are under threat of being removed, as part of this government’s policy of ignoring colonial harm, and giving all New Zealanders the same status as descendants of Ngāti Pāoa in our rohe over our taonga (whenua, moana, awa, taonga katoa).
Te Tiriti (The Treaty) of Waitematā and Waiau, signed by our tupuna, is not up for reinterpretation or change unless Ngāti Pāoa chooses it to be so. Ngāti Pāoa and its associated hapū are the right holders under Te Tiriti. We have taken back our role and right to tiaki ngā taonga katoa, as written in Te Tiriti.
Toi tū Te Tiriti!
Tipa Compain
Pou Rāhui
Tēnā tātou e te whānau,
As we head into the holiday season, I reflect on everything that we have been involved in this year, but most of all I want to acknowledge our whānau that have lost loved ones over the past year – nei rā ngā mihi aroha ki a koutou e noho tonu ana i raro i tērā kapua pōuri, tēnā koutou e te whānau.
As part of the Pou Rāhui project, a Ngā Tōhu o Te Taiao Symposium was held in Taumata o Kupe at Te Māhurehure Marae last week. Approximately 100 were in attendance from Hauraki, Tāmaki, Aotea, and those who travelled as far as the South Island. Our Pou Rangi team facilitated the day, with keynote speakers Rereata Mākiha and Professor Rangi Matamua, and featured Herearoha Skipper, Professor Kura Paul-Burke, Dr Korohere Ngapo, Dr Apanui Skipper, and facilitator Mihingārangi Forbes. A great day was had by all.
On other news, we have recently been asked by Auckland Council to provide assistance in communicating with the Waiheke Island visiting boating community about the recently imposed Controlled Area Notice (CAN) for invasive Caulerpa (seaweed). The whānau will therefore be out and about over the months of summer (te kaupeka o Hineraumati) to engage wherever possible, and educate people about the danger of disturbing the seabed with anchors and ground-disturbing fishing practices, and how to clean their gear to prevent spreading the invasive seaweed. We will keep you updated on the progress of this project.
I wish you all the very best for the holiday season, may you enjoy time with whānau and keep safe – whether travelling or not, because we need to be invigorated to do it all bigger and better next year!!
Mā ngā atua koutou, hei manāki, hei tīaki
Mauriora whānau
Blair Anderson
Me He Kuaka Reo o te Kāinga
Enrolments for our online te reo Māori courses are now open!
Come be a part of the journey to learn te reo Māori with your iwi Ngāti Pāoa. Learn at your own pace in a fun, interactive, whānau atmosphere supported by passionate teachers.
Broaden your knowledge and understanding of Ngāti Pāoa tikanga, history and stories.
Create new bonds with other whānau from Ngāti Pāoa at the noho marae.
Be empowered!
Te Korowai Aroha - Reclaiming our Traditional Practices for Wāhine o Ngāti Pāoa
Pāoa whanake
Pāoa taringa rahirahi
Pāoa pukunui
Pāoa ki uta
Pāoa ki tai
Ngāti Pāoa ki tua o te pae o Matariki
E karanga atu tēnei uri o Te Uri Karaka ki a koutou o Ngāti Pāoa, otirā tēnei te mihi nui ki a Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust rāua ko E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services e whakamana ana i tēnei kaupapa, arā ko Te Korowai Aroha.
Ko wai tēnei? Ko Rihipeti-Paerau Forbes ahau, ā, he uri tēnei o Te Uri Karaka, nō Ngāti Pāoa, nō Ngāti Maniapoto hoki. I tēnei wā, ko au te kaiwhakahaere i te kaupapa ‘Te Korowai Aroha’ ōmā Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust / E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services.
I have been given the privilege to work as the project manager for ‘Te Korowai Aroha’, a project under Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust and E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services. Working alongside both Herearoha Skipper and Zoe Hawke, we will run a series of wānanga with the purpose of reclaiming traditional practices for kōhine/wāhine/ruāhine of Ngāti Pāoa.
Ngāti Pāoa is in a critical position, where we have been hit by waves of colonisation, leaving us deprived of our kōrero around tikanga and te ira wahine. Throughout this kaupapa, we will look at topics such as atua wāhine, te whare tangata, īkura, ruahinetanga, karanga/pao, and pure to name a few.
This is only an introduction. In the new year we will provide further information to our whānau to be able to participate, with a series of six wānanga starting in February 2025. Keep an eye out on your email inboxes as a registration form will be sent to beneficiaries’ email addresses with wānanga starting from in February to June 2025.
Mauri Ora!
Paerau Forbes
Ko te kai a te rangatira, he kōrero:
Below is the Ngāti Pāoa statement of association for Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana, as recorded in the Ngāti Pāoa Deed of Settlement (Attachments Schedule). This statement of association relates to “Ngā Tai Whakarewa Kauri”, the Marutūāhu Iwi (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngaati Whanaunga, and Te Patukirikiri) Coastal Statutory Acknowledgement, which the Crown had committed to provide through the Marutūāhu Iwi Collective Redress Deed, with each iwi providing their own statement of association. The kōrero is written by the late Morehu Wilson.
Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana
The coastal marine area of Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana (Firth of Thames) and the Hauraki Gulf is an integral part of Ngāti Paoa’s rohe in Hauraki and Tāmaki Makaurau. Areas of particular cultural significance include the coastal areas from the Piako River near Thames, running west to the Waitakaruru River, travelling northward along the western coast of Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana, scattered around the inner harbour coastline of Tāmaki, and proceeding north again through to Mahurangi.
Other significant interests for Ngāti Paoa lie with the many Hauraki Gulf Islands such as Karamuramu, Pākihi, Pōnui, Rātōroa, Pākatoa, Waiheke, Motuihe / Te Motu-a-lhenga, Motutapu, Rangitoto, Otata, Motuhorapapa, Rākino, Tiritiri Matangi, Motuora, Te Haupā and Kawau. Occupation of pā, kāinga and fishing stations on the coastline of Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana (Firth of Thames), the coastline of Tāmaki Makaurau, including the coastline from Te Hau Kapua (Devonport) through to Mahurangi in the north were important bastions that supported the development and vitality of Ngāti Paoa. Coastal fisheries and other resources were controlled and managed by the various Ngāti Paoa hapū, who exercised their customary kaitiaki role.
Ngāti Paoa have strong and unbroken traditional, historical, cultural and spiritual associations with the coastline and its ecosystems. These associations remain today, and are central to the identity and mauri of the iwi. A widespread complex matrix of pā, cultivations and fishing areas were located primarily at river mouths all along the coastal margin. Ngāti Paoa river-mouth settlements provided access to inland settlements and mahinga kai areas, including the flat, nutrient rich plains of Hauraki, as well as the Wharekawa west lowlands. The Pūkorokoro / Miranda inlet was a significant site for another reason. The ancestral waka Tainui briefly landed at Pūkorokoro / Miranda and left an anchor stone in the area. The Tainui waka had brought many of Ngāti Paoa’s tūpuna (ancestors) to Pare Hauraki. They travelled along the western coastline of the Firth of Thames before landing on the Wharekawa foreshore at Waihihī. Reference is made to Waihihī as a result of Hoturoa’s junior wife’s indiscretion at this place, in an ancient prayer that continues to be recited by Ngāti Paoa kaumātua, and performed and celebrated in waiata and haka with Ngāti Paoa performing groups.
Te Tāpapakanga a Puku, Ōrere, Tāwhitokino, Karaka Taupo, Te Kawakawa and their environs contained many important fishing stations and tūranga waka. Te Tāpapakanga a Puku, Pāwhetau and Koherurahi were the most important of these. They consisted of large pā sites and kāinga complex overlooking beach lands where waka could be safely landed. Extensive racks used for net repair and drying fish were notable features of these places. Ūpokotoia – a great white shark and celebrated Ngāti Paoa taniwha – lived in this area, his name then becoming the name of an important Ngāti Paoa hapū. A pā, kāinga and fishing complex occupied much of the shoreline at Kawakawa Bay. This is the burial place of the celebrated Ngāti Paoa rangatira Te Haupā (Upoko Ariki Toihau o Ngāti Paoa). It has added significance for Ngāti Paoa as Te Urikaraka, an important hapū of Ngāti Paoa, formed extensive occupation, cultivation and fishing station complexes within the immediate vicinity, including two significant pā sites. The shoreline contains burials and the last known great waka of Ngāti Paoa, Kahumauroa, Te Kotūiti and Te Raukawakawa were left on the shoreline at the end of their respective marine lives. This important coastline was significant in that Ngāti Paoa's beliefs and customary burials were commonly carried out in close proximity to tidal areas and tidal flats associated with the relevant hapū and whānau of the specific area. Further Ngāti Paoa pā, kāinga and fishing stations could be found all along the eastern coast of Tāmaki Makaurau and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf.
Among the most important of these was Waiheke, renowned for its kaimoana, fresh water sources and fertile gardens. Estuarine areas were an especially prized source of kaimoana, fish, birds and textiles such as raupō and harakeke. The large estuaries of Waiheke Island were particularly significant to supporting and nourishing important Ngāti Paoa pā and kāinga (Te Pūtiki o Kahu, Hoporata and Rangihoua). Horuhoru, a significant rock north of Waiheke, also known as Tikapa, was where the Tainui crew performed their protocols when they first arrived in the Hauraki Gulf.
The Waitematā inlet was the location of a favourite rock, Te Routu o Ureia, of the celebrated Ngāti Paoa and Hauraki taniwha, Ureia. Tradition records that Ureia would come to this rock which was situated under the southern end of the Auckland harbour bridge to scratch his back. Ngāti Paoa resided within the coastal pā of Te Tō, which was an important location for Ngāti Paoa where they were able to fulfil their obligations as kaitiaki of Te Routu o Ureia.
Papakura Pā, a Ngāti Paoa pā site located south of Te Haupā Island, at Tiritiri Matangi, was important as it both provided a site for Ngāti Paoa to develop and expand, while also doubling as a supporting base for the iwi when the Mahurangi area was inundated with waka and fisherman during the important shark fishing seasons. Te Haupā Island, near the Mahurangi Harbour, was named after the Ngāti Paoa tupuna Te Haupā. As the great great grand-son of Paoa and Tukutuku, Te Haupā is an important tūpuna who engaged with the early missionaries on their visits to Aotearoa, and lead Ngāti Paoa throughout the turbulent years of the late eighteenth century and into the early nineteenth century.
Relationships were established between the various tribes of Hauraki and the tribes associated with Mahurangi.
Marutūāhu, eponymous ancestor of the Marutūāhu confederation of tribes, and Pikirangi (of Ngāti Apakura and father of the renowned sisters Reipae and Reitū) were related. Reipae and Reitū’s descendants are of northern Rangatiratanga (Chieftainship) and indeed, associated with the Mahurangi region. Marutūāhu and Pikirangi’s grandfathers were brothers, and consequently claim common descent from their great grandfather Whatihua. Marutūāhu was a contemporary of Maki-nui, father of Manuhiri, Maraeariki and Tawhiakiterangi. Marutūāhu and Maki-nui both emigrated from Kawhia on the west coast, making their homes in distant lands. Marutūāhu, arriving at Hauraki in search of his father Hotunui who had earlier emigrated from Kāwhia, performed rites of entry to a new land on the eastern face of Kohukohunui overlooking Tīkapa Moana. Marutūāhu was also a direct descendant of Toi te Huatahi via Taneroroa and Ruapūtāhanga of the Aotea waka, Taranaki.
Marutūāhu had two wives who were sisters and of the Maruiwi and Te Tini o Toi tribal entities, as well as the latter Hauraki and Te Arawa ancestors. With the arrival of Hotunui, and Marutūāhu at Hauraki, the Tainui influence began to develop. Marutūāhu and his two wives resided at Wharekawa, Hauraki. Marutūāhu’s second son Tamaterā wed Moemoewhitia of the Mahurangi region, and their son Putahi-a-Reua / Rehua lived at Aotea.
