Horahia te kahu tōmairangi o Ōkahu, inumia te wai pata ua o Inuawai

New horizons could help bring Ōkahu Inuawai uri home

Exploring the potential of miraka hipi – sheep dairying – is opening up new possibilities for hapū. Moana Ellis talks to Ōkahu Inuawai pahake John Hooker.

The relationship between Ngāruahine hapū Ōkahu Inuawai (me ētehi atu), of Aotearoa Pā, and Parininihi ki Waitōtara has not always been easy – in fact, at times it’s been a challenge for all.

“Like any relationship, it requires work as it evolves,” says pahake John Hooker.

“We’ve always had a relationship with Parininihi ki Waitōtara. We’ve interacted on a range of platforms over the years. As a hapū and uri, we’ve supported their intention to actively engage and take a land-based approach, and we have generally had a good relationship with their governors and personnel over the years.

“We like that many of their values and aspects of their approach reflect our values – for example, they have quite a strong taiao / kaitiaki lens that our hapū really supports because Ōkahu runs its own taiao environmental unit. The strides Parininihi ki Waitōtara has taken in the environmental area these last 3-4 years really strike a note with us, such as planting along the awa, putting shed water recycling units on some of their big dairy farms, and the willingness to invest in the environment.”

But it hasn’t all been a bed of roses. In the past, there has been protest and angst.

“From time to time, we have clashed – around our waahi tapu, for example. But Parininihi ki Waitōtara has been honest and upfront in their dealings with us and we’ve come up with a robust process to mitigate these problems going forward into the future, with the utilisation of hapū observers to ensure any works occur under our eyes. We enjoy joint wānanga from time to time to flesh each kaupapa out.”

After decades of determined effort, and frank and open kōrero, the relationship has turned a corner, with the hapū fully involved in the incorporation’s new diversification venture.

John says a good joint hapū-incorporation approach is in place for activities involving Ōkahu Inuawai whenua, including the development of two new miraka hipi farms.

“We view the whenua as being ours – it is part of our original Inuawai block, part of our tūrangawaewae – and this is acknowledged in how some of our values have been reflected in the new venture.”

That includes the sourcing of mouri stones collected from areas of significance to both Parininihi ki Waitōtara and Ōkahu Inuawai, and their placement at each new miraka hipi unit.

“They reflect back to our Inuawaitanga quite intrinsically. One came from Te Rere o Kapuni, a sacred source in our rohe. Another was taken from Waingongoro awa, a pivotal awa for Ōkahu Inuawai. They were also collected at Cardiff on the Waingongoro awa and from the Pātea awa, which joins into branches that have links to Ōkahu Inuawai and Ngāti Turi.”

Ōkahu Inuawai gifted the names ‘Koetuku’ and ‘Waitokorau’ to the new units, and named the milking shed ‘Te Tau o te Reme’ and the rearing shed ‘Tangimaioro’.

Tangimaioro refers to defensive battlements (pā maioro) around pā in that area, for example the Pākokomiko palisades at Waitokorau. It also references the sound of a crying child made by the ripples on a bend in the river just below Pākokomiko.

“With the cry of the lambs in that lambing barn, we look at those cries as signifying oranga hou – wellbeing,” John says.

Te Tau o te Reme references a tikanga of the late 1800s.

“The old people during that period gave a biblical name to each year: 1867 was named Te Tau o te Reme, the year of the lamb. In 1868, Titokowaru took up the path of Uenuku again to slow down our greedy manuhiri. Therefore, the arrival of the lamb signifies to us the drive for peace, opportunity and prosperity.”

Koetuku is a name from a tupuna Wiremu Kingi Katene, who was given the name Tūwhakaruru during a battle he fought alongside Titokowaru at Waverley. He gave the name Koetuku to the area where he lived, and where one of the new miraka hipi farm’s is located.

The name Waitokorau is another link to Ōkahutanga and Inuawaitanga. It is the name of a sacred puna near the ancient pā site Ōkahutītī, used for healing and health rituals including the spiritual cleansing of warriors after war.

John says the name reflects hapū aspirations to provide oranga pathways for mokopuna.

“As a hapū we want to encourage more of our whānau, uri to come back and build near our pā, but you also need ventures to provide employment for that.

“We look at traditional dairy farming as a green desert for our people. But miraka hipi presents a range of greater opportunities.”

Chief among these were opportunities for uri to be employed on their whenua again.

“There could be future employment from a range of miraka hipi ventures and we want to encourage steps in that direction.”

In work to develop a strategy plan last year, the hapū received a strong message from uri that they want papakāinga housing on the marae and within the Ōkahu area to encourage whānau to come home.

“We can build them nice homes but we want to ensure we’re creating nice employment opportunities as well,” John says.

“We want to see how this miraka hipi kaupapa develops. As the relationship develops we may even look at co-investing in a joint venture with Parininihi ki Waitōtara. There is talk of building up a critical mass of at least 12 miraka hipi farms in Taranaki and building our own production factory. We find that quite exciting.

“There could be jobs for our uri as milkers; a range of short-term opportunities to assist during lambing – for example, mothering lambs in the barn; and manufacturing possibilities through to looking after the tankers, sales and there’s nothing to stop us fostering some of our own for managerial positions.

“These are all kaupapa which would suit a population being built up at Aotearoa Pā.

“Our hapū is quite keen to further develop our relationship with Parininihi ki Waitōtara because we can see a range of activities we can intersect on, not just currently but in the future as well.

“For example, at the Waingongoro dam on Normanby Road, we want to work on a fish bypass going up the dam, and Parininihi ki Waitōtara has been helpful in giving us access through the farm there.

“By having joint synergies, I believe we can achieve mutual goals and aims.”

Koetuku tāinga kawa 8 Hōngongoi 2022