Me hoki ki tō ūkaipō - Reconnecting whānau with whenua

When Ngahina Capper began a Masters degree on his whānau papakāinga, the research quickly morphed from ‘papakāinga bureaucracy’ into more fundamental kaupapa.

He had bought five acres on Newall Road, one of the sites uri could purchase from the Crown as part of the Taranaki Iwi deferred settlement process. He was planning a papakāinga with his wife Ariana and their seven tamariki. Their whānau journey of reconnection became the heart of his Masters in Māori and Indigenous Leadership (MMIL), completed with support from a Paraninihi ki Waitōtara Incorporation scholarship.

“Before looking into practical things we needed to establish our tikanga and values as a whānau. Over five wānanga we talked about the foundations we needed before moving forward. These set our direction, our pou and whāinga,” says Ngahina.

“We delved deep into what it means to reconnect with our whenua. The hua, the fruit, came out during discussions with our kids. Once they understood what our tūpuna went through, the mamae caused by the raupatu, they understood the deep significance of returning to this land.”

Above: Ngahina and Ariana Capper outside their papakāinga Te Tāmore o Tī Kouka, with their tamariki (from left); Taiora, Mokoia, Tipene, Tiana and Kahu (holding mokopuna Tia Riria).

Ngahina has whakapapa to Te Ātiawa, Taranaki, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Ruahine, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Maru, and Ngāti Maniapoto. His connection to the block is through his great-great-grandmother, Pungarehu Rarawa Wharepōuri, who had a strong association with Parihaka. Ngāti Moeahu, which borders the area, was among her many hapū.

Growing up Ngahina knew he had whakapapa all round the mounga, but there was no one particular place that was ‘home’. Now his whānau are creating that place for themselves and future generations. They have named it Te Tāmore o Tī Kouka after the strong, resilient tap roots of the tī kouka tree.

The yearning for deep roots follows 16 years living in Australia. Ngahina worked as a rigger and scaffolder in the oil and gas industry but, after the whānau’s return in 2012, he found purpose in the whenua and taiao. In late April he was appointed Operations Manager for Taranaki Mounga Project, following four years as Kaitiaki Whenua for Te Kāhui o Taranaki.

Above: Ngahina presents at the PKW half year AGM.

“In Australia we were always on the hop with mahi. The kids were getting comfortable, settled, they had friends. If we hadn’t come home when we did, we might not have come at all. I’m so glad we did. There’s no better feeling than living on your own whenua that you whakapapa to and where you can create a positive future for your uri,” says Ngahina.

His daughter, 18-year-old Tiana, the fifth of the siblings (aged 24 to 12), fully supports the decision. Primary school in Perth meant missing out on learning te reo Māori with her cousins back home and she is now enrolled in the full immersion reo programme at Te Wānanga o Raukawa.

Above: Ngahina with daughter Tiana Rarawa Capper at Waiokura Marae.

“I loved the papakāinga wānanga. We’re such a big whānau. We got to understand each other, to identify our individual and collective strengths. We could contribute our ideas and support each other. We connected in ways we never thought possible.”

The hard facts of home ownership also drove their vision. An analysis Ngahina produced shows that between 2000 and 2021, median house prices in Taranaki increased by 465% and median rental costs by 242% compared to the 127% increase in salaries. His wife Ariana was keenly aware families around them were struggling.

“There was a shift in both of us. Ngahina didn’t want to work in oil and gas any more, and we knew we needed to focus on our whānau. I grew up as part of a papakāinga in Rāhui Pōkeka Huntly. I was privileged and didn’t realise at first that my own family needed that too. Bringing it all together has been amazing,” says Ariana.

Ngahina often talks of a transformation in himself and his whānau. They have settled, they have their tūrangawaewae even when, like some of their older rangatahi, they are pursuing dreams elsewhere.

More broadly, the research and experience convinced him a return to tupuna whenua and whānau papakāinga can alleviate a lot of today’s societal pressures.

He says “Looking at ways of communal living as whānau, collectivising wealth, creating micro-communities that work on a koha and reciprocal basis, are some of the answers for us moving forward as te iwi Māori. Without whenua we’re just tāngata.”