9 minute read
The next chapter
Mapping the East Coast site of a defining battle in New Zealand history is helping to unlock stories of the past for generations to come
WORDS: JACQUI GIBSON • IMAGERY: BRENNAN THOMAS
In 1862 Ngāti Porou chief Mokena Kohere was an ordinary man living in extraordinary times.
Life had changed irrevocably since 1840 with the arrival of Pākehā and the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. But it wasn’t all bad. The colonisers had brought technology and new trading opportunities. And the treaty, signed by the chief’s brother, still held the promise of partnership and security of Māori land ownership.
So when Mokena was asked by Crown agent Governor George Grey to become a local lawman (alongside fellow chiefs Iharaira Te Houkamau and Wikiriwhi Matauru), he embraced the role without hesitation.
On the one hand, the invitation showed Crown respect for an existing model of Māori self-governance. On the other, it cemented a political alliance between the East Cape tribe and the Crown against anti-government unrest that was gaining steam in Taranaki.
The best course of action for the people, figured the chief and many of his peers, was to stay true to the treaty, stay out of the conflict and trust in God.
It turned out that the chief’s resolve would be tested on each count within just three years, as one of New Zealand’s most dramatic chapters in history took place on the East Cape.
In early 1865, as the New Zealand Wars were peaking, a battle would take place that would pit Crown against Māori, Māori against Māori, and family member against family member.
It would start in Ōpōtiki with the murder of missionary Carl Volkner by followers of the politically driven faith known as Pai Mārire or Hauhau, of whom some were Ngāti Porou. It would end with a Hauhau surrender inland from Te Araroa in the Karakatūwhero Valley at a fortified stronghold called Hungahungatoroa Pā.
The bush pā was the last line of defence for the Hauhau, who, upon surrendering to combined government and Ngāti Porou forces, were made to either swear allegiance to Queen Victoria and return home or face punishment, such as imprisonment on the Chatham Islands.
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It was a peacekeeping deal brokered by Mokena in a bid to appease government soldiers and save the lives of Ngāti Porou Hauhau fighters at the same time.
Ngāti Porou tumuaki (principal) Campbell Dewes, whose kura (school) is based in Hicks Bay, a few kilometres east of the pā, says the historical events of that period live on today.
“That battle, that pā – both are hugely important to Ngāti Porou and to the children and young people of our school. Some are direct descendants of the men and women who fought in that last stand at Hungahungatoroa Pā.
“In fact, some of our kids are related to people on both sides of the conflict – the 500 or so Ngāti Porou warriors fighting for the Hauhau and Māori independence, as well as Ngāti Porou [people like Mokena] who represented the iwi’s allegiance to the Crown.”
Campbell says it’s the history of the pā and its relevance to his school, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kawakawa mai Tawhiti, that made him jump at the opportunity to visit the site in February last year.
Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou Cultural and Ecological Advisor Hal Hovell invited two schools to the pā site – Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o
ABOUT NGĀTI POROU
n One of the largest iwi in New Zealand with 72,000 members comprising 58 hapū and 48 marae. n The marae are located around the East Cape from Potikirua in the north to
Te Toka-a-Taiau in the south, covering an area of about 400,000 hectares.
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1 Karakatuwhero
Valley, Te Araroa,
East Coast.
2 On site at the pā.
3 4 Rangatahi en route to the pā.
5 Students learning the history of the pā.
6 A number of site visits and wānanga have been carried out to record the site’s oral history and scientific data.
HUNGAHUNGATOROA PĀ: A SAFE HAVEN?
“The history of Hungahungatoroa Pā goes back centuries, and much further back than the 1860s, when it became the site of the Hauhau’s last stand in the New Zealand Wars. In fact, the first people to use it were Ngāti Rakimatapu, the original people to inhabit this area. To them, it was one of three pā they used, but it served a special purpose. It was a place they retreated to in times of trouble – a safe haven. You can see why. Set deep in the bush, it is surrounded by cliffs. To many, it was thought to be unassailable.” – Hal Hovell, Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou. Kawakawa mai Tawhiti and Te Waha o Rerekohu Area School – as part of a post-treaty-settlement mapping project.
Hal, who worked for the Department of Conservation (DOC) at the time, explains: “I wanted the schools to visit the site and get involved. I felt it was important for our kids to see it for themselves and know they’re a part of its story.
“I also wanted them to learn the technical skills and tools we’re using to map and protect the site for future generations.”
In 2010 Hal had begun mapping the layout, size and features of Hungahungatoroa Pā as part of a larger exercise to map 36 protected pā sites from East Cape to the Pukeāmaru Range.
The project followed a treaty settlement with the Crown that same year, which returned the Pukeāmaru Scenic Reserve and all 36 pā sites to Ngāti Porou under a strategic partnership with DOC.
To map Hungahungatoroa Pā, Hal organised a bush-clearing crew to rid the site of overgrowth, expose its features and make it more accessible.
Hal estimates that approximately 75 percent of the site is now clear. He also organised a number of site visits and wānanga to record the site’s oral history and scientific data.
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In February 2017 Hal invited more than 20 students and several government agency experts to visit the site over four days. Heritage New Zealand Director Regional Services Pam Bain was there.
“It was an incredible experience,” she says. “We started with karakia and waiata and finished with a lot of sharing of valuable information and skills.”
Pam showed visitors around the site, pointing out artefacts still sitting on the surface, including rusted metal gun barrels and cooking pots dating back to the 1860s, and physical features such as defence and kumara pits.
Meanwhile James Robinson, Heritage New Zealand’s Northland Archaeologist, demonstrated the manual surveying process and the tools he uses to survey sites like the pā.
Heritage New Zealand is currently compiling findings from the visit and will formally present a completed survey map to iwi later this year.
During the site visit, students also learned how to use software to create a 3D map of the site, from Land Information New Zealand’s Duane Wilkinson.
“It was a fully integrated learning experience,” says Campbell. “It was a science and technology class, a history and social studies class, as well as a cultural class. And it was so much richer than anything else you might teach in NCEA history. It was relevant to rangatahi because it’s their story.
“One of the big themes we discussed was that there are two sides to this story and our people were
ABOUT THE HAUHAU MOVEMENT
n Flourished in the North Island from about 1863 to 1874, comprising members from different tribes. n Followers of a religion founded in 1862 based on the principle of pai mārire – goodness and peace. Also called ‘Pai Mārire’. n Eventually known for the rise and spread of violence in response to European sovereignty and land confiscation. n Faced a Crown campaign of suppression in 1865 launched by Governor George Grey.
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1 Some of the faces of the
Hungahungatoroa Pā mapping project, which included students from
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kawakawa mai Tawhiti and Te Waha o Rerekohu
Area School (from left to right): Danielle Ruha,
Raiha Taylor-Luke, Romeo
Schumann, Tiera Brown-
Biddle, Campbell Dewes,
Te Koha Turner Houkamau,
Trudi Ngawhare, Te Aho
Haenga, Kiwa Gibson-Haig,
Maximus Torrey and Keeti
Ngatai Melbourne.
2 Students are creating a 3D map of the site.
3 The mapping exercise includes marking the site’s boundaries and the artefacts found on site.
4 An old rifle barrel is evidence that the pā was the site of gunfighting in 1865.
5 The project is part of the local school curriculum.
6 The pā was considered impregnable because of its location and design. involved in both. Each side had their reasons, but there was a split in our people and that’s the true pain of war and conflict. That’s why so many of our old people encouraged intermarriage between the sides after the battle had ended. Like cultures all over the world, they wanted to mend the wounds of conflict through relationship repair.”
Both Hal and Campbell agree that by building on the local knowledge and information gathered as part of the treaty settlement, the mapping activity was ultimately an exercise in uncovering the stories of the pā so that it might be treasured and looked after for generations to come.
Hal says: “I grew up coming to this site and hearing some of the stories from my father. I remember seeing some of the Hauhau muskets among the leaf litter. But for a long time these bits of information were all I knew because very little was told of Hungahungatoroa and the civil war. There was such deep family hurt.
“It’s different now. Now it’s time to come together and share what we know – to gain a deeper understanding of what went on, so these stories aren’t lost. For iwi, we need ongoing co-operation and willingness from agencies like Heritage New Zealand and DOC, our treaty partner in this work. There’s a hell of a history in this place. To us, it’s wāhi tapu. We don’t want to lose it. It’s an important part of us.”
A WAIATA AROHA FROM THE PAST: E MURI AHIAHI
“Last year’s February visit to Hungahungatoroa Pā by students and agencies was special,” says Hal Hovell, the main organiser. “It gave us all an opportunity to share our knowledge and tell our stories. One of the highlights, for me, was the waiata the students sang. It was a waiata from the 1860s – a waiata aroha or love song written by Te Paea, of Rangitukia. She wrote it in defeat, as a member of the Hauhau, for her Taranaki lover forced to return home after the last stand at Hungahungatoroa Pā. Hearing it was like taking a step back in time.”
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