Important story told at new Tohu Whenua site

WORDS AND IMAGES: Caroline Toplis and Jose Watson

The newest Tohu Whenua site has been welcomed to the programme in an event that celebrated its importance to both iwi and the community.

Te Kopikopiko o te Waka is the newest site to become part of the Tohu Whenua network and marks an important milestone for the programme of significant stories being told in a landscape setting.

The site tells the story of Aoraki and his brothers frozen in time, and the creation of Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island), represented by the mountain peaks visible from the site.

Managed by the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai and situated 9km west of Fox Glacier, on the

West Coast of the South Island, the site has been presented for visitors for some time as ‘Peak View’, where people can gain a vantage point of Te Moeka o Tuawe (Fox Glacier) framed by Kā Tiritiri o te Moana (the Southern Alps).

The redeveloped site celebrates and showcases the connection of mana whenua with the landscapes of Te Tonga ki te Tai o Poutini (South Westland). Co-designed with Ngāti Mahaki, it features cultural design elements and is landscaped with a central waka feature to present the whakapapa of mana whenua and the overarching storyline of

Te Kopikopiko o te Waka (the capsized canoe).

The programme name ‘Tohu Whenua’ acknowledges memories of the land, marking places made significant by our forebears and telling their stories. Literally it translates as ‘land mark’ and Te Kopikopiko o te Waka is literally a land mark, and much more. It refers to Aotearoa New Zealand’s very foundations and is a truly mana whenua story – of whakapapa, of tribal – and national –identity, of the environment, and of the connection between then and now.

Tohu Whenua Governance Group Chair Andrew Coleman says the inclusion of Te Kopikopiko o te Waka in Tohu Whenua represents significant growth for the programme. “It will be the first site added that is landscape based and it speaks to the very origins of storytelling in Aotearoa New Zealand. What is different about this place compared with the other sites in the programme so far is that it is not a building nor a story of industrial heritage. All history is important and that is why we do what we do but a place like this takes history and storytelling to a whole other level and we are very proud to take this next step in the programme’s development, showing our commitment to celebrating and sharing our nation’s whole history. We hope it will be the first of many similar places to become a Tohu Whenua.”

Te Kopikopiko o te Waka was opened and launched as a Tohu Whenua site in a ceremony on 10 December 2022, attended by representatives from Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio, the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai and Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, as well as the Westland District mayor, councillors, tourist operators and members of the South Westland community. Development of the Te Kopikopiko o te Waka site was prioritised following the 2019 flood that washed away the State Highway 6 bridge, dislodged tonnes of rubbish down Fox River and destroyed access to the Fox Glacier Valley. n