TreasuredTamaterau recollectionscaptured in book

Treasured Tamaterau recollections captured

in book BYJODI BRYANT

When June Pitman returned to her family land at Tamaterau after four decades away, she was struck by the amount of original family generations remaining, rich with local history.

Kaumātua and local legend Ray Haora features in the new book.

And so she set aboutcapturing it, producing anexhibition and subsequent book. Kaumātua o Tamaterau - Life stories through the lens turnsback timetogive residents aglimpse into where they arenow livingbysharing the memories of local whānau.

Says June: “In this book, all of the people contained within it have lived on the whenua (land) orcomeback, and they areallstill alive. I came home after nearly 40years away and thought this is unique. They allremember this little blond Māori girl that usedtorun along the beach. That wasme. It just occurredtome, the importance of oral history, of capturingstories –itwas that,that inspired the whole thing.”

With photographer Claire Gordon of Flash Gordon Photography, June,a children’sbook author and of Motumoana EnterprisesLtd,set aboutcapturing the locals’ memories, entailing many hours of interviewing, transcribing, craftingstories alongside the photographing, before displaying them in anexhibition last December.

“Peoplecame– both Pākehāand Māori descendants of families- who engaged with Māorifamiliesback in the day, and some of themweresittingreading for ages. One contributor hadn’ttold his daughter he’dbe appearing in theexhibition and she saw his photograph andwas moved to tears.

“Through theexhibitionwe wereableto gauge interest inthe book andwegot massive interest.The bookwas the obviousway to capture it.It allowed us to tellthe fullstory as wehadtotrim the narrativesfor theexhibition.”

Back in time, Whangārei throughto Whangārei Headswas heavily occupied by Māori and the sceneverydifferent. Instead of road, horse trackpassed through settlements of beachsideraupo-thatched houses.Tamaterau wasused intensely for gardening and cultivation,kaimoana harvesting,communalgatherings and tribal discussions,traditional Māoripractices and rituals, and other daily andseasonal activities. The shorelinewas also an important landing/ departure pointfor waka and, later,numerous othervessels,including thosetaking local produce to the Hāteamarkets.

But much ofTamaterau's pre-historic Māori cultural heritage of this areaduring those times is unknown and untold, says June. A significant proportion oftoday's landowners and occupants areunaware of the area’s rich and interwoven history.

What doesexist is a generational network ofkaumātuao Tamaterau, all descendants of Māori whānau who have maintainedcontinuity of occupying, living, cultivating, andfarming their ancestral lands.

Aged upto90years old, some have lived their entire lives there and some have returned.

“They areguardians ofa wealth of living taonga (treasure)- memories, oral histories, verbal and written recollections of timespast topresent day;kaitiaki (guardian) ofstories viewed through the lenses of their personal adventures andexperiences of growing up and living inTamaterau.”

June says the richness ofstories shared of lifetimes livedatTamaterau,coupled with therealisation that thekaumātua and next generation of descendants areallgetting older, highlighted thefactthat itwould only bea matter of time before these personal recollectionswereatrisk of being lost forever.

Along with the Dickey, Nelson, Pitman,Pohe, Pepi and Solomonfamilies,features 90-year-old kaumātuaRay Haora, whostillfarms local land.

“I think it’s absolutely astounding that we have thiswonderful living legend who isstill sharp asa tack,”remarks June.

“It hasverymuch beena heart-felt project, aswell as dealing with peoples’ life stories, you’redealing with theirfeelings and emotions. The journey has beenveryprofound.”

For herself, Tamaterau holdsa special place.Raisedbyher Māori grandmother on the land, sherecalls huge orchards andvegetable gardens with plentifulkaimoana.

“It’s entrenched in my soul.I know I’m meanttobereturningtomycalling and now I have come home and itfeels just right. It’s a privilege tobe here.

“I’m kaitiaki of the whenua and that’s important that we understand that connection tothe whenua. Thewomen of myfamilywere great gardeners and I’ve inherited that gene so I’m creatinga legacy garden. I’m putting love back into the land whilereducing my print on theworld,” says June, who lives semi-off-grid.

Kaumātua o Tamaterau Life Stories through the lens retails at $45.00. Copies areavailable locallyatBook Inn – Kamo, Journey Collab– Whangārei, Onerahi Book Shop, Smith& Local café– Parua Bay, Paper Plus. More information is available online via motumoana.nz website.

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