From the beginning

P˝kaha, the environmental and cultural taonga situated on the border between Wairarapa and Tararua, is the last signiÿ cant remnant of what was once a great ngahere (forest) known to local M˜ori as Te Tapere nui o Wh˜tonga. The original ngahere containing matai, rimu, tawa, and maire stretched from the mountains north of Dannevirke, across to the Ruahine ranges, and down to just north of Masterton.

“Wh˜tonga is the name of one of three chiefs on the Kurahaup° waka who travelled the seas from Hawaiki to Aotearoa and is the origin of the Rangit˜ne tribe today. The descendants of Wh˜tonga remain to this day as mana whenua (guardians) of the remaining land,” says Mavis Mullins.

We know from the research of Wairarapa local Joseph Potangaroa that the ngahere was intact when Europeans ÿ rst walked through the forest during the mid-1800s. By 1900, it was virtually destroyed, with only the

to Pukaha National Wildlife Centre

We are delighted to have been the designers for Te Whare Taiao. We are excited to see the new opportunities for education coupled with the experience of staying overnight in Pukaha’s beautiful surroundings.

reserve of nearly 1,000 hectares remaining at Mount Bruce. The P˝kaha centre was established in part of the reserve in 1962 (known then as Mount Bruce) to breed and release endangered native birds, starting with takah˙. Twenty years on, a visitor centre opened its doors to the public as part of a four-stage redevelopment plan. A nocturnal house was then built where visitors could see North Island brown kiwi up close. In 1996, k°kako were released and the ÿ rst successful translocation of North Island k˜k˜ took place.

On 6 August 2016, Rangit˜ne o Wairarapa and Rangit˜ne o Tamaki nui-˜-Rua jointly settled their treaty claim. This included ÿ nancial redress from the Crown and cultural redress including the vesting and gifting back of P˝kaha to the Rangit˜ne Tu Mai Ra Trust. In February 2020, Dame Patsy Reddy spoke at P˝kaha to mark its return to Rangit˜ne.

In 2001, the entire ngahere reserve came under the care of P˝kaha, increasing the capacity to breed birds and a diverse range of species. Rangit˜ne then gifted the forests of P˝kaha to the people of Aotearoa with the objective of the continuation of conservation work.

Today, P˝kaha works directly with Rangit˜ne as well as the Department of Conservation to protect the taonga in the ngahere, as an inspiration for future generations.

“More than 120 km of tracks have been cut and thousands of traps and bait stations scattered, setting up an area for wildlife with low predator pressure,” Bob Francis, former Board chair says. “Today, P˝kaha is a place for brown kiwi, brown and blue ducks (p˜teke and whio), takah˙, k°kako, k˜k˜, orangefronted parakeet, shore plover (tuturuatu) and longÿ n eels (tuna). It is a special place.”

Mavis Mullins PŪKAHA BOARD CO-CHAIR

“The relentless eˆ orts of kaum˜tua, our many kuia, koro Jim Rimene, and koro Kuki Rimene have been instrumental in the return into the wilds of P˝kaha many of the native bird species that were once lost,” says Tina Te-Tau Brightwell.

“The journey has been long to reach the opening of Te Whare Taiao o Manukura,” says Mike Kawana, Rangit˜ne kaum˜tua, representative, and cultural adviser to the P˝kaha Board. “It is an environmental education centre the like of which cannot be seen anywhere else in Aotearoa. As Rangit˜ne, from and of this land, we also now have our own wharenui, our own place, within the ngahere, the environment, which means so much to us.”

With thanks to: Te Ara, the government’s Encyclopedia of New Zealand, and Potangaroa, J. (2012). Ta Tapere Nui o Whatonga: The great domain of Whatonga. Rangit˜ne o Wairarpa and Te Puni Kokiri.

Mavis Mullins, P˜kaha Board co-chair since 2021, is also one of Aotearoa’s distinguished business and community leaders, becoming a Member of the NZ Order of Merit in 2002 and receiving an award for Outstanding M°ori Business Leader in 2016.

As a member of the Rangit°ne o Wairarapa and Rangit°ne o Tamaki nui°-Rua negotiation team, Mavis helped achieve a Treaty of Waitangi Deed of Settlement for the iwi, signed in August 2016. She is a professional director and chairs several other boards.

Mavis says that, “at the heart of my purpose lies simple values such as every decision being a mokopuna decision.”

The impact on future generations is what drives her. This ethos can be seen clearly in Mavis’s co-governance of P˜kaha, the opening of Te Whare Taiao o Manukura, and the centre’s vision for educating students today about the environment with the aim of improving the future.

Locals involved in the shearing industry will know Mavis and her family well: they own the sheep-shearing company Paewai Mullins Shearing, involving multiple generations of the family, and handle over one million sheep each year.

“The whenua and moana are atua (ancestors with continuing in˛ uence), whether we farm or simply enjoy them. People matter the most as we give honour to natural and ancient atua.”

The new environmental education centre and marae at P˜kaha

Open Now For Bookings

Tina Te Tau-Brightwell

RANGIT˜NE REPRESENTATIVE ON P°KAHA BOARD

Tina Te Tau-Brightwell has had a close connection with P˛kaha since she was a child. Her wh°nau lived and farmed on the other side of the reserve at M°kirikiri (Hastwell). Her father hunted in the ngahere and Tina played with her older brothers and sisters there.

Tina has contributed to P˛kaha since the 1990s under the guidance of kaum°tua, including as chair of Rangit°ne and as a Rangit°ne representative on the P˛kaha Board.

“It’s been an honour over the years to work with koro Jim Rimene, koro Kuki Rimene, my kuia, Rangit°ne, Tu Mai

Profiling

Mike Kawana

Kaum Tua And Cultural Advisor

Many years ago, Jim Rimene, an in˜ uential kaum°tua descended from both Rangit°ne o Wairarapa and Ngati Hamua, named three successors to carry the traditions of the iwi into tomorrow: Mike Kawana was named as the lead torchbearer of the three successors.

Manahi Paewai KAUMĀTUA AND CULTURAL ADVISOR

Ra Trust, and former Board chair Bob Francis,” she says, “to develop and implement the farseeing vision of P˛kaha as an environmental learning centre.”

Tina says P˛kaha is t˛puna whenua (the land of past and future generations), the place where Rangit°ne can retain its culture. “We have a deep spiritual connection to the ngahere and its inhabitants, and it could so easily have been lost.

The 1990s were an important time for P˛kaha as Jim Rimene and koro Kuki embedded our culture in the welcoming back of species to P˛kaha: the place where they could thrive.”

“My people have not only been spiritual leaders and visionaries for the future of P˛kaha, but they’ve done the hard graft too,” she says. In the early 2000’s, Rangit°ne volunteers cut the tracks that make it possible for visitors to enjoy P˛kaha today.

“The partnership between Rangit°ne, Tu Mai Ra Trust, and P˛kaha has made Te Whare Taiao possible,” Tina says. “It’s a place of wellbeing for people and the environment, a place for tamariki (children) to learn and grow, and for indigenous ecological tourism. P˛kaha is a very special place.”

As a Rangit°ne kaum°tua, representative, and cultural adviser to the P˛kaha Board, Mike Kawana plays a signiÿ cant role. “Like Uncle Jim Rimene before him, he helps connect the Department of Conservation, P˛kaha and Rangit°ne,” says Emily Court, P˛kaha General Manager. “He lifts our learning about the ngahere, in the ngahere. And about atua, alongside atua.”

Material from Mike Kawana and Joseph Potangaroa, fellow researchers and cultural advisers, can be found on the Rangit°ne education website page. There, we learn about mythology, local M°ori history, world views, tikanga, te reo M°ori, the natural world, basic needs such as food, and social structure.

“All the birds, insects, trees, plants, and kohatu (stones) have their own whakapapa,” Mike says, re˜ ecting on kaum°tua Jim Rimene’s thinking. “This is part of the M°ori world view (te ao M°ori). All living and non-living things are interconnected and interrelated. To be in harmony, all things need to be in balance. P˛kaha is a place where this can be true, while also pursuing the dream of economic opportunity, and progressing cultural education and traditional learning.”

Te Whare Taiao o Manukura brings us one step closer to Uncle Jim Rimene’s vision.

Manahi Paewai is a kaum˜tua and representative of Rangit˜ne o Tamaki nui-˜-Rua. He provides te reo M˜ori and tikanga guidance and teachings at P°kaha, and took on a full-time role as cultural adviser to Rangit˜ne in 2019, alongside Mike Kawana. Previously, Manahi had held this position parttime while also teaching at Te Kura Kaupapa M˜ori o T˜maki nui-˜-Rua. His role in M˜oridom, even parttime, was signiÿ cant enough for Manahi to be named a Member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to M˜ori in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours. Along with wh˜nau member Mavis Mullins, Manahi was also integral to the Rangit˜ne Treaty claim.

Manahi says he had M˜ori culture and language instilled in him by his parents from a young age, and “was ˝ uent in te reo M˜ori by the time I went to Te Aute College as a boarder”.

Speaking about Te Whare Taiao, Manahi says “having a purposebuilt facility at P°kaha dedicated to educating and inspiring New Zealanders to be true guardians of Te Taiao (the environment) and to connect with the mauri (life force) of the forest – well, that’s been a vision down through our generations. Now it’s taken on its own life force.”