To Kaitaia Find more at northlandjourneys.co.nz f KOHUKOHU 6 WWA Tour Stop Food Scenic views Did you know: Motukaraka g WWA Route Cafe Photo stop i In 1900, the busy Kauri A h Motiti Car Ferry milling township of Point of Interest Shop Local favourite RAWENE e Kohukohu had a Swimming Petrol station Don’t miss population of almost 5 Rawene Cemetery 2,000 people

NORTHLAND j NZ Rawene 44KM Kaitaia Omapere 68KM Waipoua 99KM 6 Mitimiti Urupa Whangarei Taheke

Auckland Red Gateway e Kohutu 12 To Kaikohe Harbour Bay of Islands > Tasman Sea Pakanae Please respect sacred d urupā and cemeteries by not eating, drinking or c OPONONI smoking there. 4 Hokianga Archives & Museum Niua Arai Te Uru 3 Old Wharf Road 2 Arai Te Uru Reserve b OMAPERE

15 Km Waimamaku

SS Ventnor 28 October 1902

a Tāne Mahuta

WAIPOUA FOREST Draft 5 Omapere 31KM Mar 2018 Rawene 55KM 1 Mitimiti 99KM Waipoua Forest Visitor Centre 12

To Dargaville, Auckland Via Ancient Kauri Trail Draft 5 History Mar 2018 The beautiful Hokianga coast is the home to one of ’s most 1 Waipoua Forest Visitors’ Centre Arai Te Uru reserve is a significant According to local accounts, a group Matihetihe marae. Designed by moving pieces of living history. The Waipoua Forest is the start of our historical site. According to Māori of people who had found remains Nick Grace, the magnificent Chinese- The story starts in 1902 when the journey, and the head of our dragon. mythology, Arai Te Uru and Niua washed ashore wanted to send them inspired gate stands in a prime SS Ventnor, bound for Hong Kong, It is home to the people of Te Roroa, or Niwa were two taniwha (sea to Auckland so they could complete spot overlooking a spectacular sank off the Hokianga coast. Thirteen who tell of their tūpuna (ancestors) monsters) who guarded the harbour their journey back to China. At that ocean vista. A stroll on the pristine crew and passengers lost their lives. finding both coffins and bones from entrance. Their job was to lash out time, roads were not well developed beach is the perfect way to end the Also lost was some very special the SS Ventnor wreck all around with their powerful tails and stir and boats were the main form of “Wandering with Ancestors” trail. To cargo: the remains of around 500 the tiny Kawerua harbour. the waters into such a frenzy that transport. The plan was to place the get there, drive further up the road mostly goldminers who had died in invading waka (boats) would be remains on one of the “cream boats” to the grassy knoll where you can New Zealand and were being returned Outside the Waipoua Forest Visitors’ swamped and rendered helpless. that serviced the Motukaraka Dairy park your car. Those in the know to their families in China. To the Centre there is a memorial plaque in Factory, which would then meet will spot the bamboo walking poles great despair of the families, all was the Ventnor Grove presented by the Old Wharf Road the coastal shipping boat bound which are set out for public use. believed lost in the wreck. Chinese community to Te Roroa in 3 Of all the historic photos of the for Auckland. Unfortunately, the In the same cemetery you can also 2013. People who want to pay their SS Ventnor sinking one is the most superstitious crew refused to take see the grave of who But it was not the end of the story. respects in the traditional way can famous. The image shows lifeboats the remains onboard, fearing the was born in Mitimiti and is widely In the weeks and months following offer incense sticks at the foot of the and survivors coming ashore at same bad luck that had sunk the regarded as one of New Zealand’s the sinking, Chinese remains began memorial. Ōpononi beach surrounded by SS Ventnor. With nowhere else to go most important artists. to wash ashore. Up and down the rescuers. The end of Old Wharf Road the remains were taken to the Rawene coastline, local people - Māori and A must see in this area is Tāne Mahuta, is where the original 1902 photo was Police Station, and a decision was As this urupā (cemetery) is a sacred Pākehā – began collecting them. the magnificent giant Kauri to the taken. In all, three lifeboats made it to made to store them in the cemetery place, please respect it by not The tangata whenua (people of the north of the site. shore. A fourth floated up on Mitimiti until someone came to claim them. eating, drinking or smoking in the land), Te Roroa and , took beach empty - 13 people had lost The exact location of that burial area, and by washing your hands special care. In the case of Te Roroa Further information is available their lives. Old Wharf Road offers an has been forgotten, but in 2018 when you leave using the tap at the the remains were buried next to at the visitors’ centre, which excellent view of the sand dunes on the Chinese community erected a left of the entrance. Thank you. their own ancestral burial grounds offers a café, accommodation and the other side of the harbour, which and the history was passed down memorial at Rawene cemetery to information on guided tours. are accessible by ferry. from generation to generation, in honour those lost, and celebrate the expectation the Chinese families shared values and history that have Signal Station Point: would return. 2 Hokianga Archives and Museum brought together Chinese and Māori, Arai Te Uru Reserve 4 Close to Old Wharf Road is the as well as Pākehā communities of The look out point at the end of Signal In 2007, more than 100 years later, Hokianga Archives and Museum. the Far North. The memorial is a Station Road offers spectacular views a chance meeting connected the Staffed by volunteers from the significant cultural feature in the area. Chinese descendant community with of the Hokianga harbour entrance and Hokianga Historical Society, this the coastline stretching from north to small museum reflects the pride the Mitimiti Urupā the people of Te Roroa and Te Rarawa. 6 Since then, a special bond has grown south, and out across the Tasman Sea. community has in its history. Inside – the magnificent Red Gateway between the communities based on The site at which the SS Ventnor is a permanent collection and display. The last stop on the trail is the shared history and a deep respect sank is at the direction of 10 o’clock, Check their website for opening hauntingly beautiful coastal for ancestors. In celebration of this about 15 kilometers out to sea. hours: www.ourhokianga.com settlement of Mitimiti – home to the and in honour of those lost, a set of The wreck itself is now a protected people of Te Rarawa. The wide open memorials has been built in some archaeological site. To the south (on Rawene Cemetery beach is said to be one of the remotest 5 of the most spiritual and hauntingly the left), is Kawerua where Te Roroa On the hill overlooking the historic on the planet and along this stretch beautiful areas of New Zealand. gathered and buried the Chinese township of Rawene is a cemetery Te Rarawa tūpuna collected and remains. To the north, beyond the said to contain an unmarked grave for buried the remains from the sand dunes, is Mitimiti, the last stop in numerous Chinese remains. SS Ventnor wreck. Over 100 years For more information visit: the trail. You can also see the mouth later, a modern-day tribute to the www.website.com of the Hokianga Harbour and its event was built on the hill above notorious sandbar.

飲水思源 (Drinking the water, we remember its source) - Chinese Proverb

Ngā tapuwae o ō tātau tūpuna (The footsteps of our ancestors) - Māori Proverb Northland Journeys Tranche 2 - Wandering With Ancestors Journey - Draft Artwork Development - JUNE 2017 *DRAFT ILLUSTRATIVE ARTWORK