Hamilton City Operative District Plan

1.4 Tangata Whenua

He waiata tangi a Tawhiao Tawhiao’s lament for the

Ka titiro whakaoro au te riu o Waikato I look down the valley of Waikato Ahakoa ma te pupuri ia i roto te kapu o taku ringa As though to hold it in the hollow of my hand Me takamiri toona atahua And caress its beauty Tena etahi mea matomato ngawari Like some tender verdant thing

Kaa totoro atu au ki te tihi o Pirongia I reach out from the top of Pirongia Ahakoa ma te uhia me tiaki i toona matu i toku ake As though to cover and protect its substance Katea titia pewhea ma roto i te uma o with my own. Maungaatautari me Maungaakawa See how it burst through Ngaa puke o oku ooha The bosoms of Maungatautari and Maungakawa Te Awa o te ora ia piko nui atu te ataahua o te whakamutunga Hills of my inheritance Kaa whakawhiti au i te awaawa o Kirikiriroa o ngaa rauwiri i pai ana The river of life, each curve more beautiful than the Te renga o ngaa mea pai last Across the smooth belly of Kirikiriroa, Ki mua ki te waahi tuutakitanga ki Ngaaruawaahia Its gardens bursting with the fullness of good things I reira kei runga i te tuuahu haumoko Ka okioki au toku matenga Towards the meeting place at Ngaruawahia There on the fertile mound I would rest my head Kaa titiro ma roto i ngaa heke o Taupiri Ki reira ki te waahi o ngaa hanga katoa I look through the thighs of Taupiri Tukuna tenei kingi kia haere mai There at the place of all creation Let the king come forth Na Tawhiao, c- 1825 – 1894 He kiingi tuarua Tawhiao c- 1825 – 1894 Second Maori King

This waiata tangi (lament) was composed by King Tawhiao in 1860. It illustrates the geographic landmarks of Ngaati Tamainupo, Ngaati Mahanga, Ngaati Wairere, Ngaati Haua, Ngaati Koroki, and Ngaati Mahuta2, as sub tribes of the Waikato .

1.4.1 History and Settlement Waikato iwi and local hapu are tangata whenua of the land within Hamilton City’s boundaries. Their ancestry can be traced to the arrival in of the Tainui canoe in approximately 1300AD. It is recorded that the canoe travelled from Tahiti, via Rarotonga, and landed at Whangaparaoa on the East Cape. Travel continued around the Eastern Bay of Plenty coastline, to Hauraki, Waitemata Harbour, Manukau, and further south to Mokau on the Taranaki coastline. Final landfall for the Tainui canoe was at Kawhia harbour in the Waikato region.

2 Appointed member of the Kaahui ariki (Note: This is not a reference issue) July 2012 Introduction 1.0 - 20 Hamilton City Operative District Plan

The settlement of the Waikato region has its origins at Maketu on the Kawhia harbour. Settlements soon spread from Kawhia along the western coastline extending to Whaingaroa (Raglan) in the north and to Moeatoa (near Marakopa) in the south. The interior settlement of the Waikato followed, with villages forming along the banks of the Waikato and Waipa rivers. This pattern of settlement occurred due to the availability of food resources such as kaeo (freshwater mussels) koura (Paranephorops panifrons), poorohe (Mytilus canaliculus), and migrating tuna (eels) and whitebait in the Waikato River.

The Waikato basin was the base of many different hapu. In the 1600’s climatic changes had a dramatic effect on food resources and traditional occupation sites, causing intensified warfare in the region and changes in ownership of land which continued into the early 1800’s. During missionary arrivals in the 1830’s Ngaati Wairere were occupying Kirikiriroa. Ngaati Wairere have strong genealogical links with many hapu including Ngaati Tamainupo, Ngaati Mahanga, Ngaati Haua, Ngaati Koroki, and Ngaati Mahuta. These hapu are represented by Nga Mana Toopu O Kirikiriroa within Hamilton City’s boundaries.

The Hamilton area has a history of some 700-800 years of Maori occupation and settlement, highlighted by pa sites, traditional gardens, and agricultural features along the Waikato River. The priceless artefacts that have been recovered from within the city indicate that the river had been a favoured location for occupation by Waikato iwi and their hapu.

The Waikato Confederation of Hapu developed under the leadership of Potatau Te Wherowhero (later appointed as the first Maori King) and other allied chiefs during the 1820’s in response to the threat of invasions from northern tribes, and from the intrusion of European settlers, traders and missionaries. European settlers brought new technologies that initiated extraordinary economic growth, widespread literacy, powerful and progressive changes to Maori society, and trade links to the north and west of the Waikato. Commercial trade links were established as far afield as Australia, the Pacific, and England.

The Maori King movement, known as Kingitanga, was developed and debated nationally in the mid 1840’s, with the first Maori King being appointed in 1858 at Ngaruawahia. The Kingitanga was established to prevent further loss of Maori land to European settlers and posed a direct threat to colonial ambitions. The Settlement Act, passed by the colonial Government in 1863 under Governor Grey’s leadership, allowed the Crown to confiscate 1.2 million acres of land in the Waikato. This culminated in the ‘Waikato Land Wars’, when British Colonial troops entered into the Waikato between 1863 and 1865 causing devastation and great loss of life.

The process of raupatu (confiscation) was an attempt to destroy the economic wealth and political strengths of the Kingitanga. During this time the rich agricultural resources were removed, control of the Waikato river system overridden, and waahi tapu, burial sites, and sites of religious importance desecrated. The effects of tapu associated with sites of religious importance were removed under the supervision of King Tawhiao during the 1880’s.

Small isolated allotments of land were offered to Waikato iwi for reoccupation after the land confiscations, however no land was set aside within their former favoured settlements along the Waikato River. Ngaati Wairere and related hapu such as Ngaati Hanui, Ngaati Koura, Ngaati Parekirangi and Ngaati Waikai, were forced off their traditional lands and river pa and were allocated

July 2012 Introduction 1.0 - 21 Hamilton City Operative District Plan land at Hukanui (Gordonton) and Tauhei. Other remnants of the Waikato iwi affected by the raupatu were dispersed throughout the Waikato, Hauraki, Bay of Plenty, and King Country regions. Unsuccessful attempts at redress regarding the 1863 confiscations were sought with successive governments and the British Crown by King Tawhiao, King Mahuta, King TeRata, and King Koroki.

1.4.2 Local Iwi and Hapu Representation and Organisations Te Kauhanganui (Tainui Maori Trust Board) The 33 hapu affected by Waikato land confiscations are represented through Te Kauhanganui (Tainui Maori Trust Board that was formed in 1946). Te Kauhanganui is the iwi authority of the Waikato tribe. In 1989 the Court of Appeal resolved, in the case of Tainui Maori Trust Board v Attorney-General, that Waikato iwi and the Crown begin negotiations regarding the ownership of Crown assets. This decision was in direct conflict to the Waitangi Tribunal Claim regarding land confiscations in the Waikato.

The Waikato Raupatu Land Settlement Act and the Deed of Settlement was finalised and passed through parliament after negotiations in 1995 between the Tainui Maori Trust Board (Te Kauhanganui) and the Crown. This settlement pertained to land only, and included tribes being given first right of refusal on Crown-owned lands in the area. This resulted in the returning to Tainui of land such as the University of Waikato, Waikato Polytechnic, the Hamilton High Court, and Housing Corporation lands. The Waikato tribe is now one of the largest contributors to city rates and urban and commercial developments.

The 1995 settlement did not address all the concerns Tainui have regarding the and the ownership of resources. There is still much debate over these issues locally and nationwide. Presently Te Kauhanganui (Tainui Maori Trust Board) has a claim with the Treaty of Waitangi Claims Tribunal regarding the guardianship and restoration of the Waikato River.

Nga Mana Toopu O Kirikiriroa Te Kauhanganui (Tainui Maori Trust Board) recognises a number of management committees and organisations that represent the Tainui people. One such organisation, Nga Mana Toopu O Kirikiriroa (NaMTOK), is a coalition of local hapu representatives formed in 1995. The committee was mandated by local kaumatua (elders) and for dealing with Article II issues under the Treaty of Waitangi, and all matters pertaining to the Resource Management Act. Te Kauhanganui (Tainui Maori Trust Board) deals with the regional issues and resource consents. Nga Mana Toopu advises Council on District Plan matters, local policy issues, and land use resource consents. Nga Mana Toopu has the localised knowledge of the land, its history, customary values and precepts. Nga Mana Toopu also has the ability to identify issues effecting local hapu who hold customary rights as Mana Whenua by identifying issues and providing mitigation solutions.

This relationship between Te Kauhanganui and Nga Mana Toopu demonstrates two levels of consultation with tangata whenua when dealing with resource management issues. Different levels of consultation may be relevant to a resource consent application, which is determined by Nga Mana Toopu dependent on the nature of the proposal.

Te Runanga O Kirikiriroa The Treaty of Waitangi also includes Article III on social issues pertaining to Maori. Te Runanga O Kirikiriroa is an organisation that represents non-Tainui Maori within the city on these issues. The

July 2012 Introduction 1.0 - 22 Hamilton City Operative District Plan people being represented are generally urban-based Maori who live in the city but do not have historical or ancestral ties to local hapu and their ethnographic traditions of art, culture and society.

1.4.3 Tangata Whenua Resource Management Issues Local Authorities have a statutory duty under the Resource Management Act 1991 and Local Government Act 1974 to take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in relation to tangata whenua in their area. Following is a brief overview of the resource management issues and concerns raised by Waikato iwi and local hapu for Hamilton City.

Tangata whenua throughout New Zealand have historically had a dependence upon the land, rivers and sea for their survival. Co-existing with this relationship is the holistic view of the natural, physical, and spiritual worlds. There is seen to be no separation between these elements, and many cultural traditions and religious notions are based upon their integration. The Waikato tribes have a perspective of the environment and natural resources that may differ from other tribes around the country. These differences stem from the relationships established with the environment, and are initiated within marae protocols and customary practices. This is evident within the Kingitanga and its forums, such as Poukai, and the connection Waikato tribes have with the Waikato River, its associated landmarks, historic and religious sites, and traditional food resources.

The Waikato River is the central component of the Waikato iwi culture and Kingitanga. It has mauri, and was used as a food resource, a spiritual resource, and for religious and cultural identity. The knowledge of the environment, its components, and the perception of humanity as part of the natural and spiritual worlds is expressed in this concept of mauri. Mauri can be described as the lifeforce that is present in all living things; its essence can be transferred into objects such as talisman or other entities. Mauri is maintained through the exercise of kaitiakitanga (the notion of guardianship, care, self- esteem, and respect). Waikato iwi accepted the force of the river and its spirit, and any flooding or erosion was seen as the ‘changing moods’ of the river, which were not to be controlled. The changes in the river were seen as indicators of environment health and the sustenance of its people, and pa were built along the river to protect the resources on which local hapu relied.

Waikato iwi and local hapu focus on resource management issues which reflect this holistic view of the natural, physical, and spiritual worlds. Waikato iwi and local hapu have indicated that the quality of the city’s waterways and margins, the protection of native vegetation and fauna, and the contamination of the city’s soils are of particular concern. A further concern of iwi and hapu is the importance of protecting those sites which are of historical and cultural significance. Throughout the city there is a range of sites including pa, middens, food gathering sites, storage pits and waahi tapu. In some cases, no physical evidence remains but these sites are still significant.

In all these concerns the importance of protecting the spiritual dimension of the environment and the mauri of all things is pre-eminent. The need to be able to carry out the practices of kaitiakitanga are also essential to iwi and hapu if full responsibilities towards the environment are to be fulfilled. Protection of natural resources is a key part in the duties of kaitiaki. Waikato iwi and local hapu also place emphasis on undertaking consultation in good faith, and the appropriate resourcing of representatives involved in local resource management.

The main aim of local tangata whenua is to see the conservation, restoration, reconstruction, and enhancement of aspects of the environment that are of benefit to Maori and the greater community.

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This includes the natural environment, its spiritual values, and the protection of local hapu heritage, traditional arts, and culture through historical sites, natural features, and waahi tapu. These aims and intentions are put into practice through active participation of iwi representatives in local resource management and the development of a partnership with local government authorities and the greater community.

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