5. LAKE OKATAINA SCENIC RESERVE CULTURAL/HISTORY

The name Okataina means the lake of laughter, a shortened form of the original name Te Moana-i-Kataina-a-Te Rangitakaroro, which means The Ocean Where Te Rangitakaroro Laughed. The name and its meaning relate to an incident, approximately 300 years ago, where the famous Chief Te Rangitakaroro and his warriors were resting on what is now a submerged rock. It is said that one member of his group referred to the lake as an ocean and this was seen as a great joke by the rest of the group. Their laughter echoed around the lake and now remains enshrined in its name, which for ease of pronunciation was shortened to Okataina.

In previous times this area was settled by different iwi (tribes) who either pre-dated or derived from Te Arawa waka.

According to Ngati Tarawhai history, the first people to settle in the area was the iwi called Te Tini o Maruiwi (the myriads of Maruiwi). They were followed by Te Tini o Ruatomore (the myriads of Ruatomore) who were to later adopt the name Ngati Kahupungapunga. They were followed by Rakeiao, whose chiefs were Ngataketake and his son Kahuupoko. Later the iwi was to adopt the name Kahuupoko. Soon after came Ngati Hinehuia and their chiefs Ngatata and Te Niho who lived in two Pa, Te Tawa and Ouruaroa.

Then came Ngati Tarawhai, the iwi who now regard themselves as having tangata whenua (authority) status to this area, their main Pa being Te Koutu. It was at the time of Te Rangitakaroro, a son of Tarawhai (the eponymous ancestor of Ngati Tarawhai), that the contemporary name of the area came about (initial paragraph).

The Lake Okataina area was an important link in pre-european routes, when waka (canoes) were carried from Tarawera to Okataina, and from Okataina to Rotoiti. Okataina road follows one of these ancient portage routes.

On 29 th January 1921, Ngati Tarawhai gifted the shores of Lake Okataina to the crown, to be set aside as reserves. This endowment was affixed with several conditions, one of which was that a committee of Ngati Tarawhai should administer the reserve. Today that responsibility rests with the Lake Okataina Scenic Reserve Board, which comprises members of Ngati Tarawhai and the Conservator of the Department of Conservation’s Bay of Plenty Conservancy.

This is a brief outline of the history of the area and its people. Those wanting to know more in this line, must approach those who are considered as the repositories of the history.

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5.1 TE KOUTU PENINSULA, LAKE OKATAINA, by Leith Gray

Te Koutu Peninsula is the historic gem of Okataina mainly because of its magnificent state of preservation. It contains evidence of the achievement of a remarkable people, the Ngata Tarawhai of Okataina.

There are other noteworthy remnants on Okataina (known only to a few people) such as rock paintings, sunken palisades and Mission station sites – but by far the most accessible is Te Koutu Pa.

Before we look at Okataina Lake and foreshore we must realise that we are looking at a lake much changed from the time that the Maori made Okataina home. Okataina is an unstable lake, it has no visible outlet and it has only two permanent streams of significance feeding it. Even these are often merely trickles.

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, Lake Okataina (as we know it now), was part of a valley system created by the Okataina caldera. A caldera is a huge tract of land that “caves in” following the expulsion of millions of tons of ash from volcanic vents. The underground caverns created by the volcanoes cannot withstand the weight of rock and soil above, and the land slumps. Lake Okataina was originally an arm of Lake Tarawera but the growth of the Haroharo Massif (those hills to the east of the lake), and the flows of lava from the many volcanoes that make up the massif, caused Tarawera and Okataina lakes to be divided.

There is still a subterranean link with Lake Tarawera but this is subject to silting and clogging, thus the lake is subject to rises and falls of great magnitude. The area where this underground plug is presumed to be is considered by vulcanologists to be one of the most potentially active areas in Rotorua. To the untrained eye there is a deceptive calm and little evidence of any activity.

We know that the lake has a history of rises and falls. Seismic activity often heralds a rise or fall. The 1931 Napier earthquake, for example, heralded a sudden fall of 3.5m in this lake. The cycle does not fall into any strict pattern, but a 7 – 10 year period of rise is often followed by a 7 – 10 year fall.

We also know that during the period of Maori occupation, the lake was considerably lower than present, approximately 12m. One graphic representation of this was a lithograph by Charles Terry when he visited Te Koutu Peninsula in the 1840s. This showed the peninsula an almost bare steep point, the isthmus barren apart from a flax bush or two. The point itself was guarded by a double row of pointed Manuka stakes and a magnificent carved gatepost through which every land visitor had to pass.

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There is evidence of 13 permanent or semi-permanent village sites on Okataina, some of these were continuously occupied and some used only during special seasons, for example – the bird hunting season or the rat hunt or harvesting season. To the best of our knowledge Te Koutu was never a full time residential Pa, it was only used by the full tribe in times of attack or stress. It is a perfect site for a fortified Pa.

History seems to suggest that the inhabitants of the lake were never really peaceful or at peace for long. Okataina was a major route to other inland settlements. Local groups often became embroiled in fighting as war parties passed over the lake. A great number of travellers making journeys for various reasons passed through Okataina.

One of the main peace time kaingas or villages was situated on the north western side of the lake, almost opposite Te Koutu. The terraces had large areas of flat land (now covered by the lake).

Between the picnic site and Te Koutu is a spot where the priests of the tribe spent their days in worship of the Gods who looked after the growing of crops, gathering of food, management of wars etc. The magnificent cliff, Te Maori Kura, the backdrop to their altar would act as a message amplifier and chants directed at the cliff would be magnified, the echo carrying clear across the lake and every word could be heard by the people of “Tahunatapu”, the village on the opposite shore. Stories have come down of how Tohungas would spot advancing war parties bent on utu. From this vantage point the priest would signal the tribe thus preparing them for the attack much to the consternation of the would be surprise attackers.

Tumakoha, a direct descendant from the Priest of the Arawa waka possessed truly awesome powers and control over natural and unnatural forces. It was said that he alone thwarted a surprise attack on Te Koutu Point by a band of fierce warriors sent by Hongi Hika to collect his heart. The attackers were determined enough to drag waka all the way from Rotoiti. As they started paddling from the shore this Tohunga, summoned up a great storm and whirlwind from a clear blue sky and mill pond lake. This filled the great bay from the Te Koutu Pa to the northern end of the lake with gigantic waves, seething waters and whirlpools. Overhead, a terrifying electrical storm raised great clashes of thunder and flashes of lightening split the sky. The resolute warriors fled as terrified wrecks, back the way only minutes before they had so bravely advanced.

Near this rock face Te Maori Kura, in a site known to very few, is a Maori Tuuahu or altar. This is an intriguing link with the past. One can almost imagine the old Tohungas at the altar chanting chants to ensure the success of peaceable and warlike endeavours of this great tribe.

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The Altar is unspectacular in its physical appearance – simply 7 large rocks placed in a semi circle. 6 rocks represented a different God responsible for the major facts of Maori life – one would have represented TJmatauenga, the God of War. Chants, to ensure the war parties success, would be made over this rock. Another rock represented hunting and harvest, and chants to register success would be made over this particular rock. The seventh stone placed in the centre and larger than the others, represented Ranginui. In a spot such as this a person develops a respect for a great culture and a great people. The Atua represented are Ranginui, the Sky Father, at centre; the other 6 were T;ne, Atua of the Forests; Tangaroa, Atua of the Water; TJmatauenga, Atua of Warfare and Battles; Haumiatiketike, Atua of the foods of the Forest; Rongo m; T;ne, Atua of the kJmara and cultivated plants; and Te Aputahi-a-pawa. (NB: no icon, image or effigy was ever made of Io the Supreme Being).

The Maori of Okataina were a great people – direct descendants from the leaders of the Arawa waka. They were a classic group, great warriors, great orators, but most important, great craftsmen.

The Maori of Okataina were master waka builders. The magnificent trees that once sprinkled the Okataina Forest and Rotoiti plateau were the raw material, but the skill and craftsmanship of the people was the commodity that tribes from all over New Zealand came to buy. Imagine the obstacles of being so far inland. Canoes were made miles from water and had to be lowered down the cliffs to Okataina for the finishing and decorating. After they had been completed, the canoes had to be hauled up the cliffs then carried four miles to Lake Rotoiti, paddled across the lake, down the Okere Falls following the Kaituna River to the sea. It is no wonder then that horses and bullocks were a sought after commodity of barter in early post European times.

Huge totara, rimu and kahikatea were turned into masterpieces of the carver’s art. Such industry drive and ability ensured export orders from Rotorua, Tauranga, Auckland, Northland and indeed Wellington. It is recorded that in 1832, 36 canoes were made to carry the Arawa Tribes to Te Tumu for the great battle to win back Maketu, the landing place of the Arawa waka.

Okataina carvers were the first carvers to fully accept and make use of European tools, iron adzes etc., this gave them a head start, in fact carvers from Okataina were paid handsomely to go to the distant Maraes to supervise and carve houses and meeting houses. Carvers were sent to the Okataina Whare Whakairo (the first carving school in New Zealand) from all over the country to learn the highly decorative carving skills, so they could return to their home Marae to build buildings and carve carvings so highly prized. It has been said that the Okataina influence has permeated all post European contact carving in New Zealand.

As you approach the ‘Soundshell’, consider the regenerative ability of native flora. In 1975 the floor of this amphitheatre was bare sand, all life drowned and killed by the most recent high water – today almost impenetrable dense growth of manuka greets you.

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On the approach to Te Koutu, think about the devastation the whole area underwent from the Tarawera eruption of 1886, ash showers 15cm deep covered this point, leaving obvious scars on some trees, twisting and deforming their young branches.

After you cross the wallaby exclusion fence that guards the entrance way to Te Koutu now, you will see the remains of the ditch that was inside the palisade, this ditch is the start of the actual Pa site. To the right of the track is the hole left from digging out the great Waharoa, the gateway now in the Auckland Museum.

Most of the Maori inhabitants had left Okataina by the 1860s to live closer to the ‘action’ in Rotorua and Rotoiti, only a few remained. The last person to live there permanently was a very determined elderly gentleman who resisted the move until approximately 1884. His one compromise to luxury and modernisation was to build for himself, or have built, a house on the northern slope of Te Koutu Point. This house was about 2m by 3m and made out of corrugated iron. The site of the building and a rectangular indentation left as the building decayed is still apparent.

Tarawera ash played an interesting role in the fate of the relics of Okataina. Around 1912, experts from the Auckland Museum learnt of the huge carved gateway at Okataina, Te Koutu, the abandoned Pa site. This gateway was deteriorating. The area around the base had been covered by 1.8m of ash and this was rotting the bottom posts. The museum staff negotiated with the tangata whenua (local Maori), who were torn between the thought of leaving it where it was to decay and thus losing the valuable carving or giving it to the museum to be taken right out of the district. A factor that decided the issue was a problem elders were having at the time associated with the rise and fall of the lake.

The lake was rising and it was being visited by increasing numbers of visitors. During this period unscrupulous characters were known to have been disturbing the buried remains of Maori hoping to find Pounamu (Greenstone) ornaments. With the lake rising, access into several burial caves around the lake was becoming too easy, something had to be done to prevent outsiders desecrating these site. The museum staff bargained with a plan to build a concrete crypt or mausoleum on the point secured by the steel door and padlocked. The elders agreed and in a short time a concrete crypt was built and the museum staff carefully removed the gateway and transported it to Auckland for preservation and restoration work. This gateway now has pride of place in the Auckland Museum. A great success story and a classic piece of Okataina preserved for all to see. Unfortunately the crypt was not a success. The bones, which had been collected from various sites by priests and elders following tapu lifting ceremonies were placed in their carved boxes and bark wrapping, in the crypt. This was securely padlocked, but shortly after, to everyone’s horror, it was discovered that the padlock had been smashed and the steel door broken into. The skulls and bones it contained were scattered by scavengers hoping to find Pounamu or artefacts. It is believed that the elders had one more go at locking the door with a bigger padlock but in a short time this too was broken. The elders had no alternative but to

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remove the bones and bury them. Since this time other expeditions have been mounted to salvage bones around the lake that the rising and falling of the lake had exposed to possible interference. Okataina is still a very special place to tribal members as so many of their ancestors have been buried around this lake. As well as the purely ecological reasons for leaving Okataina remarkably unspoilt by commercial development the Maori heritage should ensure it is not developed or exploited.

It was traditional in some districts for the bodies of those who died, or of those who were killed, to be treated in two different ways according to their rank. The bodies of ordinary people were allowed to decay exposed to the elements or in shallow graves in the sacred area reserved for this. After about a year the bones were dug up, scraped and bleached in the sun, then wrapped in a bark bundle or placed in a carved box, thus prepared the bones were placed in a cave or a crevice in a rock outcrop. The bodies of the Chiefs and the high born were embalmed or preserved, this was a long exacting process requiring the body to be kept in a dry place, and then at regular intervals the bodies were rubbed with oils and resins to preserve them intact. The bodies were normally embalmed in a sitting position with the knees drawn up to the chest. After the process was complete, the body was removed from the place of preparation and taken to a cave of the chiefs where bodies were seated along with their ancestors.

Te Koutu Peninsula Pa then was a place of refuge, although it undoubtedly had a permanent residential population, enough to withstand a surprise attack from enemies until backup groups from villages about the lake arrived. We have no idea how may lived there, whether they were families, Tohunga, young warriors in training, or elderly warriors, but at a moments notice the Pa may have had to house the entire tribe.

Although 1.8m of ash from the Tarawera eruption covered this part of the lakeshore, much of it was later blown or washed away. However a lot of ash still remained and changed the face of the Pa site, terraces and caves. To the best of our knowledge there are three distinct types of caves on this point, shelter and storage caves, food storage caves and embalming or mummification caves, each distinctly different. 47 caves have been counted on this point in various stages of preservation, some have suffered from erosion land slip and silting, and others from the disruption of tree roots.

Tarawera ash has made it appear that caves were dug below ground level when in occupation you would have had to step up to enter them. Shelter storage caves are characterised by a slightly domed ceiling, approximately 1.8m x 1.5m in floor area with barely standing room.

The food stores are smaller and less regularly shaped and often had holes in the walls to support sticks from which food could be hung.

The classic of the three are the embalming caves - here the floor plan is basically ‘L’ shaped, the toe of the ‘L’ being the place where gourds of oil and resins were kept. The walls are very straight and a perfect gable

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ceiling, the outside is characterised by an extra recess for the fly screen door.

Because of the nature of the place and the interest it creates, we would ask for people to refrain from entering the caves.

A lot remains to be answered about this Point, up until now the condition it has been left in following thousands of visitors is excellent, we trust it stays this way.

People have expressed surprise about finding embalming caves in close proximity to food caves. Answers to this question cannot be readily given. Were they dug at the same time as the others? Or were they dug to be used once during a prolonged state of siege? How many times were they used? We will probably never know. We do understand that the food caves were not for public use but for the use of the Priest in their offerings to the Gods and for their own (the Priest) use. The embalming cave was built first and is called Te Ana o Rehuaariki.

What we do know is that Okataina is a remarkable lake with a remarkable history.

The Okataina Scenic Reserve Board – comprising elders of the Tribe under the Chairmanship of the Commissioner of Crown Lands (nowadays the regional conservator of Department of Conservation) have decided that some recognition is due. An information board telling the public of some of the great contributions to Maoridom that the Ngati Tarawhai of Okataina made, as well as a picnic shelter, have been erected.

Thanks to Irirangi Tiakiwa for reading this script for the Okataina Recreation and Education Trust, offering advice and providing information.

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5.2 OKATAINA LOG

1823 Hongi Hika’s warriors’ party went to attack Te Koutu Pa but were forced to retreat by the storm on the lake and the sight of the Tarawhai war canoe. Tamakoha, a great Tohunga, caused the great storm at Tauranginui when the Ngapuhi, Hongi Hika, sent a party to catch him and bring back his head so that Hongi Hika could eat his brains and inherit his mana. The men were so overawed by the storm and the sight of the large war canoe that they returned empty handed and died for their failure.

1840 Charles Terry made a sketch of Te Koutu Pa. He had come from England to see the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and then toured the country. He later published a book “New Zealand, its Advantages and Prospects”.

1846 Tamahana Rauparaha visited the southern end of the lake to try to enlist men and waka for a war party against the Europeans.

1865 Anaha Te Rauhui, Chief of the Ngati Tarawhai, claimed the Okataina Blocks for the iwi at the Native Land Court.

1876 Captain Gilbert Mair visited the southern end of the lake and spoke with Tohunga Tumakohe.

1882 Anaha te Rahui born, later to become chief of Ngati Tarawhai and famous wood carver. Auckland Museum and Institute has a major display of his carving.

1885 Captain Gilbert Mair again visited and rowed from Haumingi to Oruaroa and then to Te Koutu.

1886 Tarawera eruption.

1889 Road from Ruato to Lake Okataina started.

1904 Wharves built at Tauranganui (Home Bay) and Haumingi (Landing Bay) by Tourist and Health Board. The first oil fired launch on Okataina was dragged on rollers from Waitangi Bay of Plenty District Council, Tarawera, to Haumingi.

1905 Tamakohu, one of the last great Tohunga of Ngati Tarawhai, died.

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1906 Rainbow trout and possums were liberated.

1908 The Waharoa (gateway) from Te Koutu Pa was taken to the Auckland Institute and Museum. The concrete tomb was built at the same time to house ancestral bones, which were later removed.

1921 Shores of Lake Okataina were gifted to the crown to form the Scenic Reserve by the then Chief of Ngati Tarawhai, Anaha Te Rauhui

1924 A private lodge was built at Tauranganui (Home Bay).

1928 Survey of the lake edge and reserve completed.

1930 Lake level at record height

1931 Lake level dropped 14 feet (just over 4 metres) in a few days after the Napier earthquake, leaving wharves and launches high and dry.

1931 Scenic Reserve gazetted. Lodge taken over, accommodation mainly confined to private guests.

1932 Okataina Scenic Reserve Board formed

1936 Lodge sold now included accommodation, meals and boat hire.

1937 Outboard motors used on lake.

1942 Wallabies (Thylogale eugenii) most likely released early 1940s.

1953 First hi-speed water taxi “Clipper Royal” introduced.

1956 Introduction of Drive-u-Self boats, enabling thousands of visitors to tour the lake.

1959 New Okataina Tourist Lodge built.

1962

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Lake rose by 11 feet (over 3 metres) and flooded the canteen of the Lodge, which was then built 4 feet (over a metre) higher.

1971 The lake again rose this time by 9 feet (approx. 3 metres) and flooded the canteen a second time. This lifted the highest previous recorded lake level by 4 feet (over a metre) and caused major erosion around the lake.

1972 Waione Blocks added to the Okataina Scenic Reserve.

1973 Okataina Education and Recreation Trust legally registered.

1975 Okataina Recreation and Education Trust, Outdoor Education Centre officially opened.

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