+ Travel A Weekend in the

Wildly beautiful scenery, the gentle rise and fall of harbour tides and heritage Maori churches in tiny hamlets – Liz Light takes the slow road from Kohukohu to .

he sun rises over Hokianga Harbour and brightens the tower, steeple and welcoming front door of Our Lady of the TAssumption in Motukaraka. The wooden neo-gothic church is spick and span, glowing in the glory of a new day and more than 100 years of existence. The vestibule is bright with the jewelled colours of sun through stained glass. In the body of the church, kauri timber glows golden and the focal point, above the altar, is a painting of the Virgin surrounded by a host of baby angels. This is not the first of the churches to be built in the northwest Hokianga but its site on the hill above the harbour makes it the most commanding. In the late 19th century,

Rod Penney and his horses on Mitimiti Beach. Liz light is a north & south contributing writer. photography by liz light.

110 | NORTH & SOUTH | OCTOBER 2012 NORTH & SOUTH | OCTOBER 2012 | 111 Above: St Peter’s and the tombstone of Heremia Te Wake. Above right: Waihou Parish Church, with a unique Spanish-style façade, on the road between Panguru and Mitimiti. Right: Red roses grow either side of St Mary’s gate in Motuti. These are from cuttings taken from rose bushes planted by Bishop Pompallier.

a monthly mass was held in the schoolhouse on the beach and it was the dream of devout Roman Catholic Nui Hare, whose family owned land at Motukaraka, to build a proper church. He galvanised the community to raise the money for it with a group of young men heading south to work in the gum fields and others going to the bush and milling the re- quired kauri and totara trees for its timber. Our Lady of the Assumption was con­ Our Lady of the Assumption in Motukaraka. The wooden neo-gothic church is over 100 years old. secrated on Sunday, April 3, 1910. According to the Tablet, Father A. Lightheart performed the blessing ceremony. Kohukohu was one of New Zealand’s and sky from monochrome to brilliant colour late. Instead, I’m greeted by a tumble of fat, a pauper’s grave. For over a century, there This was followed by dinner, where “two larger towns, in the days of Nui Hare and – is worth watching from a special place. feet-licking puppies which seem to know was wistful talk in Hokianga of bringing his Alongside the tables (each accommodating nearly 200 Father Lightheart; in 1906, there were 5000 Alongside the sideroad to Motuti, roses they’re not allowed through the picket gate bones back and having them placed amid people) were relaid six times”. men on the payroll of the Yarborough & ramble over farm fences, jasmine covers into the church grounds. the descendants of the people who loved sideroad to His work done, Nui Hare died 18 months Andrews mill. Kauri was hauled in and sheds and honeysuckle hangs from trees. Bishop Pompallier first touched down in him and, in 2002, the bishop made his final later. He would be delighted that, today, the shipped out until, eventually, the trees were The air smells sweet. It’s humid away from New Zealand in the Hokianga in 1838. He journey from Paris to Motuti, in a beauti- Motuti, roses church looks as lovely as it ever did and that gone and the mill closed down. shore breezes. At Motuti, I pay my respects soon learnt Maori and his charismatic charm fully carved coffin and was interred, under ramble over farm in 2010 around a thousand of his descendants Kohukohu’s glory days have long gone but to Bishop Pompallier, New Zealand’s first and respect for their culture endeared him the altar of St Mary’s. and whanau remembered him with gratitude it’s still home to 150 folk and serves a wide Catholic bishop. to Maori people. Though he later moved to He rests in peace amid shafts of red, purple fences, jasmine while celebrating its centenary. farming community; its situation, near the Motuti is a small, marae-based village , to lead New Zealand’s Roman and green light filtering through the coloured northern terminus of the Hokianga car ferry, with a population of some 30 people. The Catholic faith, he often visited Hokianga and glass windows. Prints of the 12 stations of covers sheds and t’s less than 50km from Kohukohu, in means it’s a stop-off place for passing church, St Mary’s, built originally for always had a soft spot for the place and its the cross, brought with him 174 years ago, the inner reaches of the Hokianga Har- travellers. It’s just a few kilometres, five Pompallier in nearby Purakau, stands in a people. are beautifully restored and placed along the honeysuckle bour, to Mitimiti on the coast – and perhaps, to Motukaraka and I leave at dawn still, sun-drenched valley behind the After 30 years in New Zealand, Pompal- kauri walls. Outside manuka is flowering history hides around the corners of to be at the church for sunrise. Sunrise – the harbour and marae. Jean Kapea had planned lier retired and returned to Paris where he white, a tui (the parson bird) trills and kereru hangs from trees. Ithe curling gravel roads. magical minutes that change the land, sea to meet me there but phoned to say she’d be died just two years later and was buried in wing across the valley.

112 | NORTH & SOUTH | OCTOBER 2012 NORTH & SOUTH | OCTOBER 2012 | 113 granite and on her grave there is a kiwi, a cross “Whina’s virgin”, Panguru cemetery. you need for a picnic, available at the and a large piece of pink marble. well-stocked general store, next to the Cooper, like her father Heremia Te Wake, Waterline Cafe, Beach Rd, Kohukohu. was a devout Roman Catholic. Heremia, the chief of both Kai Tutae and Ngati Manawa, Best Sleeps was the leader of the church in Panguru, teaching children catechism and leading the The Tree House community in Sunday prayer. This man was A backpackers’ lodge with stand-alone as extraordinary in his time as his daughter cabins set in lush subtropical gardens. was later and the building of St Peter’s, 1883, There is a field for camping. This is a was instigated by him. Heremia Te Wake’s sweet place, at the right price, for those grave is directly in front of the church. The who don’t mind shared facilities. tombstone is crowned with a large statue of 168 West Coast Rd, Kohukohu, ph (09) 405-5855, Christ arisen, recently painted bright white www.treehouse.co.nz with a scarlet sacred heart. Night Sky Lodge drive towards the sea along dusty On a hill near Kohukohu village. Great roads, past glossy black cows with views of harbour, rising sun and sky. calves at foot in fields white with cow Five double rooms all with ensuite parsley. Pheasants take flight in fright, bathroom and deck. From $80 per night. Iroadside quails scatter and skylarks, 6 Marriner St, Kohukohu, ph (09) 405-5841, high tiny specks, fill the sky with their www.nightskylodge.co.nz tweedling song. The road meets the sea at Mitimiti and I Beach Road Cottage meet Andrew and Dianne Kendall. Andrew’s 1880s colonial cottage, harbour views and great-great-granddad, Atama Paparangi, the pretty garden, two bedrooms, with all local chief, was a friend of Charles Goldie and amenities. Two people, $120 and four was thrice painted by him. On the hill above people, $140 per night. the marae and St James church (built in 1916), Beach Rd, Kohukohu, ph (09) 818-1445, The cemetery on the hill above St James church and the marae at Mitimiti. we visit Paparangi, who rests under a fine www.beachroad.co.nz marble tombstone looking west over the sea.

Left: Andrew Kendall. His great-great- There is a row of Hotere tombstones in Best To-Dos Red roses grow either side of the church granddad, Atama Paparangi, the local the cemetery and, yes, says Andrew, Ralph gate. These are from cuttings taken from rose chief, was a friend of Charles Goldie and Hotere, arguably New Zealand’s greatest Sandtrails Hokianga was painted by him three times. He is bushes the bishop planted. I take a few fallen buried beneath the headstone above. living artist, was born in Mitimiti. Andrew From Mitimiti, in a funky dune buggy, petals and press them in my notebook. takes me north along the beach to where a Andrew Kendall guides people around stream unravels like a worn rope across the the sandhills and sculptures on the north anguru is the hub of the area with sand. Above the beach two little houses and side of Hokianga Harbour. Andrew and a large marae, general store, pet- Three years later she became the inaugural a big water tank sit on the grass. This is his wife, Dianne, also have a B&B at rol pump and a school, all strag- president of the Maori Women’s Welfare where was born. Mitimiti. Staying with them is a genuine gling spaciously along a straight League. I’m not an art expert but it makes sense Outside, looking in, St Mary’s, Motuti. and easy introduction to contemporary Proad in a lush valley. Cooper is most famous for leading the that the great man comes from this remote Maori culture. The Kendalls will This is Dame Whina Cooper’s hometown. Maori Land March in 1975, starting from and beautiful place. Hotere’s work speaks provide dinner, by arrangement. She lived here as a child, owned and ran the Te Hapua, New Zealand’s northern-most of this untamed part of New Zealand, its Best Eats Backpacker accommodation can store for 17 years and had two dairy farms in town, and walking 1050km to . spacious beauty and the complex crossover be arranged for larger groups. the valley. Highly intelligent, diligent, viva- This march, which gained people as it pro- of Maori and Christian spirituality that Waterline Cafe 32 Paparangi Drive, Mitimiti, ph 021 1449-228, cious, vocal and very attractive, whatever gressed, was described by historian Michael emanates from the cemetery, church, The cafe stands on piles above the www.sandtrailshokianga.co.nz Cooper did she did well, becoming a leader King as “the most spectacular Maori protest streams, rocks and the great wave-swept Hokianga Harbour in a heritage of the Ngati Manawa people at Panguru at a of recent times”. beach that stretches to infinity. building. The back dining deck is Mitimiti Beach relatively young age. Early Hokianga achieve- Cooper, aged 79, arrived at Parliament’s above the water. Food is hearty, Mussels are abundant at low tide and ments include being the first female presi- steps with 5000 people following her. The Getting there healthy versions of burgers, pizza and surf-casting fishing is good. One of the dent of a branch of Federated Farmers and march encouraged the government to make sandwiches. Yummy homemade cakes. West Coast’s wild and beautiful beaches. the only woman to be the president of a more effort to return land to its former The Hokianga car ferry crosses the Open 7am until 5pm, Sunday to Wednesday, and branch of the Rugby Union. Maori owners and make fairer use of the harbour from Rawene to Kohukohu and 7am until 9pm Thursday to Saturday. Visting the Churches When her husband died in 1949, Cooper, Tribunal. back each hour from 7.30am until 8pm 2 Beach Rd, Kohukohu, ph (09) 405-5552. All the Hokianga churches are associated aged 54, moved to Auckland so their chil- For the last decade of her life she lived in ($10 per car and $2 per person). The with the local marae. Ask permission dren could get a good secondary school edu- Panguru, where she died aged 98. She rests roads from Kohukohu to Mitimiti are Other than pies at the store in Panguru before entering them. Generally, the cation and there she used her talents, pas- in the cemetery, under sacred Mt Panguru, unsealed but well kept, and there are there are no cafes/eateries on the road people at the nearest house will be the sion and confidence to work for Maori. the mountain of prayer. Her tombstone is dark interesting side trips so make a day of it. from Kohukohu to Mitimiti so take what caretakers/overseers. +

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