Ngati Kahu, Ngati Rangi, Ngati Pango
Wai42a
December 1996
Prepared by Antoine Coffin
for Waitangi Tribunal :7(9 :Mauao te :Maunga
:7(9 rrauranga te :Moana
:7(9 Wairoa te .9twa
:7(9 g..(gati :J{anginui te I wi
Jfe Patere 0 'Ie '11!airoa
'E noho ana arULU i te tara 0 :Mauao, te maunga i fioputia e %manui te 1(a. 'l(g titiro /(j te rawfiiti /(j te :Moananui a 'l(iwa, i te ara nga tupuna ma runga i nga wal(a %I(ititmt me %inui, I(ai uta fie parepare /(j tenei wfienua. 'E tirotiro ana kpe /(j te fiauauru /(j %uranga :Moana, X9 .9Lwanui, te patai@. 0 %ngaroa 11W nga fiapu I(arangarangatanga. 9/sa titikJ, kJtkJt, k!tk!troroa, tamure, tuangi, nga patif(j - nga I(aiora te mana 0 te 11Wana nei. TokJt wal(a ~i te tafia 0 te XJtia me te 1(jtri. Ina I(aral(ia f(j a %wfiirimatea -e awfiitia au f(j tokJt I(amga. Te [email protected] 0 te 11Wana te 11Wtu 0 :Matal(ana. 'E noho ana nga wfianau 0 te wal(a :Mataatua, kp Tuwfiiwfiia, X9 %uaiti, X9 rramawfiariua, 9/saiterangi te lwi e. 'l(a I(aranga afiau /(j 'Ie Pura te taniwfia, toia mai afiau /(j tokJt turanga, /(j te urunga, /(j te 11Wenga. .9Lnei te fiuarafii 0 nga tipuna e. Pul(ewfiana~ te I(amga tapu, 'E '11Jfial(afie~ ana matau f(j te tafia 0 'Ie Pura te wfienua 'Ie Pura te taniwfia Poteriwfii ~i runga, Papa 0 Wfiaria ~i raro 9If.ga tama toa e fiaere mai /(j te tafia, /(j te rongoa, /(j te waiora e. 9/sati'l(afiu, 9If.gati [email protected], nga fiapu 0 9/samarama, e tu ana f(j te Rp.upapa 0 te ra. Te manaal(i, te tautokp, te fiapai, te tikPnga 0 nga tipuna. 'l(g [email protected] /(j Pu~l(onui, kp 9If.gati Pango. 9If.ga [email protected]/(j ano 0 te awa tapu 9If.ga 'l(gitia/(j ano 0 te tuna, 0 te mauri, 0 te wairua e. Xf-i te tafia 0 te awa rongonui, Rp. tu afiau. 'l(a pa mai te arofia /(j nga numga kJta riro atu /(j te po. Wfial(amaumafiara te mi, te wefii. Wairoa nga fiapu, 9{gati1(anginui te lwi, rrauranga te :Moana , :Mauao te :Maunga rrtfiei mauri ora.
2 \Vairoa Marae c.a. 1900 ii) Preface
My name is Antoine Nelson Coffin. I am a descendant of Ngati Kahu, Ngati Hangarau, Ngai Tuwhiwhia, Ngati Tauaiti and Ngati Kirihika. I have been working with Ngati Kahu in particular over the last fifteen months in the area of resource management and have completed several reports including an Issues and Options Paper for the Wairoa River and Environment.
Timi Kuka = Ngaone Pakaru T amati Poumako = Rangiwhakaora
Mohorangi Kuka =Te Ngara
Poihaere = George Coffin
Antoine Coffin
Completing studies at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic I Land Resource Management at the end of 1995 I have been working full-time at the Ngati Kahu Resource Centre working on the Transit NZ Assessment of Effects for Proposed Re-alignments, the development of hapu structures (Runanga), Bethlehem Strategic Plan, Tangata Whenua Heritage Management Strategy for Tauranga Moana and various duties associated with resource consent appl ications.
This report is an opportunity to be able to document the story of Wairoa hapu for future generations and to heal the wounds of last century so the people can move into the next century, strong and noble, proud and free.
He ora te whakapiri, he mate te whakatakariri
Ka pa mai te aroha ki taku whanau hei oranga tinana me te wairua.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the following people who have been invaluable in their assistance. Nga kaumatua 0 Ngati Kahu, Ngati Rangi, Ngati Pango; in particular Henare Rahiri, Te Ruruanga Te Keeti, Tewi Poumako, Kawainga Tata. Thanks to Ngati Kahu Resource Centre; Phillip Hikairo, Marissa Rahiri for their administrative support. Ngaronoa Reweti-Ngata hei oranga te wairua. Tauranga library staff; Mererina Murray, Jinty Rourke and Pam McConnochie. Tauranga District Council Land Information,NZ Air Maps. Bay of Plenty Polytechnic; John Morgan. Last but not least thanks to Desmond Kahotea whose determination and committment to tangata whenua issues has been an inspiration.
3 iii) Brief
This report has been commisioned by the Waitangi Tribunal to cover the
claim 42a of Ngati Kahu, Ngati Rangi and Ngati Pango hapu of Te Ongaonga and Wairoa. The purpose of this report is to give weight and substance to their claim. Matters covered from the direction include:
• An identification of pieces of land known to the claimants as very
important waahi tapu, which were lost or desecrated during the
confiscation of land, or during or after the alienation of land which had
been placed under restriction.
• an identification of pieces of land of high importance to the claimants
which were taken under the Public Works Acts, and in particular for
railway purposes or the realignment of State Highway 2
• A description of claimants' current concerns with regard to rezoning and
development issues as they affect their remaining lands and marae.
• A description of the customary use of the Wairoa River for transport and
kai moana, and of whether or not the claimants can still use the river for
these purposes, and if not, an explanation of why not.
• An account of any other grievances the claimants may have with regard to
the Wairoa River, and in particular a narrative of the reasons for the
building of the Ruahihi Canal, and the cause and effects of its collapse.
• An account of the claimants' objections to the terms of the Tauranga
Moana Trust Board Act 1981.
4 iv) Objectives
The primary objective is to add substance to the 42a claim of Ngati Kahu,
Ngati Rangi, and Ngati Pango. This being acheived by describing subsequent policies and actions of successive central, regional, local government and agents of the Crown which has detrimentally affected the social and cultural fabric and maintenance of the respective hapu. This report will be used for the Waitangi Tribunal hearing.
For the purposes of this report Ngati Kahu, Ngati Rangi, and Ngati Pango may be referred to as 'Wairoa hapu' and 'river people' unless specifically noted. The reference to Ngati Kahu specifically in many contemporary situations (with the exclusion of Ngati Rangi) will be evident. This is not meant to illustrate the effects on one particular hapu but merely reflects leadership and social changes in Wairoa hapu. Ngati Rangi is considered to be assimilated with Ngati Kahu although in a 1860 context was an active unit.
5 Table of Contents i) Whakatauki ii) Preface iii) Brief iv) Objectives v) Contents vi) List of Figures vii) List of Plates
1.0 Introduction 1.1 Issues 1.2 Background
2.0 Urban Encroachment 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Historical 2.3 Planning Tribunal 2.4 Bethlehem Planning Study
3.0 Public Works 3.1 Old Bridges and roads 3.2 1967/68 State Highway 2 and bridge 3.3 Railway 3.4 Wairoa River Reserves
4.0 Te Awa 0 Wairoa 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Characteristics 4.3 Flora and Fauna 4.4 Traditional Relationships 4.4.1 Introduction 4.4.2 Taniwha 4.5 Ownership 1 Management 4.5.1 Introduction 4.5.2 Traditional 4.5.3 Rangatiratanga 4.5.4 Kaitiakitanga 4.6 Traditional Uses 4.6.1 Mahinga Kai 4.6.2 Waka 4.6.3 Swimming 4.6.4 Healing 4.7 Conflict of Use 4.7.1 Hydro-electric generation 4.7.2 Commercial 4.7.3 Mataitai
6 4.8 Pollution 4.8.1 Introduction 4.8.2 Ruahihi Dam Collapse 4.8.3 Faecal Matter, Animal waste 4.8.4 Sedimentation, Runoff 4.8.5 Other Sources
5.0 Waahi Tupuna, Waahi Tapu 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Archaeological Sites 5.2.1 Introduction 5.2.2 Concerns 5.3 Nga Waahi
6.0 Tauranga Moana Trust Board Act 1980
Bibliography
List of Appendices
Appendix A Wai 42a claim Appendix B Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (Resource Management) Appendix C Chronology of Events Appendix D Flora and Fauna of the Wairoa Appendix E Bathing Suitability Statistics Appendix F Water Quality Statistics Appendix G Newspaper Articles Appendix H Committees of Wairoa Hapu Appendix I Extracts from Ruahihi Dam Collapse Report & Figures Appendix J Ngati Kahu Submission to Transitional District Plan Change No.1 Appendix K Reference to the Planning Tribunal, Ngati Kahu, November 1993. Appendix L Summary assessment of the system for the management of historic and cultural heritage. [PCFE. June 1996. p31] Appendix M Summary Assessment of the performance of the principal national agencies in the management of historic and cultural heritage. [PC FE. June 1996. p.32-33] Appendix N Summary of critical issues Appendix 0 Conclusions and recommendations for historic and cultural heritage management. [PCFE. June 1996 pp.91-99 Appendix P Legislation affecting heritage protection Appendix Q Lesgislation affecting harbour and navigatable rivers. Appendix R NZ Gazette notices Appendix S Plates and Figures (refer list of plates)
7 vi) List of Figures
Figure 1. Study Area showing Area of Claim Figure 2 Settlements 1864 Figure 3 Pa Figure 4 Hapu estates (1996) Figure 5 T auranga District Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council Boundaries Figure 6 Landing Reserve. Pt Allot Te Papa 181 Figure 7 Wairoa River and tributaries. Hydroelectric Power Development Figure 8 Aerial photo of Lower Wairoa River (places of significance) Figure 9 Wairoa I Bethlehem 1865 Figure 10 Ruahihi Pa (Stokes) Figure 11 Ruahihi Pa (National Museum of NZ Bulletin) Figure 12 Plan of Native Reserves (Pukekonui - T e Puna 182) Figure 13 Aerial Photo - Wairoa Marae and Community. c.1950's Figure 14 Closed Road (old highway)
8 vii) List of Plates
Plate 1. Wairoa Marae (Te Pura) c.a. 1900 Plate 2. Kahutapu, wharenui at Wairoa Marae. Built in 1994. Plate 3. Te Hoata 0 Ngamarama the wharekai. Built in 1940's and extensions in 1970's. Plate 4 Wairoa Bridge 1874-1915 Plate 5. State Highway 2 Construction [Photo News. 1 May 1965. p56] Plate 6. State Highway 2 Construction [Photo News. May 1965.p57] Plate 7. Wairoa River with Pukehou in the background. Plate 8. Wairoa River. Looking towards Te Ruahinahina from SH2 bridge. Plate 9. Pristine marshland, north-east side of Wairoa River mouth. Small mangroves starting to appear on the salt water margins. Duck shooting platform in the middle of the river mouth. Plate 10. Native marshland on northern side of railway. Plate 11. Hut at the Wairoa River mouth. Plate 12. Duck shooting platform, Wairoa River. Plate 13. The Takitimu tied to the western bank of the Wairoa River. Designated tauranga waka area. Plate 14. Ngati Kahu 1 T e Pura canoes and launching area. Livestock introduced to keep area clean. Plate 15. Waimarino canoes, Taniwha Place, built on waahi tapu. Plate 16. Waimarino canoes. Modification 1 destruction of a waahi tapu. Plate 17. Wairoa River After Ruahihi Dam Collapse. Plate 18. Massive sediment load on Wairoa River after Ruahihi Dam Collapse Plate 19. Logs and branches during heavy rain coming down river, September '96. Plate 20. Looking up river from Pukewhanake. T e Karaka, top left Plate 21. Wairoa River showing Whare. c.a. 1900 Plate 22. Western side of Wairoa River, T e Puna Station Road. Hakao, the flood plain below dwellings built on pa and papakainga. Plate 23. Te Paorangi in background with house on top. Plate 24 Te Paorangi with a house on top. Plate 25 T e Papa 0 Wharia Plate 26. Wairoa Redoubt, built on Poteriwhi Pa [Robley 1864] Plate 27. Poteriwhi, Battle Pa. [Robley 1864] Plate 28. Pukewhanake, Te Puna Station Road. Pa used as borrow for fill in construction of Sh2 and bridge, 1967/68. Plate 29. Pukewhanake, the sacred home of Ranginui and Ngamarama hapu before him. Plate 30 Pukewhanake. Taken from Western side, Te Puna Station Road Plate 31. Wairoa River with Pukewhanake pa. Plate 32. Te Roto Parera. (papakainga) Plate 33 Te Roto Parera. Plate 34. Eastern side of Wairoa River. Taumatawhioi, urupa in centre.
9 Wairoa marae, far right. Plate 35. Eastern side of Wairoa River. Te Papa Lot 453 pasture. Plate 36. Te Puna Station Road (Hakao). Resource consent application to establish a tearooms and homestay next to Wairoa River. July 96. Te Paorangi in the background. Plate 37. September 1996. Modification of the landscape. Plate 38. Kapakapa. Drained swamp for rural production. Plate 39. Farmland pastures to river margins. Looking south. Plate 40. Abundance of native plants on western side of Wairoa River upstream from the railway. Plate 41. Tautau. The building of the railway and the draining of 453 lands has altered the stream.
Appendix S
Plate 42. Wairoa River[Photo News. 27 June 1964. p65] Plate 43. McLaren's Falls [Photo News. 7 March 1964. p2] Plate 44. Wairoa River[Photo News. August 1963. p44] Plate 45. Wairoa Road with Pukehou in the background [Photo News. 25 July 1964.] Plate 46. Wairoa River. Looking from below Te Papa 0 Wharia to the eastern side of the river. (note the white sand on the bank) [Photo News. April 1963. p67] Plate 47. Wairoa River[Photo News. May 1963. p22] Plate 48. Wairoa River (Pukehou) [Photo News. May 1963] Plate 49. Pristine condition wetland, north of railway, Wairoa River. Plate 50. Wetland on eastern banks of Wairoa River, south of railway. Plate 51. Raupo at margin of Te Papa lot 453 & whanau housing; eastern side of Wairoa River. Plate 52. Farming and education module sheds. Porteriwhi in the background. Plate 53. Western side of Wairoa River. Native vegetation in riparian zone, south of railway Plate 54. Western side of Wairoa River. Grass verge on riparian zone, south of railway. Plate 55. Stream at Hakao used as a drain. taken from Te Puna Station Road. Plate 56. Outlet for runoff with outflow caps to limit tidal influence. Plate 57. Te Papa Lot 453 lands. Repo was drained in 1970's for farming to pay rates. Plate 58. Marginal farming is common place on Crown granted lands situated in swamps with limited economic potential. Plate 59. Unknown reason for borrow at Pukewhanake. Small but effective in diminishing the prestige of the pa. Plate 60. Western extent of Pukewhanake on Clarkes Road. Plate 61. Wairoa River Reserve. Riparian strip with herbicide spray at grass verge. Plate 62. Wairoa River Reserve. Native vegetation met at high water by grass cover.
10 Study Area Showing Area of Claim 1. Study Area showinq Area of Claim 1.0 Introduction
1.1 Issues
The theme issues contained in this report may be considered contemporary as for the most part, are issues of this century, although in the context of the raupatu tuturu of the 1860s and 1870's are cummulative and exaccerbating the situation of hapu marginalisation. The Wairoa River, places of significance, public works, urban encroachment and the Tauranga Trust
Board Act 1981 are main areas of topic contained in this report.
Urban Encroachment
Urban encroachment is known as the 'Wheke 0 te Pakeha' to Wairoa Hapu. The progressive nature of urban encroachment threatens the cultural lifestyle of hapu. Modification of the ancestral landscape has destroyed important natural and cultural markers thus breaking down relationships with the landscape. Zone changes, the Planning Tribunal hearing of 1994, and urban development in the Wairoa area are issues covered.
Public Works Land takings for purposes such as the State Highway 2, East Coast Trunk Railway, landing reserves and esplanade reserves have further marginalised the Wairoa hapu estates left by Crown Grants in the 1870's. Contributing to the effects of land taking has been the use of the lands for public purposes, a constant reminder of the raupatu and pakeha domination over Wairoa hapu.
11 Te Awa 0 Wairoa
The Wairoa River forms a majority of the report. The river is the physical and
spiritual identity common with all hapu. Relationships through long prior
occupation have been established and remain an integral part of hapu life.
Ownership and management concepts between pakeha and Maori are different, the issues relating to the Wairoa River being no exception. This conflict of management and ownership perception has resulted in a conflict of use that carries on today. The Kaimai hydro electricity project, recreational and commercial activities, and food gathering are some of the issues.
Pollution of the Wairoa River has been recorded in recent times and has shown that the river is not in a good state. Massive sedimentation from the
Ruahihi collapse in 1983, sewerage dumping and the runoff from farming practices are contributing factors of pakeha ignorance and traditional perception of waterways as drains for waste.
Nga Waahi
Sites and areas of significance to Wairoa hapu are identified and where information is available a description of uses and any effects applicable through policies and actions that compromise the role of tangata whenua in utilising these resources according to their cultural preferences. A site specific approach has been employed to give an 'on the ground' description of relationships with the areas. Conflicts of use and any potential measures that may be considered by Wairoa hapu as effective in resolving greivances are included.
12 Tauranga Moana Trust Board Act 1981.
The Tauranga Trust Board Act 1981 was considered a full and final settlement of the Crown. Its inception disregarded hapu and individuals raupatu claims. Compensation was based on geographical terms giving no creadance to the needs and aspirations of the people. The Crown acting as Thief, Judge and Jury has been ethically and morally unjust. The Trust
Board is accountable to the Minister of Maori Affairs and reflects a government department structure alien to cultural preferences. The
Tauranga Moana Trust Board issue is the concluding theme of this report and is from a hapu perspective.
13 Plate 1. Kahutapu, wharenui at Wairoa Marae. Built in 1994.
Plate 2. Te Hoata 0 Ngamarama the wharekai. Built in 1940's and extensions in 1970's. 1.2 Background
Ngati Kahu, Ngati Rangi, Ngati Pango hapu have occupied the Wairoa
Valley and nearby reaches consistantly over 800 years exploiting the rich
resources and taking advantage of the temporal seasonal changes of which the Tauranga district is well known for.
Ngati Kahu, Ngati Rangi, and Ngati Pango are Ngamarama hapu in origin
with strong Tainui links. Assimilation with Ngati Rangnui and Ngaiterangi Iwi through social and economic obligations has occured in the past two hundred
years. Wairoa hapu align themselves as with Ranginui Iwi through social and economic obligation.
Ngati Kahu are descendants of the ancestors Kahu and Kahu tapu. Kahu
(the name of previous wharenui) is of Ngamarama origins and Kahutapu a
tipuna with connections to Raukawa and lwi of T auranga. Ngati Kahu is a Hapu of Ngati Ranginui currently occupying some 260 acres known as the
Marae Community Zone; Crown granted lands of Te Papa 453, 91 and 453 adjacent to State Highway 2 and Carmichael Road, Bethlehem, Tauranga.
This is shared with Ngati Rangi. Ngati Kahu by ancient tradition belong beside the Wairoa River and nowhere else.
Areas that are of particular regard to Ngati Kahu as places of occupation include the eastern side of the Wairoa River from the river mouth
(Whakaheke pa) to the Ruahihi pa and Ongaonga in the Kaimai.
Ngati Pango are of Tainui origin, traditionaly living on the western side of the
Wairoa River. They are currently residing opposite the Ngati Kahu
Community Zone on the western side of the Wairoa River on some 24 acres
14 of the original granted 204 acres (Te Puna Lot 182). Areas of particular
regard to Ngati Pango are areas on the western side of the river around
Pukekonui (now Pukehou), Te Paorangi and Purakautahi in the Kaimai.
Ngati Rangi descend from Taane of Ngamarama ancestry. They occupied the western side fo the Wairoa River including T e Irihanga up the
Ruangarara River. Ngati Rangi were forced to live with Ngati Kahu on the eastern side of the river due to being landless through the raupatu and have assimilated with Ngati Kahu through social and leadership changes occupying the Marae Community Zone.
The Wairoa Marae established in the 1890's (Plate 1) is shared by the
Wairoa hapu for ceremonial and social purposes. The Marae Community
Zone was established through Tauranga County Council in 1984 with the objective of implementing the concept of hapu administration fro the lands. The two land Trusts Ngati Kahu / Te Pura and 453 administer the lands on behalf of shareholders. Several blocks however have been partitioned and are administered by whanau.
The marae complex includes a wharenui, wharekai, sports club, basketball court and abolution block. The community zone includes a kohanga reo, resource and health centre, training/education facilities and areas for communal subsistance agriculture and horticulture as well as two urupa (in use) being Taumatawhioi and Whakaheke.
For centuries Wairoa hapu have continued to live in essentially communal, rural village life style in which all of the members are related by common descent from Ngamarama and inter-marriage with Ranginui and Ngaiterangi hapu. There are close links also with the neighbouring hapu, Ngati
15 Settlements 1864
Figure 2 Settlements 1864 Pa
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• •
0
0 '"
0
0
0 0 e
• Wairoa hapu pa o Other hapu pa
Figure 3 Pa Hangarau located on lands at Peterahema and ancestral rights to lands on the eastern side of the Wairoa River to Omanawa in the Kamai.
Other hapu have occupied or are associated with the Wairoa. Ngati Motai, a
Raukawa hapu have had families living with Ngati Pango at Purakautahi a settlement on the Wairoa. Ngati Kirihika another Raukawa hapu from the western side of the Kaimai also occupy areas in the Kaimai. Raukawa hapu in the Kaimai have strong links with Wairoa hapu through whakapapa, sharing of resources and historical events. Ngati Tamahapai were recorded in 18641 at Papaoharia and Poteriwhi with Ngati Rangi. It is generally accepted however that Tamahapai (Tamakaihapai) is the name bestowed on
Ngati Kahu members who provided kai for Waikato. Matahaere recorded in
24th July 1864 [surrendered rebels, prepared by Rice. Taken from Stokes2] refers to those people living at the old flour mill situated on the western banks of the Wairoa near Pukekonui (now Pukehou). Other Ngamarama hapu Ngati Taane and Ngati Tira have been desolved as hapu identities.
The Crowns actions in the 1860's devastated but did not destroy the Wairoa hapu. These hapu suffered greatly as a result of the Crown's unjustified military invasion of Tauranga Moana in 1864 and the subsequent Raupatu of land in 1865. A blanket punishment for a rebellion that never took place was imposed upon all Tauranga Moana, of which Ngati Ranginui (including
Wairoa hapu) bore the brunt. All of the rohe - some 15,000 or so acres was unjustly confiscated, kainga, crops destroyed and many of their people killed or wounded. A mere 260 acres was granted to Ngati Kahu and Ngati Rangi. Of this, 50 acres was provisional on the good behaviour of Ngati Kahu notwithstanding the fact that a large proportion of the land was swamp. On
T.H.Smiths Report lIth February 1864 2 Stokes, Evelyn. Ie Raupatu 0 Iauranga Moana. p240. 16 '"
,., OP!!.IJ<>e1 7,11111
Lot 1 DPS 12228 Lot 3 8.0810 DPS 58780 27.3440 Lot 1 DPS 57282 11.6220
AWo'95\Y2 TE PAPA PS. ''''HIS
Lot 2 DPS 58780
'dU/' 1-1 ~~ ,?-o-P Pt Allot 18285 ~t",4- A~& TE PUNA PSH T"~ 16.5997 Pt Allot 182C2C ML 20018 Lot 7 TE PUNA PSH (23.7544) DPS 47016 11.2072 22.7800 ML 12078
Figure 4 Hapu estates (1996) Scale 1 :8000 o 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000m , I, ,I, I" I ,I" I, I" I, ,I, ,I
Wairoa River Information derived from the Land Information New Zealand's Digital Databases. CROWN COPYRIGHT RESERVED HN DCDS Data as at 30-10-1996 the Ngati Pango side they received some 204 acres making up Pukekonui including the flour mill which was shared with Ngati Kuku.
The achievement of Wairoa hapu in maintaining their traditional lifestyle is all
the greater in the light of continued encroachment of their remaining lands,
taken in the public interest for the construction of State Highway 2 and railway lines and for the purposes of reserves. At the same time traditional
food sources and other resources including mahinga, mahinga kai, kai
moana and harakeke have become progressively depleted as the T auranga
region grows. Wairoa hapu have continually had their direct interests subordinated to the interests of the wider community and the imperatives of
development.
With suceeding generation population growth many hapu members had to leave because of lack of land for employment or subsistence. Ngati Rangi
has disintergrated as a hapu and through intermarriage and social
assimilation has merged with Ngati Kahu. Ngati Pango have only 24 acres left and have seen the migration of their young people to cities to find work
and homes.
Hapu development has been occuring in the face of development of the
Tauranga region by young people wishing to return from the cities to
re-establish themselves within their traditional commuinty. The Kohanga Reo and kura kaupapa are helping to re-establish Maori as the language of the community keeping hapu heritage alive. The hapu community is still vulnerable to threats against its continued existence and identity. It is considered that the threat of urbanisation and public works developments represent a fundamental threat to the survival of Wairoa hapu as a community linked together by common heritage, ancestry and identity.
17 1.2.1 Ngamarama.
The Earliest record of Tauranga carries us right back to the arrival of the first canoes with immigrants from Hawaiki (approximately AD. 1290). Judge
Wilson in his sketches of ancient Maori life and history", records that the canoe "Takitumu" called in at Te Awanui (as Tauranga was then named) and found the district in possession of a tribe of aborigines whose name, Puruapenga or 'full net' bore testimony to the rich harvest to be drawn from the surrounding waters. This occupancy of the terriotory was shared with another aboriginal tribe, known as Ngamarama. This tribe had originally lived at Matamata and other places in the Upper Thames Valley, but had moved thence to Tauranga, and this time occupied the central and western portion of that district.
The land was far too firmly held by these two tribes to appeal to the immigrants by 'Takitumu' as a likely spot for colonization, and the canoe therefore continued her journey southward. One or two members of the crew did, however, leave her and settle amongst the Ngamaramas, thus forming a link between the Takitumu settlers in the South and the Ngamarama tribe, which resulted, several generations later, in conquest of Ngamarama and the taking of Tauranga by the Ngati Ranginui, when a chief named Ranginui moved with his people from Hangaroa (between Wairoa, Hawkes Bay and Gisbourne) to T auranga. The Party squatted on the left bank of the Wairoa River, near the present bridge on the Katikati road. The Ngamaramas resented this encroachment, and to put a stop to it arranged that while the children of both tribes were bathing together in the river, two of the visitors' children should be drowned. This plan was carried into effect but, as subsequent events proved, with a result far different from that hoped for. After consideration of the incident by the tribe, the Ngati Ranginui children were instructed to bathe next day as though nothing had happened, but to make sure that when the Ngamarama children joined the sport, some of them were drowned in revenge. This was done, and war followed, resulting in the defeat and expatriation of Ngamarama and the establishment of Ngati Ranginui at Tauranga, where they lived undisturbed for 120 years, until in turn expelled by the Ngaiterangis about the beginning of the eighteenth century. 3
3 Gifford and Williams. 1940. Centennial History of Tauranga. 18 Steedman states that although the tribal name of Nga Marama became non-existent the hapu descendants of the original title still occupied the Wairoa.
"It wasn't until Ranginui (2) came to this district in the early eighteenth century that the tribal name of Nga Marama became non-existent but by no means were the people of that original title extinguished. The embers of that tribal name through domination and intermarriage faded into obsucurity. Ranginui simply pushed them back into the hills to make room for his people. The remnants of the Nga Marama who were established on the eastern side of the Wairoa River were not interfered with and still live there under sub tribal titles, those being Ngati Taane, Ngati Kahu .... ,,4
The survival of Ngamarama hapu as active units and their relationship with Tainui and latter Ngati Ranginui is also qualified by kaumatua Albert Tuariki Brown of Wairoa.
"In earlier days the Tainui people from the Waikato and the Ngati Raukawa from Tokoroa area came to collect kaimoana. Our people took them in and looked after them during those visits. That is why there is continuing good relations between the Tanui people of the Waikato and ourselves today ....
.... There were once four pa sites surrounding our position on the bank. Poteriwhi, the battle pa, the first pa built, Rotoparera whose chief was Ngakuruparera, Papaoharia pa, and Te Pura, now more commonly known as the Wairoa Marae.
People have asked why Ngati Ranginui never invaded here, but if you look around us, those four pa looked down at this point (beside the Wairoa River). Any enemy coming in here would be a sitting duck - they would be destroyed. The first tribes in the area were Ngati Rangi, Ngati Motai, Ngati Tamahapai, Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango. Other tribes inter-bred into the area are the Ngati He, Ngai Te Ahi."
Steedman. 1996. He Toto. p.34 19 In recent times Ranginui of Takitimu (1600's) and Ngaiterangi of Ngati Awa decent (Mata Atua) since 1700's have dominated the Tauranga area and
Wairoa hapu have been assimilated although they still identify as Ngamarama hapu in origin.
The Wairoa hapu or river people have occupied the Wairoa River mouth to the Kaimai.
This encompasses;
West side of the lower Wairoa River
Pukewhanake, T e Paorangi -Ngati Rangil Ngati Pango; and Pukekonui (now Pukehou), -Ngati Pango on the lower Wairoa River to Te Irihanga -Ngati Rangi;
Eastern side of the lower Wairoa River
Whakaheke, Te Pura, Poteriwhi, Papa 0 Wharia, Te Roto Parera -Ngati
Kahu;
Upper Wairoa River and Opuiaki River
Ruahihi (Ngati Kahu), Pori pori and Ongaonga, Purakautahi, Te Hanga, -(Wairoa hapu) through to Whaiti Kuranui in the Kaimai's.
20 Whakapapa of Ngamarama hapu of Wairoa
Hataura Tamaahua = Kauhangaroa Raumati Kuratapirirangi Karewa Tarutumouku Ngararawhawai Ngamarama
Rongomainohorangi =Tuwairua Taane Kahu Tamaumurua Waimuhu Putaputa Te Iro Toroa(2) Te Ikatireni Marama Matuaiwi Te Hoata Rangitupukiwaho(3) Arawhata Te Tira Toko Whakatu Pakaruwakanui Kahoe Hikataua Raropakaru Rahiri Hurori Te Huri TeAta Te Kotuku TeOre TeAuru Tiki Kumeroa =Te Wheoro Tereapu Whainga= Tapui Tihore Wairua = Ngawharau Ihiata Pitakataka Pitokete = Hikaroa Rahiri Perahia Te Wheoro = Kumeroa Wairua = Hatana Ngawharau
Ngati Rangi Ngati Kahu
1.2.2 Ranginui
Wairoa hapu acknowledge both their Ngamaramatanga and Ranginuitanga.
Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango identify as a Ngati Ranginui hapu through
intermarriage, common territory and socia-political obligations.
The tradition of occupation of Tauranga by Ngati Ranginui has its origins
along the Wairoa River. Ranginui the son of Tamatea came to Tauranga from inland Hangaroa. While Ngati Ranginui were living at Pukewhanake an
incident occured whereby a Ngati Ranginui child was drowned in the Wairoa River by Ngamarama. Ngati Ranginui took up the quarrel with Ngamarama
and crossed the Wairoa River to the Peterehema (Betlehem - Ngati
Hangarau) side and took the pa of Haehaenga and Matuaiwi. This quarrel was continued inland where, according to Ngati Ranginui, they pursued
5 Adapted from Steadman 21 Ngamarama to the Taumata area. Specific Ngamarama ancestors of Ngati Kahu remained in this area with Ngati Ranginui to occupy their lands.
The hapu of the Wairoa fit into a web of kin links with other hapu of Ngati
Ranginui. This web exists beyond the mere recording of whakapapa. It
acknowledges how the many hapu of Ngati Ranginui fought against common enemies. The role at Pukehinahina (Gate Pa) and Te Ranga as toa is the
best illustration of this.
Ranginui Tutereinga Rangiwhakakaha Taka Korotehapu = Wehi Kuramataki Mahangawhiti Atutahi Ranapia Huapiri Tikiorereata Te Koro ate rangi Kahutapu
[Ngati Kahu]
1.2.3 Ngati Kahu
Decend from Kahu a Ngamarama. This decent is marked by the name of the two previous Wharenui, both named Kahu. The Kahutapu descent line is a recent event in terms of the ancient history of the hapu but represents a strengthening of relationships with Tauranga Moana and Tainui Iwi.
Kahutapu is the name of the present wharenui. Ngati Kahu currently occupies some 260 acres of Crown Granted lands adjacent State Highway 2
22 and Carmichael Road. There are 48 dwellings with a static population of 220.
1.2.4 Ngati Rangi
Decend from T aane. It has been stated by some that Ngati T aane was the old name for Ngati Rangi however this needs further research. Ngati Rangi has diminished as a hapu unit although individuals still retain their Ngati
Rangi identity. Through social and political changes Ngati Rangi has assimilated with Ngati Kahu.
1.2.5 Ngati Pango
Decendants of Tamapango of Ngamarama and Tainui lineage. Ngati Pango currently owns some 24 acres of estate of the original 204 acre Crown Grant of Te Puna Lot 182 adjacent to Wairoa Road overlooking the Wairoa river.
There are six households at Ngati Pango. Four of these are on the 24 acres.
23 2.0 Urban Encroachment
2.1 Introduction
The establishment of Tauranga as a place of settlement for immigrants from Britain has its origins before the land wars with the establishment of the
Mission Station in 1838-9 by early missionaries and the subsequent effort to
'throw open' the country was demonstrated by the raupatu. The subsequent
actions of the Crown through the T auranga District Lands Acts of 1867 and
1868 between the two rivers, Waimapu and Wairoa saw the taking of a 50,000 acre block. However even then, the wish to see 'all lands' opened up
was apparent.
"The Government resumed large scale purchase of land by 1870. During the
70's part of Vogels policy of encouraging immigration a number of special
group settlements were encouraged by the government. In 1871 Halcome, the Immigration officer on visiting Tauranga District recommended KatiKati Block as an area for such a scheme. By the early 1880's a nucleus of
settlement had been established at KatiKati and around the town of
T auranga. The expansion of farm settlements was steady but not spectacular. There were large areas of abandoned allotments. With the establishment of the town and a core of businessmen, there was constant pressure on government to 'open up' more land and accelerate the process of colinisation which was to their advantage, but most inland areas were unsuitable for development because of poor access and other inhibiting factors to farming in the area, and these were not farmed till later in the 20th Century.6
6 Kahotea, Desmond Tatana. 1983. Interaction of Tauranga 24 By the early 1900's infrastructures roading and railway were being put in place, although temporarily delayed by the depression after the Great War.
Before 1940 farmers in the district found drainage of the coastal swamp
areas difficult and some areas remained largely undeveloped until quite
recently whilst limited access and poor soils in the upland areas rendered
them unattractive and uneconomic to any but the extensive farmers. From late 1946 the area experienced extensive development of grassland farming for dairy, cattle and sheep, followed later with deer and goats. Tauranga
County became one of the fastest growing rural counties in New Zealand. Whilst the traditional farming of sheep, cattle and dairying continued horticulture generally began to increase from the late 1950's with intensive horticulture from the 1970's. A range of horticultural products particularly fruits was prevalant with a kiwifruit boom in Tauranga including the Wairoa and Te Puna areas. Over supply and decreased demand however in the late 1980's spelt doom for the industry however horticulture represents the change of landuse from traditional farming over most of the district.
With the expansion of the Tauranga City Council boundary over Tauranga County in 1989 urban development progressed rapidly in the eastern area of Wairoa close to the Ngati Kahu lands. The semi retirement lifestyle of
Tauranga was supplemented by an increase in horticultural industry and urban dwelling development. By the the 1960s, pressure to have in place plans for development was essential. In 1969 the rural nature of Wairoa from rural to intensive horticulture was prevallent but with the down turn in the kiwifruit industry in the early 1980's urban sub division was the investment alternative. Rural blocks over time were broken down into 10 acre - 4 hectare life style blocks with the city limits coming closer to Wairoa. The demand for land incepted a demand led strategy adopted by T auranga
25 District Council in the late 1980's and with the restructuring of boundaries in
1989/90 Wairoa was incorporated in Tauranga District, the boundary with
Western Bay of Plenty District Council (WBOPDC) being half way across the river.
During the 1980's the hapu lands on the eastern side of the river were being consolidated by moves within, to protect the last bastion. By 1986 two Land
Trusts had been formed and a Marae Community Zone established.
Much of these lands at Ngati Kahu (Te Papa 453,91 and 8) are administered by two trusts;
Ngati Kahu 1 Te Pura Trust: Formed in 1984 administering the Te Papa 91 and 8 blocks for housing and horticulture;
and Te Papa 453 Trust: Formed in 1970's to utilise land to meet payments of rates in the County and to support the marae. The '453' or 'repo' was pristine marshlands similar to areas adjacent and north of the railway bridge.
Blocks outside the Trusts are either those with European title or smaller pertitioned blocks in "Maori Freehold title" In 1992 only one partitioned section had been alienated to someone outside the hapu membership. 7
The Ngati Kahu Marae Community Zone was established in 1984. In 1986 the boundary was extended to include areas for housing with the objective to implement the concept of hapu wide administration of lands. By 1986 the two
7 Kahotea, Desmond Tatana. June 1992. TUGS Cultural Resource Inventory. page xxiii, appendix 9. 26 '-'-•...... ,~ .iii .1 oo:~T.' "
UI4/1'2 8-8-88 '" / IAURANGA- __ Q HARBOUR
T ("'~---- - A U R A II G \ A Harbour B C o U II T Y o I S T R I C T S C H E M E THIRD REYIEW
00:'UI4/1'1 8 -8-88
T A U R A II 6 A C o U H T Y o I S T R I C T S C H E M E THIS'D. REVIEW
Figure 5 Tauranga District Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council Boundaries Trusts were working together and are now in the process of forming one administration.
With the new boundaries formed under the local government restructuring in
1989 Ngati Kahu lands came under the jurusdiction of the Tauranga District
Council. The Council looking to accomodate residential demand throughout Tauranga targeting Bethlehem as an area suitable for potential urban
development. This increasing pressure of urbanisation was met with stern
resistance from Ngati Kahu culminating in a Planning Tribunal hearing in
1994 involving the T auranga Urban Growth Strategy and Plan Change N01 1991. With the introduction of the Resource Management Act 1991 Ngati
Kahu were able to take the case to the Planning Tribunal and recieved a
decision in their favour. The urban limits of the city, in particular intensive
residential development, was prevented from proceeding until detailed analysis and input from tangata whenua was completed.
The pressure for urban development in Wairoa is now higher than ever as Bethlehem is considered a 'prestige area'. Examples of this (catering to third forth home buyers at the top end of the market) include Bethlehem Heights on Moffats Road and Westridge on Cambridge Road. The continuation of the development ethic of the 1800's is prevalent today and will continue at the deteriment of Maori society to be able to perform as a cultural identity and continue in its existence. Urban development in Tauranga has a history of hapu marginalisation and decay.
2.2 Historical.
27 The pressure to open up the country is best described when local opinion
made this plain when Crown acquisition of the T e Puke lands was discussed
in the local press 1874:
"The whole of that country ... lays waste - as it has lain for centuries under the nominal control of contending tribes - unproductive and unocupied, save by a handful of dusky savages ... When we consider the cornucopia of blessings which the occupation of such a wide district, by an industrious and energetic population would confer upon the community, we begin to realise ... the heavy loss we are now sustaining and must endure so long as it remains "Native Land."8
F.A Whitaker, land purchase agent for the firm of Russell and Whitaker echoed similar sentiments in Parliament in 1877:
It is .... " absolutely essential, not only for the sake of ourselves, but also for the benefit of the Natives, that Native Titles should be extinguished, the Native Custom got rid of, and the Natives as far as possible placed in the same position as ourselves". 9
The opening up of the Kaimai for roading and settlement was disguised under the prospect of gold in the 1860's.
The natives living in the Kaimai were not so accomdating. Referred to as Hauhau's (this being a term to generalise those natives that aligned themselves with the Kingitanga or those who were considered rebels) the natives living in Kaimai were courteous in receiving their guests (the delegation) but were adament that the lands and the gold were not to be opened for the land was under the mana of the King (Tawhiao).
The daily Southern Cross covered the story 7 December 1868.
" .... Recently the native owners of that country had a meeting at Te Papa, and it was agreed that a deputation should be sent to that settlement to ascertain the mind of the natives living there, and also to inform them that the owners of the land had made up their minds to throw open the country for prospecting parties. The handful of Hauhaus residing their received the deputation with every mark of respect, but told them that the land and the golden treasures underneath it were in the hands of King Tawhiao ...
8 Bay of Plenty Times 1874. 9 Stokes, Evelyn. Te Raupatu 0 Tauranga Moana. p208. 28 ... messengers were sent to Tokangamutu, informing the Kings Council of what was going on in Tauranga; and last Wednesday two of Kereopa's emissaries arrived at Kaimai, with an edict from the King placing an aukati on that valuable district so that there is virtually an end to any attempt on our part at discovering or developing the vast resources ... "
In 1876, again, the question of gold in the Kaimai and its opening up to
prospectors was met with contrasting veiws. A meeting held on Thursday 3rd
of August 1876 at Wairoa. Some 700 people were present to discuss the
question of opening up the Kaimai Country. Hori Tupaea had already given
the consent for prospecting before the meeting was called but intended to
debate the extent of the prospecting. Although the majority of speakers were
in favour of the opening up of Kaimai, it was clear that the opening up of the
Kaimai was for gold prospecting only and the consenting chiefs would
recieve a payment. If their was no gold then that was it, finshed. T e
Ngaruwheti of Wairoa voiced his opinion on the matter.
" The land claimed by me , I will not consent to be opened."
And here Ngamuka clearly spells it out.
If there is no gold as Hori Tupaea told you the land still remains to the owners. I am favourable to prospectors looking for gold.
Hori Ngatai had this to say;
.... "It won't end here but you can agree to either allow the prospectors or not, don't talk about the land but the gold only."
And Te Mete;
"I agree with Hori Ngatai, seek for the gold but let the land alone."
The underlying wish of pakeha however was an interest in roading, settlement and the opening up for prospectors. This of course requiring the hau hau insurgents dealt with. The minutes of the Native Lands Commision
29 involves issues that seem contrary to that believed to be the situation for the native owners.
"It must be borne in mind that other interest beside gold are involved here (Kaimai). We have to consider the development of this vast district between here and Cambridge of which we are all concerned, the settlement of which will follow. A broad view must be taken of the question and the speedy settlement of all native difficulties must be considered. We are satisfied with any advance in this direction by those who have control of native affairs in our district and who appear to consider their particular mission is to delay progress for no apparent reasons. 10
The wish to see the Kaimai opened joining the Waikato and T auranga
becomes clearer, as the intention to provide infrastructures that will accomodate 'progress' and undoubtedly attract investment.
In 1871 the issue of opening up the Tauranga district was being presented to the Minister of Public Works (dated 20th October 1871) and subsequently to
both Houses of the General Assembly. The "Report upon lands suitable for the settlement of immigrants at Tauranga" from Mr A. Follet Halcombe, immigration officer clearly identified the intention of widepread development at the natives expense. 11
Areas of the Wairoa were included in the report;
"Of the Maori lands, the block between the Wairoa and Ruangarara rivers, of about 5,000 acres, is rather broken, but good open fern land, and it has an especial value as lying on what will be the main line of road via Kaimai to the Upper Waikato. I am informed their will be little difficulty in acquiring this from the Native owners, and its acquisition would give the Government a compact and extensive block for settlement between the Wairoa and Te Puna rivers."
lO Kaimai Goldfield Deputation to H.W. Brabant. 1876. Roads, Gold, Settlement. 11 APJHR 1873 D-6, pp. 1-5 30 Grants made by New Zealand Commissioner in Te Papa, Te Puna and Katikati blocks of some 10,000 acres ... "have nearly all fallen into the hands of Europeans, either by purchase or lease, and therefore cannot be held to interfere in any way with the settlement of the district."
"Now that the obstacles hitherto existing to settlement have been removed, or are in course of removal, the settlement of the district by the ordinary means will probably be very rapid, and the effect of peace and the formation of roads should be allowed a short time to develop itself before any expensive and somewhat experimental means of forcing settlement should be resorted to by the Government except in the case of the Kati Kati block, which offers a very fine field for special settlement of a superior class of men.,,12
The pakeha assault on the landscape had begun. By the the turn of the century the small townships of Katikati and Tauranga were a vantage pOint for businessmen set on capital investment, land being the commodity. At this time however large areas were still abandoned but under the cover of braken fern, these areas being easy to break in for farming. Field crop production and pasture farming were the predominant activities.
The Wairoa has thus remained rural for a considerable time due to the availability of soils well suited to pasture and responding satisfactorily to fertilisers for horticulture. The economic stability of the area however changed with a down turn in the kiwifruit industry which was the predoinant crop of the Tauranga including Wairoa during the 1970 - 1980's. With the emphasis on monoculture and the capital invesment of many landowners and growers the effect was catostrophic. The immediate trend to sell to cover losses was however balanced by the lack of opportunity to develop land. For many in the area, the expansion of the city to encompass the Bethlehem area was seen as the investment alternative. The rich soils of the area were well suited to primary production but the potential for capital gain from
12 APffiR. 1873 0 - 6. pp 1-5 31 sUb-division was greater. Landowners by this time were removing kiwifruit vines and waiting for rises in property values. By the end of the 1980's a trend of diverse intensive horticulture and utilisation of empty lots for lifestyle blocks was the norm for the Bethlehem area.
In 1986, 'The Western Bay of Plenty Urban Development Strategy' undertaken by the Ministry of Works and Development (MWD)and the Bay of
Plenty United Council investigated urban development options for the
Western Bay of Plenty. The study sought to develop a co-ordinated Urban Development Strategy between the four local authorities in existence at the time. The recommended strategy from this study included provision for urban growth overspill to the southwest of Tauranga, including Bethlehem. The recommendations from the strategy focussed on addressing the potential impact of urban development on the Maori community which included;
preventing alienation of Maori land by excluding Maori Land from the urban area providing for hapu housing needs on hapu lands in proximity of the Marae protection of urupa establishing protocols for on-going consultation with Maori
The MWD recommendations were received by the former local authorities in
1986 who collectively rejected Bethlehem as an urban option on the basis of servicing difficulties, instability and high horticultural value. Transportation resource costs were rejected as a factor relevant to assessing urban growth options and this greatly affected the attractiveness of the Bethlehem option.
A "Western Bay of Plenty Urban Development Strategy" was subsequently incorporated into the Bay of Plenty United Councils Regional Planning
Scheme in 1987 placing greater emphasis on the southwest (Welcome Bay).
In this document Bethlehem was identified as a "Deferred Growth Area" with
32 1996 given as a date for considering the area for possible urban
development. In 1988, the Tauranga County Council notified a Review of its
District Scheme. In response to the Regional Planning Scheme the Review proposed the Bethlehem area as a "Future Urban Zone:, with the exception
of existing "Residential" and Marae Community Zones", to protect it for
ultimate urban development. This proposal was opposed by local residents because of the restrictive land use and sUb-division controls which were to apply. The County Council accepted these objections and rezoned the land back to "Rural" on the basis that the matter was best addressed by the Tauranga District Council after reorganisation.
The 'Tauranga Urban Growth Study , was undertaken after the Local
Government Re-organisation in 1989 to assess urban development options, including Bethlehem area which was rural. The study showed the landowners preference at that stage for rural residential development rather than urban development and the study recommended continuation of production based rural zoning.
The 'Tauranga Urban Growth Strategy 1991' carried the process further to formulate a strategy for development of the Tauranga District. The Council sought submissions on the Tauranaga Urban Growth Study and formulated this strategy as a result of receiving submissions. This Strategy significantly altered the amounts of land which would be made available for residential development by 2001 in Welcome Bay by reducing the capacity there by some 1,700 households, and for Bethlehem by increasing the capacity there by 1,350 households. The zoning pattern in Change No 1 as proposed was based on this adjustment to the earlier recommendations.
33 The Council commissioned Denis Nugent to produce a report on a commercial strategy for the Council (Tauranga District Commercial
Development Study 1992). His conclusion for the Bethlehem area was that 4.5 hectares of land was needed to be set aside in Bethlehem to provide for a commercial centre with some18,000m sq. of floor space as predicted on the projections of households for Bethlehem that would be 2,080 by 2001 by the Tauranga Urban Growth Strategy 1991.
Transitional Plan Change No 1.
The purpose of the change was to implement residential aspects of an urban growth strategy developed primarily during 1990 and 1991 and was publicly notified on 12 December 1992.
The Transitional Plan Change No.1 retained the commercial zone for Bethlehem recommended in the Growth Strategy report.
The Submission
Desmond Kahotea on behalf of Ngati Kahu (Te Pura and 453 Trust, and
Wairoa Marae Committee) put in a submission to the Transitional Plan
Change No.1 (Appendix J) seeking the removal of a range of residential zones contained in the Planning Maps and Structure Plans - Bethlehem.
The Decision sought was
• Delete proposed Future Urban, Greenbelt, Marae Residential and proposed Amenity Reserve north of State Highway 2 and maintain Rural Zoning.
• Delete Future Urban Zone south of State Highway 2 between Wairoa River and commercial area and masintain Rural Zoning.
34 • Delete Future Urban and Rural Residential Zone between Moffats Road - Cambridge Road and the Wairoa River and maintain Rural Zoning.
• Delete Residential zone for Ngati Kahu Marae Community Zone.
• Undertake further consultation on walkways alongside Wairoa River and Tauranga Harbour.
The Ngati Kahu submission received more than eighty cross-submissions.
There was considerable common ground in many, and a broad community of
interest amongst the cross-submitters.
The subsequent reference to the Planning Tribunal dated 26 November 1993 (Appendix K) further substantiated the resolve of the hapu of Ngati Kahu to protect their cultural lifestyle and rights under the Treaty of Waitangi. The relief sought being (1); that a balance of the future urban and greenbelt zones to the north of State Highway 2 and east of Bethlehem Road, and south of the Bethlehem College site be deleted and the land remain zoned as provided under the Operative District Plan (Tauranga County Section) and (2); that policies, objectives and rules of plan change No.1 adequately protect the interests of Ngati Kahu and Ngati Hangarau as tangata whenua, as required under the Act.
2.3 Planning Tribunal
Ngati Kahu represented by Te Pura and 453 Trusts and Wairoa Marae Committee objected to the Transitional Plan Change No.1 before the
Planning Tribunal. In the words of the Planning Tribunal it was an important case.
35 Planning Tribunal Decision
The Planning Tribunal's findings overturned the Council's decision to make provision for the future expansion of the Tauranga urban area into parts of
Bethlehem. The Planning Tribunal recognised that the Council's planning process that determined that Bethlehem area be a major development area to meet future urban growth demand to 2001 fell short of its requirements(s.74(1). The Council determined the future status of
Bethlehem:
.... without independent study or with the benefit of having consulted over Ngati Kahu's special position and interest... the Council did not undertake an analysis involving, "having regard to", evaluating" and" being satisfied on" the various aspects in the three paragraphs of s.32(1)".
The Tribunal had this to say:
p32 At the end of the day, it is plain that, in the light of submissions made by, or on behalf of, various local residents and development interests opposed to the continued rural status of the Bethlehem area, the Council decided, without independent study or with the benefit of having consulted over Ngati Kahu's special position and interest, that Bethlehem should be recognised as a being a major development area to help meet future urban growth demand through to 2001.
and:
Under the 1991 Act, the need to undertake investigative research, consult, make other enquires and rationalise the basis and reasoning for an approach finally embraced and adopted under a plan change, is relatively comprehensive, specific and intensive.
Before proceeding to adopt its policy for the future planning direction of the Bethlehem area, the Council should have
36 undertaken further investigation and embarked (inter alia) on a course of consultation involving each of the local hapu in particular (as well as other groups and individuals as deemed appropriate) - culminating, ideally, in a report bring together all relevant aspects, in turn demonstrating clear fulfillment of the incumbent statutory duties. If such a course had been taken by the Council after it became aware of the strong pro-urbanisation attitude of those local landowners concerned, it is possible that a proposal for some degree of future urban growth at Bethlehem could still have emerged. On the other hand, one cannot gainsay the possibility of a rather more conservative approach, perhaps directed to allowing opportunity for rural-residential development in certain areas, while aimed essentially at maintaining the existing character of the area and seeking to avoid, as distinct from endeavouring to remedy or mitigate, adverse effects on the river and its environs. In short, one cannot state definitely what the change proposal to the plan would have been had due steps occurred.
On the other hand, it was conceded in evidence for the Council that, in identifying the Bethlehem area for future urban growth, no detailed consideration had been afforded to whether the antiCipated demand could be met, either wholly or in part, by more intensive in-fill within the existing urban confines ... 13
Tribunal's Conclusion:
The Tribunal noted that: a. ..careful consideration will need to be devoted to the interests and concerns of the two hapu in the light of consultation with them. b. Nature and quality of the natural and physical resources of Bethlehem .. will have to be diligently assessed and taken account of. c. Relocation of State Highway - an important aspect in the future planning mix
13 Decision No.A 72194. Judge Bollard. p32 37 Mr Desmond Kahoteas' evidence to the Planning Tribunal covered traditional and historical context of the marginalisation of Ngati Kahu socially and economically through actions of the Crown. In particular Mr Kahotea noted the threat of urban expansion in the wake of the Raupatu and subsequent actions of the Crown and its agencies. "The potential destruction of a fragile community by proposed zone changes" that would introduce urbanisation was emphasised with a list of the impacts that would be applicable to development.
u ••• .Tauranga District Council proposes to introduce urban development into the Ngati Kahu community.
1. Tauranga Urban Growth Strategy plan in 1991 for residential zoning to surround Ngati Kahu.
2. Following hearing of objection fro Ngati Kahu to the proposed District Plan Change N01 in August 1992 Council moved the western boundary line to Bethlehem College. Even then they propose to establish a large scale commercial centre opposite existing shops within spitting distance of the marae. Rhetoric in the revised decision but no delivery.
The effects on Ngati Kahu will be:
Bethlehem area has been tasrgeted for its potential for prestige or upper market development which will mean for Ngati kahu they will become ghettoized ontheir turangawaewae.
Engulfment by urbanisation and the implications for Ngati Kahu.
Pressure will be placed on Ngati Kahu traditional hapu community lifestyle to conform to the standards of surrounding neighbours.
Increased usage of the river and river resources by non-hapu people.
Diminishing ability to exercise kaitiakitanga and rangatiratanga as there will be an increasing need for intensive development and the usage through increased population.
38 Alienation from ancestral landscape, a product of intensive landuse in residential environment.
Urbanisation will destroy comfort of village life.
Inevitable physical and cultural assimilation.
The future for Ngati Kahu is bleak in the face of the proposed zone changes and the desire from Pakeha to change this landscape into an urban environment."
Proffessor Ann Salmond had this to say about the pressures of urban encroachment in its many forms over more than one hundred years, in her submission to the Planning Tribunal case in 1994.
"To a remarkable extent, Ngati Kahu managed to resist the pressures that came upon them at that time and subsequently the reserve at Te Wairoa was partitioned some time after it was returned to them in 1869 (Stokes 1980:61); but lots 8, 91 and 453, in the intervening 125 years only a school site has been cut out and gifted to the Crown. Despite this gesture, the Crown has been directly responsible for further land losses with the Ngati Kahu's reserve since the 1860's, and consequential effects on their ancestral sites. Oral evidence has been presented to the Tribunal about the construction of the railway and State Highway 2 through Ngati kahu lands, the use of their pa Whakaheke as a quarry for the railway line; the realignment of State Highway 2 across their lands next to the marae; the consequent problem of noise pollution during marae ceremonials; the use of the pa Pukewhanake as a quarry for the State Highway 2 realignment; the placing of houses on their pa Paorangi and Papa 0 haria; the destruction of a sacred spring; and the construction and subsequent collapse of the Ruahihi dam on the Wairoa River. This evidence has asserted that such interventions were against Ngati Kahu's wishes and in many cases were carried out against their determined opposition."14
14 Salmond, Anne. Professor in Social Anthropology and Maori Studies. p6-7
39 Joe Williams evidence to the Planning Tribunal on behalf of Te Pura and 453
Trusts and Wairoa Marae Committee (Appeal 519/93) gave an overview of the issues involved to reinforce the magnitude to which Ngati Kahu had suffered in the wake of confiscations and urban encroachment and continued to struggle to eke out a living on their reserve.
" .... A mere 300 hundred acres, the lands at the heart of this reference to the tribunal, were returned to Ngati Kahu on which they have endevoured to maintain their traditional existence.
The achievement of Ngati Kahu in maintaining their traditional lifestyle is all the greater in the light of continued encroachment of their remaining land, taken in the public interest for the construction of State Highway 2 and railway lines. At the same time traditional food sources and other resources including mahinga kai, kai moana and harakeke have become progressively depleted as the Tauranga region grows. Ngati Kahu have continually had their direct interests subordinated to the interests of the wider community and the imperatives of development."
In the hearing submission, Professor Ann Salmond describes the impact of urban development on the overall relationship of hapu and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands.
"Ngati Kahu have great antiquity of occupation of their ancestral lands. There have been Ngati Kahu ancestors by the Wairoa river for perhaps 800 years. Once among the most affluent people in this country, they now constitute an enclave of high Maori population with very low per capita incomes. Their semi-rural lifestyle is, however, in keeping with the existing rural zoning, and (apart from the presence of their marae) is not conspicuous. This would change dramatically if they were to be engulfed from the sdouth by high-income subdiviusions. Their kin-based, land and river-based community would then be markedly different from that of their neighbours; their numbers relative to other ethnic groups
40 in the area would drastically drop as population densities in the subdivided lands increased; and this plus their low per capita income would mark out Ngati Kahu as a underprivileged minority on the remnants of their ancestral lands.
The proposed developments are likely to ghetto-ise Ngati Kahu. If this should occur, the social consequences for both Ngati Kahu and the rest of Tauranga will be destructive. In addition, the internal pressures of debates on how best to respond to community proposals that might further erode their land base, or proposals to individuals to buy their lands will predictably split and fragment the hapu. Itis my consideed opinion that Ngati Kahu as a viable residential kin-group is unlikely to survive such pressures if the proposed developments were to proceed.!J 15
As the case unfolded and it became clear that not only the fear of being engulfed by the urban monster was at stake, but the future existence of the hapu depended on a decision in their favour. The decision was in Ngati Kahu's favour, however the long term ramifications of this decision have been manipulated and watered down to suit the requirements of Council and pressure groups. It is ironic that tangata whenua would have seen some constructive result for long term planning initiatives to protect tangata whenua in light of the decision in their favour. Taking on board council, diligently trying to meet their statutory obligations and finding difficulty with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi included in the Resource
Management Act 1991 it would be prudent to predict that the implementation of actions that will achieve the spirit of the Treaty will not be forthcoming as shown in the past. History in Tauranga has shown an unwillingness of authorities to deal with tangata whenua rights unless the law specifically
15 Salmond, Anne. Professor in Social Anthropology and Maori Studies. p34-35 41 requires it and even then the pretense of good faith is overshadowed by political overtones and vested interest groups.
2.4 Bethlehem Planning Study
Two years later in the prelude to the Draft District Plan the situation a similar
situation is occuring. Developers and landowners hungry to sell are putting
pressure on Council to rezone Bethlehem residential to cash in on the area as an attractive investment for 3rd to 4th home buyers.
The Bethlehem Planning Study under the direction of TDC was facilitated by
Russell De Lucca, an independant resource management and experienced planner. Several reports were produced (RMA s.32 requirements) to facilitate discussion with a 'pro development' resident liaison committee.
This comprised of representatives of the Bethlehem area. Ngati Kahu went to one meeting and stated that they did not wish to be a part of the group as
it had the potential of compromising their position concerning urban development. This position has been maintained throughout the study, however a meeting held separately between Ngati Kahu and Russell De
Lucca was held in August 1996. The issues discussed were included in Russell De Luccas' report. The main recommendations of note included:
"1. Zoning more land either Residential of Future Urban is considered at best premature. Available data does not demonstrate any need for additional land and significant servicing issues are currently unresolved. Further urbanisation would be contrary to the wishes of some tangata whenua. The zoning of additional land south of State Highway 2 may compromise future realignment options. Given the foregoing, any challenge to additional urban zonings is likely to be successful.
42 2. It is likely that if a lifestyle Zone was put in place, there would be pressure to rezone to full residential in the future. Again, if productive land was involved, it would be unlikely to survive a challenge before the Planning Tribunal.
In context of the RMA, this is considered to be the appropriate option, at least in the short term and until:
• a clear need (as opposed to demand) for additional land to accomodate the urban growth of Tauranga has been established;
• Bethlehem is confirmed as an appropriate location for urban growth unable to be accomodated within existing zoned areas;
• outstanding servicing issues are resolved;
• the route of the State Highway 2 realignment has been confirmed;
• other issues, notably those of concern to the tangata whenua, have been addressed.
Recommendation
That in the proposed District Plan as it relates to Bethlehem and for the foregoing reasons no additional land be zoned Residential, Future Urban, or Rural Residential and with the exception of the extension to the Education Zone and the proposed new Commercial Zone the existing zonings be retained (as modified by the detailed zone provisions under the proposed District Plan)."
The immediate response to the release of the report was an emphatic oppostion.
Under the pressure of developers and speculative landowners political opinion was evident in the Bay of Plenty Times during the month of
September 1996.
43 Councillor Elinor Elder had this to say about the Ngati Kahu position in the Bethlehem area.
"Ngati Kahu (the Wairoa hapu) had no more right to ancestral land, and their claim to it, than she did, whose farm was in the fourth generation of her family."16
Not only Councillors voiced their opinon through the media. MP for Tawera
Mr Max Bradford had a stinging attack on Ngati Kahu for its involvement in the consent process.
"Tawera MP Max Bradford says Tauranga sub-tribe Ngati Kahu's demand for cash before it approves property developments could be considered a form of extortion.
He is seeking a review of the Resource Management Act to stop Ngati Kahu from tagging environmental payments to consents .
... If the Ngati Kahu arrangement is condoned, then such behaviour will become irresistible for all sorts of groups which have rights to be consulted, he said.
It was going too far to have to consult with the tangata whenua when Maori had no ownership interest in, or Waitangi claim over the land. The requirement to consult should be removed from the Resource Management Act.
Mr Bradford said he had written to the Ministers of the Environment and Maori Afaairs asking them to review the Act top ensure the Ngati Kahu process cannot happen again .... "17
The impact on Ngati Kahu kaumatua in particular was immediate. In the words of the kaumatua. Te ingoa 0 Ngati Kahu, kia parungia te ingoa. Te pakeha kei te takahia nei te mana 0 Ngati Kahu. 18
The name of Ngati Kahu, they have put it thruogh the mud. The pakeha has trampled all over our mana, the mana of Ngati Kahu.
16 Bay of Plenty Times. 18.9.96 17 Bay of Plenty Times. 10 September 1996. 18 Te Ruruanga Te Keeti. September 1996. 44 A meeting with the Minister of Justice, Mr Doug Graham, in Bethlehem before
the election seemed an opportune time for the developers and proponants to voice their opinion on tangata whenua input in the consent process. The
Minister responded to the group gathered in saying;
".... Maori hapu had no rights of veto on property developments .... The ultimate responsibility lies with the council. .. "19.
Developers raised the concern of delays, maori wanting compensation for the impacts on the ancestral landscape, and there input in consultation should be on the impacts and values.
At Council, the pressure from vested interest groups who wished to see
Bethlehem 'opened up' for development was emmense. On one side the
Council staff recognised the need to remain consistant with the recommendations of the Bethlehem Planning Study whilst the Councillors "agreed in principle to rezoning proposals put up by the Bethlehem residents' liason group". 20
"The residents plan, disclosed publicly for the first time yesterday, overturns a council commisioned report by planning consultant Russell De Lucca."21
The situation clearly showed that if tangata whenua interests were taken on board and then given effect, they would be overturned immediately. Once the decision was made, council then instructed staff to make the necessary analysis to justify the reasons for supporting the residents plan.
19 Bay of Plenty Times. 14 September 1996. 20 Bay of Plenty Times. 18 September 1996. 21 Bay of Plenty Times. 18 September 1996. 45 It would seem prudent to assume that the use of an independant consultant, to produce the Bethlehem Study Report was in fact to meet the Council requirements under section 32 of the Resource Management Act 1991 , this following on from the Tribunal decision in 1994. However the recommendations of the report was not what was desired by vested interest groups so a decision was made to achieve the necessary result regardless of the statutory requirements. An applied technique of this kind is at the least questionable and contestable in the environment court. It should be stated that the content that would form input into the Bethlehem Planning Study, ie. Section 32 requirements, was to include a tangata whenua plan, a social impact report and the Wairoa River and Environs Management Plan. These have not been done or even initiated, two years later with the Draft Plan ready for release (with the exeption of the tangata whenua plan that faltered through lack of planning expertise).
The tangata whenua position on urban development can be best sumed up with a quote from a submission to the establishment of a large scale shopping centre in Bethlehem.
"The position of the hapu is that we do not want to be buried by urban development."22
The current position encompasses a range of issues that relate to the survival of the hapu as a functional Maori rural community and the potential to be a thriving unit contributing to the cultural mix of Tauranga.
Principal issues relating to resource management in Bethlehem include;
22 Statement of Evidence. 10th September 1996. Antoine Coffin & Desmond Kahotea. Ngati Kahu position concerning establishment of a shopping centre 46 • There is an overriding desire to avoid being engulfed and marginalised by urban development which is seen to have no reciprocal benefit to the
tangata whenua
• Raupatu claims are currently awaiting a hearing before the Waitangi Tribunal and a moratorium on future development at Bethlehem is desired
at least in the interim to avoid the tangata whenua's ability to regain ancestral lands being compromised;
• The attrition rate of archaeological sites recorded and unrecorded, particularly through intensive sub-division, further diminishes the
relationships Ngati Kahu have with the ancestral landscape.
• There is considered to be a general lack of awareness of heritage issues and the potential social and cultural impact that further urbanisation of
Bethlehem may create if those issues are not properly addressed;
• Prior to any further development occurring, agreement needs to be reached with the wider community on the extent and the nature of an appropriate buffer to protect tribal and ancestral land;
• There is a concern at the potential for rating and other financial pressure to be put on tribal lands as development at Bethlehem intensifies, particularly if Bethlehem is promoted as a "prestige" residential area;
• The Wairoa River and environs are part of the heritage landscape which is of great cultural Significance to the tangata whenua. Along with other
tangata whenua Ngati Kahu see themselves as Kaitiaki of this resource
47 which is not "publicly owned" but which is nevertheless to be protected
and shared. This requires the tangata whenua to be able to exercise
meaningful control over the resource;
• The Ngati Kahu position is not a separatist one, but one which aims at
preserving and fostering traditional values. There is nervousness about
possible changes in cultural and social values that the influx of
newcomers associated with new development might bring to Bethlehem;
• Ngati Kahu concerns are reflected in the degree of land fragmentation in
the Bethlehem are that has already occurred to date. Further fragmentation in the form of residential and other urban development
should not be seen as inevitable.
48 3.0 Public Works and Land Takings
The Raupatu and, among other things, the subsequent taking of land for the
East Coast Trunk Line railway (gazetted 20.3.30) and for SH2 in 1967/68 have substantially diminished the estates of Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango.
Furthermore, development for housing and commercial purposes has lead to the desecration of waahi tapu and waahi tupuna. These accumulated losses
have made it difficult for both hapu to survive and have caused a deep sense of injustice. Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango fear any interventions which may further desecrate their waahi tapu, waahi tupuna, reduce their lands and interfere with their efforts to retain and promote their traditions and culture.
Public Works or more specifically, the development of infrastructure has detrimentally effected hapu groups based on finite areas of land with limited or no capital. The severing of hapu lands through various land takings has not benefitted hapu. Land takings have been seen Wairoa hapu as deliberate and serving a purpose of hapu marginalisation and subjugation.
Timeline
1872 Completion of a bridle track 1873 Construction of 10 foot wide road to the Wairoa and Thames 1874 440 ft Kauri bridge opened 1910 Work started East Coast Trunkline Railway 1913 Work on Ferro-concrete bridge across the Wairoa River started 1915 Wairoa River Bridge completed taking 20 months. Built mainly by hand. 1921 Omanawa landing investigated for acquiring for settlers. 1923 - 1925 Wairoa River Railway bridge and line constructed. 1923 Name changing, the Wairoa Falls. 1925 Nov Railway line completed 1930 Mar Additional land taken for East Coast Trunk Railway. 1963 Four of the bridges supporting piers subsided and damage to horizontal beams. 1966 May First steel pile of new two lane bridge driven to a depth of 45ft. 1968 6 August Wairoa River bridge blasted 1968 Wairoa River bridge completed and opened
49 3.1 Old bridges and road
Two bridges preceed the present two lane bridge across the Wairoa River. A kauri timber bridge with one lane traffic was built about 1874. The other, a concrete bridge built in 1913-1915. (Plate 4)
The first was built to accomodate traffic along the Tauranga - Waihi Main
Road being the "most important link in one of the main trunk roads of the district"23. It was located between the existing bridge and the stopped road
(the 'severance' area) on the eastern side of the Wairoa River that still shows the approach to the old concrete bridge (about a chain downstream from this spot). Plate 3 shows the kauri bridge servicing coaches around 1910.
The first real road across the Wairoa was initiated in 1872 under the direction of Captain Turner and the Civil Commissioner. A narrow track was formed that was considered to be a point of amusement.
"This production, in the shape of a bridle track, has been the source of amusement to all beholders, and richly deserves the most acute satire. Very few men would have the hardihood to ride over it; one false step, and a horse would be bogged in the swamp."24
A year later in April 1873, Constabulary were at work constructing a ten foot wide road over the previous track. No bridge across the Wairoa existed so travel was cumbersome and dependant on swamp conditions. By December
1873 the road to Katikati had advanced far beyond the Wairoa. Natives and settlers alike traversed the river on a ferry.
23 Bay of Plenty Times. 11.7.1913 2~ Bay of Plenty Times. 9.4.1873 50
The contract for the erection of the first bridge across the Wairoa was obtained by Messrs Sutherland and Smith of Grahamstown. The first pile for the bridge was driven on June 9 1874. By July, all the piles for the Wairoa
Bridge were driven and about September 1874 was the Wairoa Bridge completed. At a cost of 1500 pounds the bridge was of kauri, 440 feet long and considered a fine structure. No paint or tar was applied for its protection.
The bridge in time however came into disrepair through age and lack of maintainence and estimates for its repair produced in December 1907 predicted a cost of 1010 pounds for 56,000 feet of timber. In February 1908, the bridge 34 years old by this stage and in a sorry state, necessitated the county engineer to recommend a new structure (210 feet) be built on a site upstream. Government grants and loan funds were available but not until
1911 were tenders invited.
The issue of a new bridge was dealt with at a County Council meeting in July of 1911 that acknowledged the bridge was in an advanced stage of decay.
Tenders were opened and recieved for the construction of a new bridge. The Council strongly recommended a preference for a concrete structure.
By 1913 an end section of the kauri bridge collapsed with a serious accident narrowly averted. The County Council at the time disclaimed liability of the bridges worsening condition and warned public to use it at their own risk.
"The dangerous nature of the Wairoa Bridge was a subject which received the attention of the County Council yesterday. It was decided to notify that the structure is dangerous and to caution the public against taking loads over the bridge exceeding 30cwt."25
25 Bay of Plenty Times. 9.7.1913 51 The replacement bridge was a concrete one lane expansion completed in 1915 after twenty months of hard labour by hand under the direction of the
Department of Public Works. The work was carried out by Jack T arbutt and gang including local labour living in 'whares' upstream on the western side. All the work was done by hand including the concrete mixing.
Some of the men employed on the project lived in "whares" on the river bank and one man, Billy Smith, lived with his family in a tent just upstream from the western end of the bridge.
"He used poplar poles to keep his tent up and they grew to be those trees," Mr Perston said, indicating a clump of poplars about 70ft high. 26
In 1918, only a few years after the bridge was built, additional piles were driven adjacent to the abutments at the T auranga end of the bridge because of settling there.
In 1962 severe flooding weakened the structure and by 1963 piers on the eastern side of the bridge had sunk considerably. A Weight restriction of five tons and a 15 mph speed limit were imposed while Ministry of Works engineers rectified the situation with concrete piles and steel girders. Calls for a new two lane bridge and approaches for safety and convenience were answered with the replacement works started in 1965.
"The Mayor of Tauranga, Mr D.S. Mitchell, has written to the chairman of the NO.3 District Roads Council, Mr C.J.W. Parsons, suggesting that he request the National Roads Board to give urgent consideration to the replacement of the Wairoa Bridge, west of T auranga ...
26 BOPTimes. 7 August 1968 52 .... Mr Mitchell said he understood the replacement of the bridge was scheduled for discussion by the National Roads Board in September.
"We could have another flood this winter of the proportions of the one believed to have caused the damage to the bridge last year," Mr Mitchell said. "If we did we might be left without a usable bridge at aiL"
He said that £10,000 had been allocated for work - not the present repair work - on the bridge provision had been made for £100,000 in the N03 District Roads Council 10 year works programme for the replacement of the bridge.
"I believe that in view of the trouble which is being experienced with the bridge urgent consideration will have to be given to the replacement of the existing bridge at the earliest possible moment," Mr Mitchell said.
Mr F.F Abey, Ministry of Works resident engineer at Tauranga, said this morning that repair work on the bridge was well up to schedule and that no unexpected difficulties had been encountered .
.... Mr Abbey said that some survey and investigational work to determine the positioning of a new bridge had been carried out and further work in this connection was proposed. "27
The Maori land taken for the purpose of road was on the T e Papa Lot 453 and Te Papa Lot 91. The areas are shown on Figure 14 as closed road.
4.2 State highway 2 and bridge
The present State Highway 2 alignment and bridge is located adjacent to the
Wairoa Marae. The two laned highway with pedestrian access was completed in 1967. The Ministry of Works constructed the approaches with
Rope Construction Co. Ltd erecting the bridge structure.
27 BOPTimes. Tuesday May 21, 1963 53 The areas of land directly affected by the highway included Te Papa Lot 91
and Te Papa Lot 453 with the downhill approach on the eastern side of the Wairoa River cutting through the side of the Marae Reserve28 area and
Maori owned and occupied lands. Specific Allotments are included in
Appendix R.
The specifications for the bridge were detailed in the Bay of Plenty Times in 1965 illustrating the size of the project.
Wairoa Bridge in use by '67
The new 584ft Wairoa Bridge, for which a contract was let this week to the Rope Construction company, Auckland, should be in use in mid October, 1967, Mr C.C. Johansen, Ministry of Works resident engineer, Tauranga, said today.
The specified completion for the 132,753 pound contract, which included the demolition of the present one-way bridge, was January 15, 1968.
But the bridge itself had to be completed by August 15, 1967, and should be in use about two months later, said Mr Johansen.
The new two-way prestressed structure would be the largest road bridge in the Tauranga residency.
It would have seven spans with 33ft 8in foundations on externally driven steel shell piles and concrete sills in driven lengths up to 120ft. The deck would carry two lanes of traffic with a 5ft wide parapet on one side for pedestrians.
Poured slab
The deck construction would be 80ft long. Precast prestressed concrete beams would be joined over each pier into a continuous structure.
The deck slab would be reinforced concrete, poured into place on top of the concrete beams.
When contractors completed the bridge, it would take about two months for the MOW to complete the approaches.
28 Maori reservation. NZ Gazette 1964, P 13 5 8 54 To prevent subsidence at each end, concrete landing slabs would be poured on top of filling several feet below the proposed road level. Extra filling to bring the approaches up to road level, would then be placed on top of the landing slabs, said Mr Johansen.
After pouring the slabs it would take several weeks for the concrete to cure and mature, before the final filling could be placed on top.
Once the new bridge was· in use, the contractors would start demolishing the existing bridge, which had a loading restriction and which suffered substantial subsidence due to inadequate foundations. 29
The construction of the new alignment and bridge saw the removal of a large and awkward bend on the eastern approach with a cut straight acrossthe river to the highway by means of a new approach on the western side. As well as providing two lane traffic and pedestrian access the bridge was higher above the river surface to prevent damage from flooding. Fill for construction was taken from Pukewhanake, a pa on T e Puna Station Road of considerable significance to Wairoa hapu and Ngati Ranginui lwi. The disturbance or kodification to the pa is substantial and is still obvious today. The fill from Pukewhanake contained koiwi, which was noticed by Ngati Kahu members, the bones falling on the road off the back of the truck. The koiwi were later taken to Tamatawhioi urupa on the eastern side of the Wairoa
River.
The first steel pile for the bridge was driven in May of 1966 to a depth of 45ft. Work on piles was done with the use of an 80ft barge which took four or five months to complete.
On the 6th of August 1968 the demolition of the old Wairoa River bridge began. The structure was pre-cut into blocks for removal. First the concrete
29 BOPTimes 26 Nov 1965 55 Third Time Lucky
The peHct-:l'uJ cullll 01' the Walf'oil R.ivt'r' at 8t'thlehem is bping shattt'r~ed by the l\(liSt' of' rumhling grct{jers alltl large t:C1r'tll-lIlt, villg flwchll1l'ry as r.1ifllstl'y Of WOI'k~ IJlt'U con~trucl tht, l1Iilssivt' hank~ for' the Uppf'o~ches to it l\t'\\ hl'ldgt' ror which t{'ndl'I's will be ('idled JUler t.his year. Tilt' ol'l~il\ul woodell struclur'e, curr'yillg the muin TaUpall}!i.l to Au('kJand hlg:hwHY, Wa.s f'epluct'(j by a :;inglt'-lnl1(, brld.gc·, ODove, in 19\). For man)' yt'clrs i.l bnlllt·-nt'ck, this t)t'~all to sink Ji:lSl yenr and its re placem(~lI~amt· impcrati\'{'. Th(' nt'w bru.tKt' will havt.' twill lrilrric lunt'~~ and i.l footpath and will be consltlcrnbJ), hight'r ahoYt: the ,,,,'Hter as IIlH)' be judt::t'
i: II
56
Plate 5. State Highway 2 Construction [Photo News. 1 May 1965. p56] ~/'-J~ ~ Iqls- p 57
A c
As well as enjoying the benefit of a new bridge, motorists will also find that a large and awk ward bend will have been removed. This picture was taken from a point near the Bethlehem Pa where the new roading will begin and shows: A, the present road and bridge; B, site for the new one and C, existing highway on the opposite , band which will cut straight across by means of a new approach ramp_ . c:.n __ .. ·-J"~W·1!"·~~ N IIIIIIIIIIIIIII Plate 6. State Highway 2 Construction rPhoto News. Mav 19R5 nF;71 rails were cut into three sections per span with rails adjacent to the bridge piers blasted into the river. The spans, 11 in number were divided into 12
blocks and blasted. The removal of the debris was carried out by crane and bouys, with transportation of concrete to a washed out area of the T e Puna
Station Road. The steel reinforcing of the concrete debris can be seen at the
rivers edge at low tide. Blasting carried on for some time with the removal of
the 80 piles requiring underwater explosions.
The construction of the present alignment of State Highway 2 (SH2) in
1965-68 further alienated land from Ngati Kahu. When that road was
constructed a segment of land on the south-east side of SH2, approximately
3 acres in area, was severed from the rest of the tribal estate. This area is termed the severance. It is an area that is culturaly rich, provides
recreational activities, including fishing and other leisure activities, and in
addition contains waahi tapu.
The bridge crossing the Wairoa River was an intervention of the river and on
the ability of both Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango to exercise their role as
Kaitiaki of the river.
The existing highway is a two lane highway which currently carries considerable local traffic in addition to arterial traffic. The people of Ngati
Kahu currently cross the highway to gain access to the severance from where they partake in many recreational pursuits including fishing and
boating. The alignment of SH2 in its present location has thus had a hazardous effect on Ngati Kahu, in the form of increased potential for road accidents. In addition, the noise from the traffic movements so close to the marae has had the effect of severely limiting Ngati Kahu's ability to utilise the marae and to perform ceremonial functions.
56 4.3 Railway
The section of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway that traverses through the lands of Ngati Kahu and the ancestral lands of Wairoa hapu is located near the mouth of the Wairoa River. The line follows the Tautau stream through the repo and carries on around the peninsula past Peterahema through the old pa of Haehaenga (Ngati Hangarau). The railway services a passenger and carriage line between Tauranga and Auckland.
In 1907 it was proposed that the Bay of Plenty be served by a railway from
Mamaku (on the Rotorua line) to T e Puke. Strong representations were made to the Government regarding an alternative route to Tauranga from Waihi so a trial survey was run via the Waihi saddle. It was decided to construct the East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) via this route.
This line was to be from Waihi to Taneatua this linking Gisbourne - Bay of
Plenty to Auckland. Construction of the 13 mile 19 chain (21km) line (of which 4 mile 27 chain [7km] was to become the branch line from Te Maunga) commenced on 19th July, 1910 and the section to Paengaroa was authorised the same year. A wharf was built at Maunganui for shipping supplies with tracklaying from Maunganui commencing by July, 1911. Ballast for the swampy ground and shifting sands was obtained from Motukiri Island a mile away. Work progressed slowly on the railway with war time shortages of steel and the loss of the engineer in 1917 to military service.
The first 8 mile 68chain (14km) section from Waihi started in April, 1912 and was disrupted by World War I. Work did not resume till January, 1918 and by 1920 the fromation was nearly complete to Athenree. The 7mile 40 chain (13km) long Katikati section was started in September, 1919. However with
57 the Mount Workshops being destroyed by fire in 1919 long delays in obtaining bridge girders was evident till the workshops became operational in 1922.
The immediate effect of the T arawera eruption on 10th June 1886 was disastrous to Tauranga. Widespread depression reigned. A railway scheme was about to be launched by which Tauranga would be linked up with Auckland. The land grants were already obtained, a syndicate formed, the contract let and the contractor had arrived in New Zealand.
"The depression caused by the eruption extinguished all these progressive schemes. The first sod of that railway was not turned until 1910 and not till June 1924 was the line opened."30
Steel for bridges was available by 1923 so that speed of construction southwards from Waihi could be increased. Tracklaying commenced upon completion of the 299ft long Mangatoetoe Bridge over the waihi Gold Mine
Line. By 1924 earthworks and bridges to Athenree were completed and formation to 14 miles (from Waihi) was well advanced. A goods service commenced to Athenree in December, 1924 to the Tuapiro Bridge in March, 1925 and upon completion of the 220ft bridge it was extended to Tahawai near Katikati, 23km from Waihi.
On the 24th March 1924 Armstrong, Whitworth & Co. were let the contract to construct the 16 miles (26 km) section from Katikati to Te Puna. This was completed in 1928.
The last section to Tauranga, 6miles 7chains (10km) long, commenced in
1923-24. It included two large steel plate girder bridges to span the Wairoa
30 Wilson J.A. M.A. Thesis "The Ngaiterangi of Tauranga". p170 58 River and the Waikareao Estuary. By mid-1925 the piers for both these
bridges were in hand with Tauranga Station and most of the formation
completed. The Public Works Department employed a novel method for
erecting the spans of the Wairoa Bridge. The girders were floated on
pontoons from the Mount workshops to the site and placed in position using the rise and fall of the tide. This was both economical and speedy with the
bridge being completed in November, 1925. The Wairoa River bridge
measured 255m in length. Fill for the Wairoa section of the line was obtained from a borrow nearby at Whakaheke, a pa of the Ngati Kahu and
Ngati Rangi hapu.
The line from Te Puna to Tauranga was opened for goods traffic in January,
1926 with passengers a year later.
The Kaimai deviation joins Tauranga with Rotorua and Hamilton. . Work
began on the 2nd October 1965. Contractors experienced difficulty with
tunneling the volcanic rock. Not until 12th Septmber 1978 was the 69 million dollar deviation opened. The deviation being 52 km and 100 km shorter for
trains to and from Hamilton and Rotorua respectively, gave traffic a boost. A
16% increase between 1977 and 1979.
The Paeroa South via Waihi to Apata line was closed on 12 September 1978 was closed due to loss of railway connection, distance and costs of
maintaining old lines. The tonnage of freight between Waharoa and
Tauranga in 1982 was 1,505,000 tonnes.
For Ngati Kahu the effects of the railway line through their lands includes:
59 the land takings and the severance of an important natural environment (the repo)
trains traversing the line during all hours producing considerable noise. It
is not unusual to be woken up during the night by the rumble of the train
Physical barriers and intrusions on the river
the taking of fill from Whakaheke a pa on the eastern side of the Wairoa
River is considered to be a desecration of an important pa and current
urupa. No permission was ever given for the modification.
4.4 Wairoa River reserves
Several reserves exist along the banks of the Wairoa River. Many of these are landing reserves used for the purposes of access to the river and enjoyment. Others include esplanade reserves and reserves vested for particular purposes, ego surplus road takings. Of particular issue is the landing reserve situated next to Ngati Pango lands on the western side of the
Wairoa River known as Te Puna Part Lot 181 (4A DPS 5233) currently vested in the WBOPDC. (Figure 6) The reserve was gazetted 1902 and has remained dormant since, with Ngati Pango families using some of the area for the production of kai including maize and citrus fruit. In November 1995
WBOPDC indicated that the reserve would be sold. Ngati Pango quickly reponded with a threat to occupy their ancestral lands that were under claim31 .
" .... Mr Gates said that council had fenced off the reserve of approximately one hectare about six months ago, cutting in half the property lived on by Ngati Pango kaumatua Rameka Apaapa who had cared for the reserve as an extension of his garden to the past 50 years.
31 See Appendix G. 8) Maori promise sit in. 60 Pt Lot 1 DP 27916 1.4713
DP 27 16
Lot 1 OP 34707 0.2031 Lot 2 DP 27916 1.0699 DP 34 07
ptAJlot 181 loU TE PUNAPSH OP 34707 1.6187 0.1131 50.22 Landing Reserve ,au 190!p 1909 ~U '+""
Lot 2 DPS 5233 0.1404 Lot' DPS 5233 0.2030
DPS 5233
Lot 1 I DPS 5233 I 0.7585 I Lot 3 i DPS 5233 ~ 2.1446 \ Figure 6 Landing Reserve. Pt Allot Te Papa 181 Scale 1:1500 o 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180m
[ , , I ALLOT Information derived from the Land Information New Zealand's Digital Databases. CROWN COPYRIGHT RESERVED HN DCDS Data as at 30·10-1996 At the time of the fence being erected, Mr Apaapa had been told of the possibility of the reserve being sold into private ownership.
But Mr Gates said that, as the traditional occupiers of the land, Ngati Pango, would be calling for council to vest the land back into Maori ownership.
"We think that local government has just as much of an obligation under the Treaty as central government and in this particular case, even more so. It is not too late for council to think again and make a name for itself by giving the Maori community some consideration," Mr Gates said.
The reserve was part of land originally confiscated after the T auranga raupatu wars of the 1860s. Although later returned to Maori, it was again taken by the Crown under the Public Works Act for harbour purposes, but was never used as such and local government then took ownership."32
Another landing reserve on the Wairoa River is located beside Te Papa 0 Wharia on Taniwha Place (Figure14). The area is 2375m2 in size although it is estimated that it was originally larger but having been severed by the road of Taniwha Place. Its legal decription is Pt Allot 453 (SO 55840). Planning maps from Tauranga District Council - Land Information indicate that the area is currently being administered by Land Corporation limited. No gazette notices for the reserve have been sourced at this stage. The area is of high cultural significance because of its location and waahi tapu associated with the site.
32 Bay of Plenty Times. 30-11-95 61 It is understood from accounts in the Bay of Plenty Times and various other sources that many more reserves exist on rthe Wairoa River. These will need to be covered by further research and investigation.
62 4.0 Te Awa 0 Wairoa
'l(sI rere atu nga awa 0 'l(aimai kj te wftafcafcotahi 0 te aWa rongonui a Wairoa tot<;y i@inga, Wairoa tot<;y turanga, U'airoa tot<;y ufcaipo, Wairoa tot<;y moemoea.
1(9 te 5lwa te mauri 0 tenei rohe. 1(9 te 5lwa te wairua 0 matou tipuna
4.1 Introduction
The Wairoa River is approximately 14 km in length and the largest freshwater tributary to Tauranga Harbour with a discharge of approximately 39.15 I/s/km2 33. The river flows in a north easterly direction from the water catchment of the Kaimai to the harbour between Te Puna and Bethlehem. The main tributaries of the Wairoa include Mangakarengorengo, Opuiaki,
Mangapapa, Omanawa below Ruahihi, and Ruangarara (Ohourere).
The freshwater flow meets a salt water wedge at the State Highway 2 (SH2) bridge.
The river has been used for hydro electric generation for more than 70 years with the present scheme Ruahihi Hydro inception in 1982. Various activities utilise the river ranging from passive recreation, commercial rafting to taking of water for irrigation purposes and jet boating.
33 Environment BOP. 1994. Tauranga Harbour Environmental Report. Table 2.5 63 Plate ,.7. Wairoa River with Pukehou in the background.
Plate ,'s. Wairoa River. Looking towards Te Ruahinahina from SH2 bridge. 3.2 Characteristics
The Wairoa River is a broad river with rapids at its source that traverse the
incline of the Kaimais, generally known as the Upper Wairoa River. The lower Wairoa meanders through alluvial plains forming estuarine flat plains
of low elevation. These marshlands have now been drained for rural
purposes. The river valley provides an access corridor to the interior.
Tauranga District is extremely well watered, although the rivers emptying into the harbour, with one exception, are only small streams. The one exception is the Wairoa River which has its source far inland near Matamata and Cambridge, and flows into the harbour near its southern extremity, only a very small portion running through the Tauranga district. At the mouth of the Wairoa , and all other rivers and streams flowing into the harbour, large tidal estuaries are formed and generally for a few miles inland and around the estuary are swampy flats. These swamps have been formed by the filling in of former arms of the sea, by deposits brought down by the river itself, and by tidal currents. The Aongatete, Whatakeo, Wainui, Waipapa, and Te Puna form a group of streams having a common origin in the Whaka Plateau. Other streams flowing to Tauranga Harbour are, the Kopurererua, Waimapu and Wairoa. The rivers flow sluggishly over the flats and are tidal for a long distance. In this way the swamps are kept continually damp forming ideal flax producing land. 34
3.3 Flora and fauna
Vegetation consists of small pockets of native river and estuarine plants along much of its length with predominant native species on the coastal margin and the bush remnants of the Upper Wairoa reaches. The lower
Wairoa River banks, generally, are barren of natives with rural grassland to the margins.
34 Wilson J.A. M.A. Thesis. "The Ngaiterangi of Tauranga". Tauranga Library Archives. 64 An abundance of flora and fauna exists in close proximity of the harbour margin. The estuarine environment provides a valuable habitat to birds, fish, insects, and other animals as well as the many forms of plant life endemic to New Zealand. The abundance of plant species is very important not only providing a habitat for animal species but for providing a natural filter system that cleans the water.
A pristine condition marshland and other quality habitat areas exist at the northern reaches of the river. Four marshbird habitats near the river mouth have been surveyed. Two areas of 22.8 and 8.1 ha respectively on either side of the railway bridge are considered to be of outstanding habitat quality.
A further area of some S.6ha (Wairoa River Island) being of high habitat quality and the fourth on the western bank of the Wairoa River mouth - an area of 7.Sha of moderate habitat quality .. 35
Many of the species of flora and fauna have been utilised for particular purposes and depending on availability are still used today. The best examples of this are harakeke (flax) for weaving and the range of fresh-salt water fish caught for food.
A comprehensive list of flora and fauna species particular to the Wairoa
River and Envions that have special significance and/or are used for cultural / traditional purposes is included in the Appendix D. Traditional uses are described and where information is available the present state, distribution and use. The list is based on eye witness accounts, korero a nga kaumatua and recorded information.
35 Owen. Keith L, 1993. 65 -_ .. ~--,,, _ . .... -=~.-.-.-..-- .~ .- . .~- -=- .... -
Plate 9. Pristine marshland, north-east side of Wairoa River mouth. Small mangroves starting to appear on the salt water margins. Duck shooting platform in the middle of the river mouth.
Plate10 Native marshland on northern side of railway. 4.4 Traditional Relationships
4.4.1 Introduction
The awa Te Wairoa is tapu to the river people whose settlements have consistantly been located along the margins of the river and valley. Ngati
Kahu is recognised in Tauranga Moana as being the kaitiaki of the river.
Ngati Pango share this role on their side of the river. The pa of Papa 0
Wharia located near the home of the taniwha or river spirit proves as testimony to the relationship Wairoa hapu have with the river.
The access corridor to the Kaimai has forged special relationships with hapu of Tainui over generations in sharing of harvest and kai moana and in times of war and peace. Brown observed this on a visit to Wairoa.
"April 1838 1st Sunday. Morning visited the Wairoa River where there is a party of enquiring natives living. About 40 assembled for service the rest had been absent several days in the woods taking up potatoes for the "believers" of Waikato who it is reported will accompany the flight to the number of 200 ... "36
The river is a dominant physical feature of the landscape. It is the provider of sustainance, with an abundance of kai moana that is shared amongst the community. Pipi, titiko, koura and a range of small fish form a nutritious provision of norishment that has been enjoyed in traditional and modern times.
The life giving qualities of the river or the potential to support life encapsulates 'mauri'. This mauri is measured by natural indicators and
36 Brown, A.N. Journal. Vol II, Oct 28th 1836 - Dec 31st 1840. April 1838 p24 66 manifestations of the river taniwha. Dirty water is one such natural indicator.
Another is the abundance of kai. This is whyWairoa hapu take all developments on or near the river very seriously.
The river waters are a medium for spiritual and physical healing too. The
Wairoa has been a source of healing in traditional and modern times as
puifier or as a wai-whakanoa, to remove tapu. 37 This practise carries on today by hapu members bathing in the waters near the banks of the river.
The writer frequents a small fresh water stream to the Wairoa River to whakanoa.
4.4.2 Taniwha
The Wairoa River has been the home to a number of Taniwha. These are an important component that strengthens the special relationship hapu have
with the river and surronding areas. The most famous being Pori pori and Te Pura. Taniwha can take on many forms, natural and spiritual.
"Te Pura" or "Taniwha" is used for the benefit of writing as the actual name is
too tapu to Wairoa hapu for public scrutiny.
The story of T e Pura is told by T e Ruruanga T e Keeti.
"About 100 metres up stream from the road bridge over the Wairoa River is a deep hole near the bank of the river. This is the home of Te Pura, the road is called Taniwha Place. Te Pura was also the name of the pa now called Wairoa. The people of T e Pura knew about the taniwha. One day some young men of the pa decided to have a bit of fun. A group of them went down to the river, to the bank by the taniwha's home. They made sure the
37 Nugent Consultants Ltd. April 1996. p14. 67 taniwha was out. They dived right into the nesting place of the taniwha, in the deep hole, and took away all the taniwha's eggs. They put the eggs in a kit and took and took them back to the pa.
That night the taniwha returned home to find its nest had been robbed of all its eggs. It knew, in some magic way that a taniwha does, what had happened. It climbed up the hill to the pa, found the wharepuni where they were sleeping, it did not disturb the people inside. It crept through the door and looked around. The kit full of eggs was hanging from the rafters. The sleepers awoke to see the taniwha disappearing. They saw the taniwha in the moonlight, making its way back down the hill to the river.
The people of T e Pura felt they had to acknowledge the generous action of the taniwha in not taking revenge on the people of the pa when it had been so badly treated. It was decided that the people of Te Pura should adopt this taniwha. Thus the taniwha became known as the guardian of Te Wairoa. The taniwha acknowledged this concern by watching over the local people. When ever they went into the river, it took care that they met with no accident. If a child went out of its depth and was in danger of drowning, the taniwha would gently nudge the child back into shallow water."38
This version was told by Albert Tuariki Brown kaumatua of Ngati Kahu. The reference to the name of the taniwha has been edited to protect the
associated tapu .
"They thought this taniwha was connected up with T okana from Ngati Awa eh. It's not. That's where Tokana came. They thought e ngaro eh. This one came from Whakaheke down past snake gully. When this tupuna whare was shifted up here to te Pura, well, he used to go there. He came up from Whakaheke, this man []. And that night he changed himself into a ngangara. Comes down here. While he lived he belonged to all marae and he had a nest, but you can't see it because the tide is full eh. He was
38 Nugent Consultaltants Limited .. April 1996. Te Ruruanga Te Keeti. p15 68 underneath. The kids them days, well, they came around, messing round and they found the eggs so they grabbed all the eggs and took it up there (to the Marae). There are a few versions of this story, pakeha versions, got it from different channels. They said that they killed people. No. All Pere Ngawha's and them land where Gerald Bennett lived that they gave to Charlie. These people were living there. Well, half the eggs was cooked, some of them weren't. They had their meal and they fell off to sleep. So, course when he came down here somebody's been into his nest, so he went up there (to the marae). That's when the people heard. They woke up. They heard the swishing in the wharenui and he was going out and then when he went out the old man caught him. The tupuna a taro, a koe i penei ai, he said, go on ahead the whanau ra e moe moe ra, moe tonu ratou, ka hoki au ki taku kainga, ngaro he kune, e tangi ana te koroua eh because the koroua had a bit of an idea he was like that. That's when he came back here (by the river) and stayed here. But he said to the koroua, "Ka hoki au ki taku kainga muriiau, manakitia au i taku kainga mutu rawa, kaore a ratou e matye ki te kai, kei te moana nui kei te awa engari kua ke aha". Well, this is true, Hurai Ngawharau was you know, this womans Hera mother before she was married. She used to ride that taniwha up and down yhe river. That's what Hurai Ngawharau said you know, in their times ....
He's still there. He only comes out at certain times when somebody special dies up there. I've seen him myself when I've gone out when I was going out with the tide and he was going in and I couldn't make it out and I start to scratch my head and I look, he went past my canoe. I looked at him. Couldn't settle down to fish, he aha ai ia. Oh blow it. I'll come back. When I came back I saw the lights on. I leave my boat right beside his kohanga eh, cos nobody goes there. When I got up there all the cars, my kids, he raruraru dad. I said yeah, I know. ..
.... Before he ever lived here he tangata ke, he mahi he te iwi nei, he came back he said, inaianei ake pou te kaitiaki 0 te awa nei ki aku mokopuna. Mo rawa kua mate ki te kai means you can come
69 and get kai, engari ko ke ha, you know I don't want to sell it or anything, there's some people there fishing today from that day till now and you know he's the guardian of the river.39
From this oratory it becomes clear that not only is the taniwha a gaurdian spirit of the river but a manifestation of a tupuna of the Wairoa hapu that wished to look after the river and the people.
This story of the taniwha Pori pori is the popular version with Ngati Kahu I Ngati Pango.
"There is a tributary of the Wairoa River called Ruangarara. Some way up Ruangarara is a waterfall with a cave behind it. Inside the cave lived a taniwha called Poripori. When people came up the Ruangarara, in search of koura, Pori pori would rush out and carry them off to his cave behind the waterfall.
One day Poripori seized a couple of people, from Te Pura, who were searching for koura. Word of this got back to their guardian taniwha. Te Pura was very angry that Poripori should take people from this pa. Te Pura set off upstream, up the Wairoa, up the Ruangarara, to the cave behind the waterfall. "Hey Poripori, you tutua. Who are you to take people from my pa? Poripori was very angry when he heard this taniwha of Te Pura insulting him. He attacked.
However, Pori pori was fairing the worse of the two and so he turned and fled downstream, down Ruangarara, down the Wairoa, out of Tauranga Moana with Te Pura in hot pursuit. Te Pura chased Pori pori all the way to Paremata, northwest of Wellington. Te Pura then decided he had chased Poripori far enough. Te Pura returned to his home in the Wairoa River and remained there as the rangatira taniwha and guardian to the people of Wairoa. Pori pori stayed in Porirua. He felt too whakama, too ashamed, to ever return to Tauranga Moana. His name remains on the Pori pori Block, in the hill country behind Minden. The people of Paekakariki I Wellington area, the Ngati Toa, changed his name to Porirua. "40
39 Albert Tuariki Brown. 1988 40 Nugent Consultants Ltd. April 1996. Te Ruruanga Te Keeti. p16 70 4.5 Ownership I Management
4.5.1 Introduction
The Treaty of Waitangi is the living document that ensures that the Wairoa
River and its taonga remain under the exclusive and undisturbed control of tangata whenua - hapu.
As eluded to earlier, their are some differences in concepts of ownership and management between Maori and pakeha. Traditional concepts have been somewhat suppressed through the domination of pakeha authority and subsequently, inappropriate uses have been commited causing a conflict and perpetuating grievances. Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango have stated that they are the kaitiaki of the river and this role should not be regarded as merely token or passive. Wairoa hapu continue to foster traditional principles and values that will determine the future of their river resources.
4.5.2 Traditional Ownership Concepts
10 - Te Matua Kore.
The general clear perception of pakeha society is that ownership of resources; land, water, air and other tangibles are owned exclusively, and to be used, developed, traded as the case may be as seen fit, and this exclusive right is protected by the Crown. Tangata whenua on the other hand have a different view that must be taken into account.
"The absolute ownership of resources lies with Te Matua kore"41(the parent less one).
41 pers. comm Te Ruruanga Te Keeti 71 This belief may take different forms amongst the hapu of Wairoa, where traditional and modern Christian belief are entwined but the underlying principle is consistent that "the supreme God" owns everything and tangata whenua are the caretakers.
4.5.3 Rangatiratanga
Article II of the Treaty of Waitangi guaranteed the continued right of hapu to manage and control their resources in accordance with their customs and having regard to their cultural preferences. The use of the term rangatiratanga in the context of the Treaty denotes an institutional authority to control the exercise of a range of user rights in resources, including conditions of access, use and conservation management.42
For Wairoa hapu rangatiratanga is the rights of possession, use and management of the natural resources. Although the aspects of title are to be determined by the Crown, the use and management functions could be achieved at a local Council level. These would include a significant role in making of resource allocation decisions, developing and implementation of policies and plans that protect hapu resources, and removal of impediments such as planning restrictions, legislative constraints on cultural practise and political domination.
42 Crengle, Diane. Jan 1993. Taking into account the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Ministry for the Environment. 72 4.5.4 Kaitiakitanga
One of the fundamental management principles associated with traditional resources such as rivers, soils, plants and animals is Kaitiakitanga.
Wairoa hapu as Kaitiaki of the river and its resources over hundreds of years have a responsibilty to the preservation and respect of these taonga for future generations. The definition of Kaitiakitanga refers to the exercise of guardianship and the relationship between people and the environment.
Kaitiakitanga includes an obligation on people to use resources which respect and preserve, both physically and as sources of spiritual power.
Kaitiaki can be iwi, hapu, whanau or tangata whilst tribal and pakeha authorities themselves may not be considered kaitiaki, although they may perform tasks associated with the role and help to identify them.
Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango have an important role to playas kaitiaki of the
Wairoa River. The responsibility of insuring that the river and coastal environment is preserved for future generations as;
A traditional food collection and fishing area A habitat for indigenous flora and fauna
A source of healing and power
A substantial resource economically Of cultural/spiritual significance
An unspoilt part of the ancestral landscape
73 Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango have a designated person43 to carry out the
Kaitiaki role. This role is under the aspices of a jetty warden and is sometimes compromised by the lack of support and understanding from local
authorities to enforce necessary rules on the Wairoa River. It is understood that some twelve names were given to the Harbour Master during the 1990's to act as kaitiaki on the river with powers to perform functions and duties.
43 Stephen Gates ofNgati Kahu / Ngati Pango descent. 74 4.6 Traditional Uses
The Wairoa River is the mainstay of the people physically and spiritually.
Wairoa hapu as kaitiaki of the Wairoa River for hundreds of years have eked out a living. At the time of European arrival, Wairoa hapu were among the
most affluent people in this country having access to a wide range of
resources- offshore and harbour fishing grounds, eeling pools in the river, fertile horticultural soils and native podocarp, kauri and tawa forests further
up the river. Over time much of these resources have been depleted but Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango remain still, enhancing many traditional and
cultural activities. Fishing, waka paddling, swimming, weaving, culture as well as ceremonial activities such as tangihanga, hura kohatu, hui, wananga and kapa haka are still active. There is a need to preserve and protect these activities and uses for the survival of Wairoa hapu traditions and identity.
4.6.1 Mahinga Kai I Food gathering
The Wairoa River and Harbour margin is a traditional food gathering area. All year round members of the hapu fish the river for tuna, mullet, herrings, flounder, kahawai and many other fish. From the harbour reaches tuangi, pipi, and titiko are gathered. This complements the soils which are well suited to crop production; kumara, potatoes, wheat, maize etc.
Traditionally, hapu marked out their domain for gathering of kai and kai moana. This was generally within the hapu boundaries although special places may have been shared with other hapu. The quantities of kai and gathering periods were controlled by tribal I hapu lore sometimes taking the form of tapu or restrictions. If certain fish stocks were Iowa rahui was put on
75 that fish to allow the population to recover. It was in their own interest that the food source they relied on for survival was sustained.
At present fish stocks are not as plentiful as they have been in the past. This has been qualified by the kaumatua who have noticed the changes in the river. Wairoa hapu rangatiratanga and manawhenua has been mostly ignored as overfishing, commercial interests and pollution threaten the well being of the fish stocks and in turn the river people.
Species of fish
Species Location Status
Kahawai harbour to the State Highway 2 bridge. Depleted
Snapper north eastern side of railway. None
HeAua (herrings, mullet) harbour to T e Roto Parera Less
Parore Area around Tautau to river mouth Rare
Patiki river mouth to just past railway Less
Koura (prawns) Tautau None
Koura (lobsters) Kaimai streams Rare
Tuna (short fin) Lower Wairoa River Less
Tuna (long fin) Upper Wairoa River Depleted
Inanga Wairoa River banks in saltwater wedge Depleted
Titiko Te Haehaenga Plentiful
Pipi river mouth in salt water wedge Rare
Maori customary use of native birds, plants, and other traditional materials is a controversial issue. Arguments for and against are strong and well supported.
76 Traditional harvesting is not just confined to Maori. The seasonal shooting of
ducks is common and takes place on the harbour margin (A shooting platform can be seen in Plate 12). Wairoa hapu would like to see the return
of traditional harvest of native flora and fauna as a means of fostering traditional values and practise. It is acknowledged however that the
depletion in flora and fauna will a determining factor in the way future
sustainable management takes effect
It can be said with confidence, that the numbers of native plants and animals
are much depleted, the impacts of human activities.
Kereru populations have been decimated by
poaching. With the additional assault of introduced
predators, loss of habitat and competition for food
numbers are being driven to extinction. The same applies to many other birds, some however not
being able to recover. Much of the large trees of forests especially podocarps such as totara are now
scarce.44
Examples of species on the Wairoa River and surrounding areas.
Species Location Status
Kiwi Kaimai Rare
Kereru Kaimai Rare
Harakeke Wairoa River banks Depleted
.t4 Forest and Bird 1995 77 Plate ~1. Hut at the Wairoa River mouth.
Plate12
Duck shooting platform, Wairoa River. Raupo Wairoa River banks Depleted
Toetoe Wairoa River banks I the repo Rare
Manuka the repo towards river mouth (east side) Rare Karaka Whakaheke, near marae, the repo several
Sustainable harvest administered by the iwi or hapu has been initiated under the aspices of the Fisheries Act. In respect of shellfish, permits are obtained from the lwi office. No official system for other harvest exists at present.
4.6.2 Waka
"I was talking to my mother, she said 1890's there were great canoes here, ceremonial ones. "45
The Wairoa River by ancient tradition has been an access corridor to the interior with waka being a principle vehicle for transport and fishing. Ngapuhi are said to have been on the river during one of their campaigns and stopped at Te Papa 0 Wharia for something to eat as they travelled light and with few rations. As is the tradition the visitors were welcomed and fed. Ngati Kahu today possesses outrigger waka which are used for ceremonial and recreational activities. These waka are essential in maintaining the affinity
Ngati Kahu has with the river.
There use encourages and enhances;
teamwork
fitness
45 Albert Tuariki Brown. 1988. 78 discipline
cultural identity hapu pride
motivation
confidence building
and is educational
Of the problems with the continued use of the waka three are of particular relevance.
1 . The construction of physical barriers on the river such as the State
Highway 2 bridge and the East Coast Trunk Railway. Navigation around these structures is potentially dangerous.
2. Massive sedimentation of the river bed preventing access to areas of the river paticularly at the puwaha (mouth). This has been the result of the Ruahihi dam collapse in 1981 and the runoff from rural lands.
3. Speed boats in particular power boats and boats with skiers. Although a speed restriction of 5 knots and skiing is prohibited, Ngati Kahu has witnessed the continuation of speedsters using the river as a drag strip causing deep feelings manifesting in frustration and anger.
At present there are three waka on the 453 Trust lands river banks. Access to the riveris by way of a wooden landing or pontoon structure.
The waka-taua Takitimu in the recent past has been tied up under the State Highway 2 bridge. An urunga will be built to give the due respect the waka deserves, as a symbol of the mana of Ngati Ranginui.
79 Plate 13. The Takitimu tied to the western bank of the Wairoa River. Designated tauranga waka area.
Plate 14 Ngati Kahu I Te Pura canoes and launching area. Livestock introduced to keep area clean. 4.6.3 Swimming
Swimming activities are common place on the Wairoa River during summer. The Wairoa River reserve, the area around the base of the SH2 bridge and
beside Waimarino are favoured spots for swimming. Safety of swimmers especially children is of utmost importance. All swimming areas should be
free of debris such as logs, trees, rock and the path of boating craft.
Warning or removal of such dangers is necessary. This may be the responsibility of hapu, private land owners, councilor a mixture of all sharing
the responsibility. The diving or jumping off the SH2 bridge is of concern as
possible injury may occur due to the shallow nature of some of the river and the height from the water surface. Signs or public warning notices may be
applicable. No barrier between on-coming cars and bridge pedestrians exists.
4.6.4 Healing
As described earlier the Wairoa River is a source of spiritual and physical power that can be utilised to heal and wai-whakanoa (remove tapu). This practise continues in modern times but is becoming less common.
The use of the muds and the water in a complementary method achieves the best result. It should be noted that history tells of the muds and the water of the river being used for many purposes relating to ceremonial custom.
Particular muds were used for dye for flax. Others used in the healing of wounds or such ailments. The use of mud for the preservation of tupapaku
80 was not uncommon at Wairoa. The washing of tupapaku was done in a specific site beside the river.
81 4.7 Conflict of Use
As early as 1834 the use of the river by outside groups was apparent. Revs. A,N. Brown and William Williams were looking for materials to build a mission at Te Papa.
On the 11th (September 1834) they explored the Wairoa River by boat, for timber, which was reported accessible. They found, however, that owing to the nature of the river it would be quite impracticle to get any of it out, and that if the station were to be located at the Papa it would be necessary that a few tons of coal should be supplied yearly from New South Wales.46
The potential of the river however was not harnessed to an extent by pakeha commercial concerns till the twentieth century with the commisioning of the
McLarens Falls Power Station. With the construction of roads providing better access and an increase in the demand for leisure and recreational activities from a booming population, the use of the river has increased.
Irrigation and various leisure activities such as rafting, canoeing, trout fishing, commercial eel fishing and power boat activities have become common. A small business on the lower Wairoa utilises geothermal 'hot water' and the river for water sports.
4.7.1 Hydro Electric Generation
Kaimai Hydropower I Joint Generation Committee
McLarens Falls Power Station was commisioned in 1925 by the Tauranga
Borough Council. The station was served from Lake McLaren with the
46 Gifford and Williams. 1940. A Centennial History ofTauranga. p42. 82 ~ Dam • Power Station ,,~.,.. Tunnel ~ Canal
/fOrE: DIA G~M NUT TO SCALE RUAHIHI
N
Me LAREN FALLS ~~
Figure 7 Wairoa River and tributaries. Hydroelectric Power Development waters passing through the station and into the Wairoa River. Other
associated hydro-electric development is on the Mangakarengorengo River,
a tributary of the Wairoa River, and a number of other rivers upstream of Lake McLaren.
The McLarens Power Station was one of the primary sources of power for the Tauranga area until 1965 when the committee comprising the Tauranga City
Council and the Tauranga Electric Power Board, known as the Joint
Generation Committee proposed a scheme known as the Ruahihi Power
Scheme. (The Joint Generation Committee now trades as Kaimai
Hydropower). That scheme involves redirecting the waters from Lake
McLaren along a canal to the Ruahihi Power Station further downstream on
the Wairoa River. In August 1976 the Bay of Plenty Catchment Commision
and Regional Water Board granted a water right subject to several conditions including the requirement to release "compensation water for canoeists".
This recreational flow was released from the McLaren Falls Power Station.
In 1989 the McLaren Fa"s powerhouse was decommisioned and since then the compensation water has been provided by adjusting generation at all three Kaimai power stations (Lower Mangapapa, Lloyd Mandeno and
Ruahihi) so as to spill over the McLaren spillway upstream of the McLaren
Fa"s bridge.
The Upper Wairoa River flows are unique in that they are mechanically controlled and Kaimai Hydropower is securing the continued provision of compensation flows by the operation of a new spillway structure at the Lake
McLaren spillway. There is a cost to Kaimai Hydropower for providing the recreation flow days.
83 4.7.2 Commercial Leisure and Recreational Activities
Upper Wairoa River
A number of organisations utilise the river for recreational and leisure activities, many of these being commercial enterprises during summer
months. Rafting and canoeing has been very popular on the Upper Wairoa for some time now requiring provision for facilities and management controls.
Canoeing on the Wairoa downstream of the McLaren Falls bridge has occured for decades. Rafting, particularly commercial rafting, has become very popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The current situation is one of intense activity on the 26 recreational water release days with literally hundreds of people rafting and canoeing on the upper Wairoa. The activity also has a significant spectator interest particularly at the McLarens Falls bridge.
Alongside this, the same area continues to be popular all year for picnicing by the water pools of the now partially diverted Mangakarengorengo River.
The area is also downstream of the McLaren Falls Park which adjoins Lake McLaren and is owned and operated by the Tauranga District Council as a reserve.
At this stage it is important to introduce all the parties involved with the use of the Upper Wairoa River.
• Wairoa hapu in particular Ngati Kahu. Responsible for the protection of
places of significance, kaitiaki of the river and tangata whenua.
84 • The Western Bay of Plenty District Council (WBOPDC) is an interseted party being responsible for legal road and all land resource consents
necessary under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).
• The Tauranga District Council (TDC) is an interested party being landowner of significant parcels of adjacent land held for the purposes of
hydro-electric generation by Kaimai Hydropower.
• Kaimai Hydropower is the operator of the power schemes and more specifically the provider of the recreational flows.
• The Kaimai Canoe Club has had an association with the river for decades. The Clubhouse is located upstream of the Ruahihi Bridge. The
1976 Water Right Clause 3.3 states:
"Upon application by the Kaimai Canoe Club to the Tauranga Joint Generation Committee shall , by releasing a continuous flow of up to 25 cubic metres per second, ensure that there is a minimum flow of 14 cubic metres per second in the Wairoa River immediately downstream of the McLarens Falls Power Station. The flow shall be made available for a maximum of six (6) hours between the hours of 10.00am and 4.00pm to provide compensation water for canoeists, up to a maximum of twenty six (26) days per annum".
• The Eastern Fish and Game Council (ERFGC) and the Department od Conservation (DOC) both have statutory responsibilities to protect the
indigenous and exotic fish values particularly through Part II of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).
85 • Traditionally Northern Regional Rafting (NRR) is a group that has represented most commercial rafting organisations that utilise the Upper
Wairoa River. In addition, all rafting companies are in the process of
forming an informal group, Upper Wairoa River Users Group (UWRUG) to promote the recreational use of the river, the development of recreational
facilities and formulating submissions.
The Wairoa hapu have not been active members of the management and development of their river and have considerable grievances due to this.
The following excerpts from the Bay of Plenty Times give a background to the issues of Upper Wairoa River as a tourist attraction and perceptions pakeha have in regard to its use.
River-use compromise (1 June 1983)
Mr J. Collins' letter explains correctly that without the Upper Kaimai hydro schemes involving the diversion of the Omanawa River, white water rafting would not normally be possible on the Wairoa River", writes P.M.D. Wickman, of Te Puke, in a letter to the editor of the Bay of Plenty Times.
'Mr Neil Opatt in his letter acknowledges this as fact, but goes on to suggest that a balance between hydro development and sporting interest and commercial river-running could have been achieved to the benefit of all if McLaren Falls power station had been replaced at the same location instead of building the now very expensive Ruahihi Station.
"Without getting into technicalities and comparing the differing energy outputs at the two sites, I would like to draw your readers attention to an aspect that appears to be quite overlooked.
"When the T auranga Joint Generation Committee applied for its original licence to generate power on the Wairoa and its tributaries back in 1964 there was no interest in sporting use of the river other than fishing. Under new Government legislation these licenses were reviewed and renewed in 1976 and all interested
86 parties were encouraged to make submissions and promote their claims to the use of the river.
"The sports canoeists presented a good case and won for themselves a condition of the licence that for six hours on 26 days in a year they have a flow, enough for white water below McLarens Falls station. This flow is approximately twice the natural flow of the river under normal conditions. Rafting or river-running was not evident or in exostence at that time.
"The people who granted the licence and the Tauranga Joint Generation Committee who then developed the licence believed sincerely that what they did was serving the best interests of all. Commitments then made involved the spending of vast sums of money and the development of the hydro-potential of the Wairoa catchment.
Once committed there was no going back and it is indeed unfortunate that it has only recently been recognised that white-water rafting is a popular recreation and the potential of the Wairoa exploited. I would repeat that at no time since the advent of rafting could the Taurnga Joint Committee have seriously reviewed its commitments to the total hydro scheme. And now more than ever Ruahihi generation is needed to pay for the cost of restoration and eventually payoff its own capital cost.
"In defending the actions of the past I do not discount hope for compromise in the future. Maximum demand for pwer is in the winter time and raftying is a summer time sport. Whem recommissioning of Ruahihi is completed and things settle down a bit for T JGC I have no doubt that the sums will be done and the monetary loss in providing limited white water in the summer worked out.
I have rafted with party down the Wairoas River and am conscious the joy, thrill and exhileration the experience gave me. I would not like to see it denied to others in the future if the cost is reasonable."47
Rafters regret river closure
The days of exhilarating rides on the Wairoa are running out and rafting operators are mourning the loss of what they see as the
47 BOPTimes. 1 June 1983. p16. 87 Bay's fastest - growing tourist attraction. Visitors are pictured ready to set off on one of the last trips on the river.48
The closing of the Wairoa River to full-time commercial rafting has robbed the Bay of Plenty of its fastest growing tourist attraction, according to rafting operator Mr N.F. Oppatt.
Six companies operate rafting trips on the river but the end of these trips is imminent with the re-opening of the Ruahihi power project today, allowing for the filing of the schemes massive canals, rafting days on the river are numbered to about 30.
The popularity of the spine-chilling sport can be measured by the number of people - 20,000 - who rafted the Wairoa this year.
The director of the largest company operating on the river, Mr N.F. Oppatt of New Zealand River Runners, says this compares with the 3000 enthusiasts who used the river two years ago.
"Clearly, with about a 700 per cent increase, commercial rafting is a sport which is gaining more and more interest," Mr Oppatt said. "The trend in overseas countries is for the interest in commercial rafting to increase, with people repeating trips. "Commercial rafting is Tauranga's only hope of having a major tourist attraction. "Many of the 500 people who raft the river every saturday and Sunday are fom Auckland." Mr Oppatt says these people are valuable to the area because they usually stay overnight, and spend money in restaurants, hotels and shops.
Rotorua
If rafting had been allowed to continue, it could have tapped an even more valuable type of visitor - the overseas tourist. "At the moment, tourists go directly to Rotorua from Auckland," Mr Oppatt said. "Being based in Rotorua, I am very aware of how much money tourists bring in to a town. "Rotorua has its geysers but Tauranga has nothing." Mr Oppatt sees the Wairoa as a unique tourist asset which has been lost to hydro-electric development. As the last remaining short river in the North Island with commercial potential to tourists and visitors who were within a few hours' drive of T auranga.
BOPTimes. 16 May 1983. p6. 88 The rafting trips which remain - two days on the Mohaka, four days on the Motu, and the Rangitaiki will not appeal to tourists because of their length. Tourists prefer something short, Mr Oppatt says. Mr Oppatt also doubts the benefits of the re-instated Ruahihi project, which collapsedf in September 1981, hours after being officially opened by the Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon.
"How will the people of Tauranga benefit from the scheme?, "he asks.
"With cheaper power or increased employment?
"Ruahihi will provide neither of these.
"I don't believe it's done anything for Tauranga."
Mr Oppatt recognises rafting operators had a year long stay on the halting of their operations because of the canal collapse. But they believe the generation committee could have been more long-sighted in recognising the hundreds of jobs the river could create.
Lost
He sees the sharing of the 26 remaining open days with five operators as being potentially disastrous as the operators will be faced with trying to cater for 20,000 tourists in four weeks instead of a year. He believes people turned away from rafting trips will start demanding more water flow.
"Rafting was the catalyst Tauranga needed to become a major tourist town," Mr Oppatt said. "If I weighed up Ruahihi with rafting, I would say the people of Tauranga have lost hands down." Another operator who feels rafting has more to offer T auranga than power generation is Mr C.W. Birt, director of Rafting Unlimited. Mr Birt is incensed by comments made by the manager of the jOint generation committee, Mr H.M. Binney, who claimed "present rafting operations were wholly commercial and benefited a relatively small number". "Through put figures clearly show river rafting has become a vital facet in the Western Bay of Plenty's fledging tourist industry." Mr Birt said. "In view of the vast repayment of debt following the Ruahihi canasl collapse, one Mr Binney to show what monetary advantage there
89 is in the people of the area getting power from the generation station and not from the nastional grid." Mr Birt said it was fortunate that the Tauranga City Council accepted rafting played an important role in bringing funds to the area.
"But it is unfortunate that this recognition does not stretch to the generation committee," he said. The companies which operate on the river are New Zealand River Runners, Rotorua, Rafting Unlimited, White Water Adventure Tours, Wet and Wild, Woodrow Rafting, and Pro Tours, all Tauranga based. 49
Rivers pose challenge
You cannot mess with rivers. Always be on your guard. No matter how confident you become, always keep a candle of fear burning within. If you lose your respect for the river then you are in a lot of danger....
That was the gist of a pep talk from proffesional river rafter Mr Dave Jordan.
He made the point often as he and Mr Phil Percival, a river guide employed by Mr Jordan, guided 10 Bay of Plenty men through the forst New Zealand comprehensive river rafting guides' course. Mr Jordan and Mr Percival, one of the few qualified paramedics in New Zealand, organised the course following the formation of the New Zealand Professional River Rafting Association. A full-time rafter for tyhe past two years, Mr Jordan knew all to well the need for some form of control over who could take commercial trips down rivers. "Theres a lot more to it than just getting in a raft and going," he said. "Many people don't realise what they're letting themselves in for. And in some plces, once you're in there tht's it - there's no other way out." Those trainees on Mr Jordan's course, which has involved a week of concentrated practical rafting and still has much theory and genaral river running experience yet to be completed, hope eventually to have their names registered with the NZPRA. If they qualify, that is.
49 BOPTimes. 16 May 1983. 90 Mr Jordan makes no bones about it. If he does not think a trainee is capable of safe rafting, his name will not be registered with the association. Dave Jordan holds a deep respect for the rivers he rafts - particularly the Wairoa and Motu Rivers.
Sporting Adversary
There is something more to the Wairoa River than just water rushing down through a steep gorge cut into the Kaimai foothills over the centuries. When Mr Jordan talks about the Wairoa his words evoke a picture of an old sporting adversary rather than a river. To him the river is more than a rocky, tumbling waterway. He believes the Wairoa can act as an entity on its own behalf and has done so in the past - more than once. Dace Jordan's talk brings to mind the hypothesis of an English scientist, Dr James Lovelock. Dr Lovelocks theory, known as the Gaia hypothesis (Gaia was the Earth-mother goddess of the Greeks) contends that the Earth is a life form committed to perpetuate itself. Summing the hypothesis up a couple of years ago, an English journalist wrote: "The Earth is not the neutral and impassive stage for a myriad of living things, as is the recieved wisdom, but a living entity with the equivalent of senses, intelligence and memory and the capacity to act."
Canal Collapse
Talking about the Wairoa, Mr Jordan commented to a trainee who had never seen the river before: "you wouldn't believe there was a river like this so close to the city, would you?" The Ruahihi Dam collapse last year was an act of the river and nature, Mr Jordan believes, not the result of poor engineering. "There's just something about this river," he says, "but I don't know what it is." The Ruahihi power project had robbed the river of her waters for all but 26 days each year. Subscribing to Dr Lovelocks theory, perhaps the river felt that was not enough ...
After the canal collapse the Wairoa's waters were restored and rafting enjoyed an unpresedented boom there last season. But all was not fun and frolic for those who ran the river. One man lost his life running the river on a home-made raft when the waters were higher than usual. All rivers have a level when they become unsafe to raft. Mr Jordan knows those levels and many times stressed the importance of being able to read a river to his trainees.
91 Further precaution.
In the wake of the mishap on the Wairoa last summer a large rock at the bottom of a rapid called the rollercoaster was dynamited to change the flow of water at the end of the rapid away from a dangerous rock face. As a further precaution, a heavy rope was attached along the rock face using climbing pitons. "Two weeks later there was a flood and the rope was spat out by the river and another rock ended up in the middle of the current there." Mr Jordan said. (The size of the rock now sitting midstream near the bottom of the rollercoaster bears testament to the exceptional savagery of the Wairoa River in a rage. The practical aspects of the rafting course involved several days on the Wairoa after a three day trip down nearly 90 kilometres of the Motu River.50
Power boats
On the lower Wairoa River a boat ramp on the Wairoa River Reserve provides access for boats. In 1981 the question of speedboats and the like was dealt with by Ngati Kahu kaumatua Kotene Pihema. Concluding a fatal crash involving speddboats Mr Pihema erected signs along the boat ramp banning speedboats.
"Ngati Kahu kaumatua Kotene Pihema wrote to local authorities about a year ago seeking help. He said the Bay of Plenty Harbour Board had written to boating clubs in the Tauranga area and had erected eight kilometres-an-hour speed limit signs near the bridge. "We've tried to keep the river in its natural state of peace and tranquility," said Mr Pihema. "But in the last few years we've been inundated with jet-skiers, waterskiers and speedboats and it's getting worse. They're ignoring all the notices." The river was regarded as sacred and the speedsters not only broke its sacredness but disturbed fishermen and canoeists whoi were
50 BOPTimes. 11 September 1982. 92 trying to enjoy the resource. "So we've decided to put up signs along the boat ramp that say, in no certain terms, they're prohibited. "51
By the end of January the issue had heated up to a confrontation of words
between the harbour board and Ngati Kahu. The harbourboard wanted the
signs removed because they were unauthorised. Mr Pihema again reiterated the concerns of the hapu and the frustration of dealing with no-action
authorities.
" .... warning signs were installed at about six locations. The signs had since been pulled down. Four years ago the maori people submitted the names od 12 men who were willing to be appointed launch wardens to police the river area. Nothing further was heard, They had since written to the Department of Conservation, the former Tauranga County Council and the marine division of the Ministry of Transport to try to resolve the situation. "We have gone through all the the proper processess but to no avail," said Mr Pihema. "That's why we put up the signs." He emphasised they were not against boats using the river" .... "we are only against jet skiers, waterskiers and jet boats causing disturbances and ignoring the rules."52
Mr Pihema summed up by addressing the issue of ownership where the river would be handed back to its proper owners, Ngati Kahu, who would be
guardians of the river and a suggestion for Regional Council to change their threatening attitude.
The use of power boats on the river compromises waka safety. ie wash and possibility of collision. Power boating on the river is unacceptable to Wairoa hapu where passive recreation is acceptable. The river is considered sacred and not a drag strip for speed boats. Jet skiing competitions have been
51 Bay of Plenty Times. 8 Janurary 1990. 52 Bay of Plenty Times. 26 January 1990 93 occuring on the river for some time with the latest held earlier in the year
between the State Highway 2 bridge and the railway. The organisers who received permission through the Regional Council (temporary permit) were
instructed by Ngati Kahu representatives that the competition would be the
last one on the river. This instruction was forwarded to Environment BOP.
Waimarino Canoes
Waimarino Canoes on Taniwha Place currently offers canoe, swimming and various water activities as part of its concern. Young children from around
Tauranga (many school groups) frequent the Waimarino. The Canoe centre
is part of the area that encompasses the papakainga Te Papa 0 Wharia.
Associated with the Canoe centre are waahi tapu and archaeological sites.
The use and modification of a sacred spring and the building of permanent
dwellings has been offensive to Ngati Kahu. Hapu members have noticed the modification of pipi midens and the general increase in intensity of activities that has been given no official permission. Environment BOP, TDC
and Western Bay of Plenty District Council have been given written papers concerning the activity with no reply to date. Ngati Kahu seek the return of
the area Te Papa 0 Wharia including the spring.
4.7.3 Mataitai
A multitude of fisheries are gathered from the Wairoa River. This rich resource being a source of sustanance for more than 800 years. In recent times however the fishery has been depleted. Kaumatua have seen these changes and are very concerned for the future of the resource. For the
Kaumatua of Wairoa the plentifulness of kai in the river is a sign of the mana
94 Plate 15 Waimarino canoes, Taniwha Place, built on waahi tapu.
Plate 16 Waimarino canoes. Modification / destruction of a waahi tapu. of the hapu to provide for guests and visitors. This mana or plentifulness of
fish has decreased from accounts since the late 1960's and early 1970's.
This would correspond with the expansion of the Tauranga region through urban development and commercial growth. It is hard to quantify the
relationship between the decline in fish stocks with the increase in urbanisation without detailed statistics but it is however interesting that over
hundreds of years that fish stocks would have a noticable decline in recent times. Reasons for this may include;
• The increase in demand for commercial fisheries. The mullet fishery in the harbour was booming in the 1950's and 1960's
• Improved technology in catching fish has an effect of increasing catch yields. Nets, long lines, fish traking devices.
• Destruction of breeding grounds through human reclamation, infilling, physical barriers and modification.
• Competition for a finite resource with outside user groups. New people migrating to T auranga.
• Sewerage and waste water discharges in rivers and harbour. • Chemical changes and lower water quality characteristics in rivers and harbour decreasing acceptability to aquatic life, such as siltation and increased discharges of fresh water .
• Exploitation of particular species important to other fish of the food chain.eg. Inanga are almost fought over by pakeha.
• The introduction of exotic species detrimental to the survival of indigeous aquatic ecosystems. (tench, brown and rainbow trout)
The use of the river for permit trout fishing is offensive to Wairoa hapu. No permission has been granted by Ngati Kahu as kaitiaki to use the river as a fish shop for exotic trout. Brown and rainbow trout are predators of native
95 trout and compete against eels and other fish species for food. The Bay of
Plenty Times recorded the threat of tench in 1994, another exotic species that could threaten the livelyhood of native species although the article is focused on the safety of the commercial trout fishery.
"Tench may threaten rainbow trout lake.
Illegally introduced tench could threaten the popular rainbow trout fishery of Lake McLaren in the lower Kaimai and control possibilities, including the use of bow hunters, are being considered. tench, classed as coarse fish, compete with trout for food. Eastern Fish and game Council chief executive Dave Stack said in areas where tench had become established they hurt the quality of the trout populations. Lake McLaren was not only used by fishermen from the T auranga region but attracted a considerable number from Hamilton and Auckland, he said. tench spawning over the weed beds were discovered during a survey of the Wairoa River System. They were widespread through the lake and Mr Stack estimates some could be reaching up to a kilogram in weight. He believes they could have been in the lake for as long as five years. Mr Satck said tench normally took bait, so they would not generally be caught by anglers using the legal methods of fly or spoon in the lake. The Wairoa study is to be considered at a meeting of interested parties, including iwi and Kaimai Hydropower, later this month. Mr Stack expects the tench problem to be considered then and a decision made whether to attempt to control them or to develop the lake as a tench fishery. He Believes it is preferable to control the tench to protect the long established trout fishery. Possible control methods include the use of bow hunters, netting or lowering lake levels during spawning to destroy the eggs.
96 He is concerned that the McLaren tench population could be used to seed the Rotorua Lakes, threatening a fishery of major economic importance to the region. 53
53 Bay of plenty Times. 8.11.94. Tench may threaten rainbow trout lake, by Lincoln Vincent. 97 4.8 Pollution
4.8.1 Introduction
Tauranga Harbour is a traditional marine resource that is being polluted by urban, rural developments. Many settlements for the various hapu are
located on the edge of the harbour of which Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango are
two utilising the resources for their livelyhood. Little of this shoreline remains
in Maori ownership, however the traditional land and harbour relationships do remain.
The pressures of increased numbers of user groups on the Wairoa River has
undoubtedly lead to a decrease in water quality and quantity. This being
manifested in various forms of pollutants. The term of pollutant or pollution in the context of this report represents changes or impacts to the natural
environment under tikanga. This is necessary to illustrate the different perception of the level of acceptability determined by tangata whenua as
opposed to pakeha authorities using a scale of scientific application and cultural values. The major contributers to pollution are the commercial users
of the river; rafters, passive leisure and recreation participants, rural based practices and historical events such as the Ruahihi Dam collapse in 1981.
4.8.2 Ruahihi Dam Collapse
On Sunday 20 September 1981 a major engineering failure occured when a section of the canal supplying the Ruahihi Power Station collapsed, destroying some 800m of the canal formation, and spilling more than a million cubic metres of liquid mud and rubble over adjacent farmland and into the Wairoa River. 54
June 1981: Ruahihi Power Station commissioned
54 Committee of Inquiry letter to Commissioner of Works and Development. 26 February 1982. 98 19th September 1981: Ruahihi Power Station officially opened by Prime Minister, R.D. Muldoon.
20th September 1981: Collapse of section of Ruahihi Canal; Committee of Inquiry subsequently appointed.
February 1982: Report of Committee of Inquiry into failure of Ruahihi Canal completed; reconstruction commenced subsequently.
In 1981 the Wairoa River Hydro Electric Development owned by the
Tauranga Joint Geneartion Committee consisted of four hydro-electric power
stations situated on rthe western slopes of the Kaimai Range. The Ruahihi
station the last in the chain was supplied with water from the Lake McLaren.
This water was shared with the McLaren Falls Station. The water specifically for the Ruahihi Station was supplied by an earth-lined canal 3,350 metres in
length with a remote controlled gate at the upstream end of the canal. At the
downstream end the canal fed into a concrete forebay structure, the intake
for two 2.5m diameter penstocks which ran down to the powerhouse on the eastern bank of the Wairoa River. Water in the canal was 6 metres deep
and 28 metres between banks under normal conditions.
Most of the earthworks for the 3,350 metre Ruahihi Canal was handled under three roughly equal contracts. Contract H1 covered the upstream section of the canal and extended to chainage 1,350, contract H2 covered the middle section from chainage 1,350 to 2,025, and contract H3 covered from chainage 2,025 to 3,200. A small section of canal earthworks from chainage
3,200 to 3,350 was included with the contract to construct the concrete forebay structure (Appendix I : figure 2). Tenders were called for the three earthwork contracts early in 1977 and were awarded during the winter of 1977 to the following firms:
H1 Green and McCahill (Contractors) Ltd.
99 H2 Fletcher Construction Ltd.
H3 Mills Construction Ltd.
The contract completion date in terms of these original contracts was 30 April 1979, which provided two summer seasons in which to comp[lete the works.
Work started in the spring of 1977. All three contractors found soi I
conditions more difficult than had been expected and the works proceeded slowly. This led to a major renegotiation of all of these contracts in October
1980, which resulted in a major change in work methods and an increase in
the amount of plant engaged on the works. The essential works on all three contracts were completed early in 1981, and this was closely followed by the
filling of the canal in February 1981.
The contract to construct the forebay structure H5 was let to Hawkins
Construction Ltd (Hawkins) just prior to Christmas 1978. The construction of the short make-up length of earth canal H5S was subcontracted by Hawkins
to Green and McCahill (Contractors) Ltd. The main structure handled by
Hawkins was essentially completed by September 1980 and the subcontract completed immediately prior to the filling of the canal in February in 1981.
During the construction stage difficulties were experienced resulting in a renegotiation of contracts. Contributing factors included the dispersive,
erodible and collapsible nature of materials in the substrata and difficulty in
compaction. Soils and rocks at Ruahihi are of volcanic origin and subject to water permeability, slumping and erosion.
100 "The committee is of the opinion that the process of slumping and erosion which has formed the Ivy Creek Valley is possibly still active, and that Fill A may have been constructed on a naturally unstable slope."55
With the renegotiation of contracts in October 1980 and a bonus payment for early completion a fury of activity to complete the canal under poor weather conditions proved successful. By early 1981 the construction was complete.
The filling of the canal commenced on the 25th of February 1981 and obtained a minimum operating level on the 16th of March.
Following the filling of the canal signs of seepage, cracks in the Fills, slumping and artesian waters appeared. Remedial measures were undertaken to rectify the situation but flows from the Fills continued. At the scene of Fill A, the butress fill that was lost in the canal failure, cracking was witnessed on the 5th of August 1981. 30 metres long and about 50mm wide, by the next day it extended the full length of the the fill and another crack was found. The original crack was sealed by the 10th of August however cracks appeared shortly later and on the 20th of September shortly before 1.52 pm the east bank of the canal collapsed taking out a section of the Ruaghihi Road and a 11 kv Kaimai feeder. The escaping water eroded the surrounding breach producing a slurry of debris and large blocks of soil that entered the Wairoa River. This continued for about an hour by which time more than one million cublic metres of liquid mud and rubble had entered the
Wairoa River. The evidence of this massive load was winessed by several kaumatua and hapu members. Kawainga Tata was able to take some photo's of which a couple are included (Plate 17 & 18). Mini Gotz and her
55 Ministry of Works and Development. 1982. Appendix J; 4.2.1 101 ,
Plate 17 Wairoa River After Ruahihi Dam Collapse. • f
o <.) E oCO E E co :J 0:: "- Q) ~co "- Q) a:> co o O"-ro S c o "0 oCO c Q) E :0 Q) (/) Q) om> (/) CO 2 co...... Q) co 0... husband were fishing. Mrs Gotz recalls the muddy waters and the heaps of
eels that came down the river.
The subsequent Inquiry was undertaken by A Vaughan Hatrick, Alan
Howarth, John Galloway and Graham Ramsay. The Committee produced an
interim report dated 22 December 1981 and full report on the failure in
Feruary 1982. The report identified the probable mode of failure as being
caused by " ... Ieakage water raising groundwater levels, producing seepage
forces and causing internal erosion to develop"56 and noted " .... there is
substantial evidence that similar breakouts were pending in other parts of the canal."57
4.8.3 Faecal matter, animal waste.
The Wairoa River has been the subject of debate with Environment BOP. In
recent years the regional council has been trying to get farmers in particular
to clean up their practise of washing cattle shed sludge into drains that flow
into the river. This project has had some success but is still very much in the
priliminary stages. The Wairoa River has been monitored for water quality
by Environment BOP for some 5 years now. The results have shown that the
Wairoa River is among the most polluted rivers in the Bay of Plenty. This
has come as no suprise to Wairoa River hapu who have consistantly voiced their concern of the lack of controls on pollutants entering the river system threatening a source of food and physical and spiritual healing.
56 Ministry of Works and Development. 1982. Appendix J, 9.4.8 57 Ministry of Works and Development. 1982. Appendix J, 9.6 102 The indicators of faecal matter contaminating water are measured by the presence of two bacteria; entercocci (for either marin'e or fresh waters) and
Escherichia coli (freshwaters only),
Guidelines were adopted in 1992 by the Department of Health (DOH 1992).
These guidelines were based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency criteria however some adjustments to the measure have been made.
These guidelines (DOH 1992) have been adopted by the Bay of Plenty
District Council for all Bathing Suitability Surveys. Monitoring has been carried out on the Wairoa River in 1992, 1993 and 1995.
The levels of faecal contamination have been consistantly high over the three years of monitoring exceeding the median DOH (1992) enterococci guideline. In 1993 public attention was drawn to the state of the swimming rivers through the Bay of Plenty Times.
".... More than half of Bay of Plenty's swimming spots on rivers have failed to meet Department of health safety guidelines.
At yesterday's Bay of Plenty Regional Council environmental monitoring committee meeting in Whakatane, environmental scientuist John Mcintosh said the guidelines used to dtermine the quality of the water, the same as those used by the United States, were introduced Ikast year.
Sixteen of 30 sites tested, including the Waimapu and Wairoa Rivers near Tauranga, the Uretara and tuapiro rivers near Katikati and certain sections of the Kaituna River were too polluted for safe swimming.
Testing took place in the 1991/92 season at the request of regional councillors and director of statutory processes Paul dell said the Bay of Plenty Regional Council was one of the few regions applying the new standards.
103 Mr Mcintosh was given permission to investigate the sites failing the swimming suitability guideline. He said there was a need for some feedback from the Department of Health.
Questions that needed to addressed were whether people should be stopped from swimming in the areas and whether there was a human health threat from rural sources.
Thirteen of the sites exceeded the median guideline of 33 enterococci per 11 a millimetres of water but three others, including two in the Western Bay of Plenty were worse.
The Wairoa River at Bethlehem had exceeded 63 enterococci for each 1aaml of water while the Kaituna River at the Te Matai rail bridge had also exceeded that bacteria level.
Mr Mcintosh said the Kaituna River at the rail bridge was downstream from Affco and effluent from there had a high bacteria content.
The Council decided to make the tests known to the Bat of Plenty Area Health Board, district councils and the Department of Health.
The spots in the Western Bay of Plenty that failed the tests were the Waimapu River at Greerton, the Uretara Stream at Katikati, Tuapiro River at MacMillan Road, the Wairoa River below McLaren Falls Dam, the Wairoa River at Bethlehem and the Kaituna River at the Te Matai rail bridge."S8
At McLarens Falls in 1995 the situation with faecal matter in the river was obvious. Pressures from an increase in recreational users where no facilities were present, caused huge problems. A public hearing was held to discuss the future of the Upper Wairoa River and pollution at the Falls was the main
58 Bay of Plenty Times. 4.2.93. Swimming rivers score badly in pollution tests, by Val Sherriff. 104 item of concern. The Bay of Plenty Times covered some of the issues raised by the residents of the area.
"Pollution at Falls outrages residents
Human faeces, heaps of rubbish and traffic bottlenecks that make the McLarens Falls Road impassable were among the main concerns of people presenting submissions to the proposed management plan for the Upper Wairoa River last night. More than 20 people attended the Western Bay of Plenty District Council hearing of submissions by the corporate and community services committee which heard several formal submissions, followed by many residents airing their views in an open forum after the meeting. McLaren Falls bridge had become an extremely popular swimming and picnic spot for visitors throughout the year, especially in summer, yet no facilities for parking or toilets had been provided. The consequent problems had become intolerable for residents and action was needed before the next holiday season, said longtime resident Mr Harold Marshall. Mr Marshall told council that toilets and parking areas had been needed for 20 years and that resolving the problem needed to be urgently addressed. A petition carrying 200 signatures from residents on McLarens Falls Road agreeing with him was proof of the severity of the problem, he said. "The health risk is beyond belief at the falls and human pollution is unbelievable," said Mr Marshall. Mr Marshall proposed that a parking area put behind the old power station was the commonsense answer and would accomodate up to 100 cars as well as give access to more river for swimmers and better viewing for rafting spectators. "People love McLaren Falls and many people enjoy it often, but it has no facilities and it is up to council to provide them. It is beyond belief that the situation as been allowed to go on as long as it has." Another resident Ian McDonald said that the bottlenecks on the road were horrendous in summer and the human pollution in the river was so bad that would never swim in it.
105 "I have been in their with my scuba gear and have seen what's in there," he said. Traffic congestion was also chronic and had caused him delays of up to halan-hour to get through, said Mr McDonald. "If an emergency happened up the road no one could get past. "Rafts are in the middle of the road - people just don't care. "There's not one person living on this road that did not sign the petition to get something (done) about the problem". 59
At the same hearing, tangata whenua were present but were only able to
make oral submissions after not being notified of the hearing. The writer made an oral submission highlighting the statutory obligations of Council
when dealing with resources of significance to tangata whenua (Wairoa
River). The Counil had not recognised the relationship tangata whenua had with the river, furthermore the Council was wanting in the area of
Kaitiakitanga and the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Animal Waste
A traditional tapu that is observed today by Wairoa hapu is the restriction on the spilling, placing or any action that allows the blood or dead body of animals in the river. If such contaminants do enter the river an immediate rahui is placed on the taking of kai moana and swimming. One particular example of such contaminants is Summit Deer products, a deer slaughterhouse and dressing plant in the Kaimai Ranges on State Highway 29. The plant commenced operations in 1982 with the capacity to process
90 deer per day. Initially the company functioned under the conditions of consent number 02 0788 authorising the abstraction of water from a tributary
59 Bay of Plenty times. 6.7.95. Pollution at Falls outrages residents, by Ruth Douglas 106 of the Tuakopai Stream,60 and discharging effluent to ground soakage. This
form of disposal is considered culturaly appropriate, however, gradual
expansion of the plant resulted in increased effluent volumes which could not
be handled by the soakage disposal system. For a period overflow from the
disposal system entered the stream below the plant. The plant continued to
breach its consent conditions of minimum effluent quality and unauthorised
discharges continued for some time between 1990 and 1993 at least. A
memo from MW Bicknell the Environmental Field Officer to Environmental
Regulation and Monitoring in August 1990 described the situation.
"On arrival at the site , we were told by the manager that some waste, mostly blood, had been discharged through the stormwater system to the stream. The reason given for this was that the stormwater diversion into the holding tanks had not been done at the start of the day's operations. Consequently blood from the hide preparation area, which runs into a stormwater drain, was washed out into the stream. Stormwater diversion had been done just prior to our visit. "61
In December 1993 the situation was the same; wastewater was not meeting
water quality standards and discharges into the stream were still occurring.
While this was happening Wairoa River hapu were gathering their mataitai from the river. This situation is of the highest cultural indignity imaginable.
The blood of dead animals in the river is culturally offensive and the
gathering of kai in this state forbidden under tikanga. No mention was given to the hapu to take necessary action.
It wasn't till February 1994 some action was taken by Environment BOP to deal with the sitation. The Bay of Plenty Times covered the story rather well
60 Wairoa River Catchment / Tuakopai flows into the Mangakarengorengo River. 61 Bruere, A.C. 1994. Compliance Report; Summit Deer Products Limited. Environment BOP.
107 illustrating the lack of action when it was known in 1991 that things were not up to scratch.
"Fortex Groups Summit Deer Products Ltd will be prosecuted by Environment BOP over discharges from its abattoir near the summit of the Kaimais. The council environmental committee meeting in Whakatane yesterday discussed "unauthorised discharge of contaminants to the environment" by the company. Media representatives and the public were excluded "to enable the council to deliberate in private on its decision or recommendation in any proceedings where a right of appeal lies to any court or tribunaL .. " . Today, environmental monitoring director Paul Dell said it had been decided to prosecute the company for the most recent incident, in December. Councilors felt the abattoir management should have sorted out the discharge problem immediately rather than wait for it to be discovered. The closed discussion followed presentation of a staff report on past environmental performance of the abattoir, which has resource consents issued in 1991 to take water from an adjacent stream and to discharge treated effluent to the Tuakopai Stream. Environmental consents officer Andy Bruere said the company had generally met terms of its right to take water. However it had failed to comply with conditions of its discharge consent in several ways. His report indicated the company had frequently discharged more than its authorised 30 cubic metres of effluent a day (the highest recorded output during wet weather had been 279 cubic metres), and the effluent routinely failed to meet required quality standards. Mr Bruere attributed part of the problem to increased throughput at the abattoir, and inadequate supervision of the effluent plant. He said the company had to take responsibility for overseeing the treatment system to ensure it operated satisfactorily, as well as swiftly detect any failures. His report said recent modifications to the system had brought about some improvements, but as recently as December an
108 unauthorised discharge had resulted in growth of sewage fungus in the Tuakopai Stream. Councilors endorsed a recommendation that further legal action be taken if discharges did not meet required standards by the end of February.62
The use of streams, rivers and harbours as a drain for waste is culturally offensive. The lack of action on the part of the Regional Council has further
diminished the trust tangata whenua have in pakeha authorities in protecting resources of significance and traditional cultural concepts (tikanga Maori).
4.8.4 Sedimentation, runoff
The maximum utilisation of land for farming purposes along the Wairoa River has been the cause of sediment runoff. The soil loss to the river attributed to
the natural drainage pattern of the area. Wairoa hapu have long envisaged
that riparian strips will be revegetated in native plants that will be of cultural
purpose and significance adding to the distinct visual beauty of a river landscape. Environment BOP has recognised the problem but can only
address the discharges and not the riparian planting.
4.8.5 Other sources
Occasionaly accidental sources of pollution will enter the river environment
such as a phosphate truck in 1994. Although the hapu understands the predicament of 'unknown factors', it is expected that the kaitiaki status of Wairoa River hapu will ensure prompt notification for appropriate cultural
measures to be taken such as rahui.
62 Deer plant faces action. Bay of Plenty Times. 2.2.94, by Dave Blanshard.
109 Plate 19 Logs and branches during heavy rain coming down river, September '96.
Plate ~o Looking up river from Pukewhanake. Te Karaka, top left Transit New Zealand is still not sure who will foot the bill for up to $ 25,000 damage caused by a runaway truck trailer on Wairoa Bridge. The trailer dumped its load of five tonnes of phosphate fertiliser in the river when it ploughed through the bridge railings, into the water, last Wednesday.63
63 Bay of Plenty Times. 28.9.94. $ 25,000 bill waits, by Sue Hoffart. 110 5.0 Waahi Tupuna, Waahi tangata, Waahi tapu Places of ancestors, of the people, and sacred places.
5.1 Introduction
The high concentration of cultural sites of the Wairoa Valley from the harbour to the Kaimai is testimony to long prior inhabitance of the land by Wairoa
Hapu. Sites and areas along the Wairoa River vary in size and importance dependant on the concentration of activity, location to resources, strategic location in battle and seasonal factors.
Ngati Kahu, Ngati Pango and Ngati Rangi have occupied the Wairoa for over
800 years thuis forging a special relationship with the land and resources.
This special relationship is fostered through whaikorero, waiata, and cultural activities that carry on today such as the introduction of waka ama and hikoi over the ancestral landscape visiting old pa sites.
The physical protection of significant sites and areas is an important component in the fostering of a traditional lifestyle and culture. These sites and areas are living reminders of the past that evoke the spirit of the river people in their essense as an integral part of the natural environment.
The Wai 42a claim identifies some sites of particular significance that are requested to be returned to Wairoa hapu; Papa 0 Wharia and Poteriwhi to
Ranginui hapu; Pukewhanake and Te Paorangi. These are the most significant of sites but are by no means the limit of important sites and areas of special significance to Wairoa Hapu.
III The general catergories of sites and areas covers;
• pa, papakainga and papatipu
• mahinga kai - food harvesting and gathering areas
• Waahi tapu; such as waro, urupa, waipuna and sites related to the taniwha and particular ancestors
• Mataitai - fishing areas
• wai - streams and creeks
Sites of significance are identified later in this section and where information
is available a description of the site / area and any issues of concern is included. Not all sites and areas are included. This is due to;
either a lack of information through loss of valuable informants;
information will be provided as oral evidence at the hearing or; information is too sensitive for disclosure (some waahi tapu)
5.2 Historic and Cultural Heritage
5.2.1 Introduction
The scientific application of site identification, recording and registering has gone some way in corroborating the physical evidence of maori occupation of the ancestral landscape with local knowledge. Where oral evidence has been lost, physical evidence has gone someway to evaluate the extent of occupation and the various resource based uses of areas and sites however there have been increasing problems with the active protection of these areas.
The Historic Places Act (HPA) is the primary legislation for the preservation of archaeological sites and the Historic Places Trust (HPT) has been given statutory role in their protection. The current legislation Historic Places Act
112 1993 is relatively new. The Act has its origins in protecting Maori archaeological sites with the 1975 Amendment Act. The Resource
Management Act 1991 (RMA) and the Conservation Act 1987 also provide substantial scope for the protection and management of historic and cultural
heritage. An important point to note is the absence of references to the
Treaty of Waitangi in the Historic Places Act which is included in the RMA (sec 8) and the Conservation Act 1987 (sec 4).
The New Zealand Archaeological Association (NZAA) role in heritage management is, keeping a register of recorded archaeological sites and
areas. The register is rather out of date and incomplete. The HPT currently
has some 50,000 sites registered throughout New Zealand. This is considered by the writer to be only a small proportion of all sites and areas
unrecorded. A recent archaelogical survey of Papamoa uncovered hundreds
of previously unrecorded sites with many waahi tapu.
The Wairoa Valley has up to two hundred sites registered with the HPT with an estimated several hundred unregistered. These were mainly surveyed during the 1980's by McFadgen and Sheppard under the 1975 legislation.
The current register is dated February 1986 and out of date with many discrepancies. The site positions are only accurate to the nearest 100
metres and no evaluation of the relationship of these sites has been done.
Of these sites it is estimated that only half of them exist with no disturbance, half being modified or destroyed through rural, horticulture and urban development such as subdivisions.
The recent increase in urban development in Bethlehem and Tauranga has placed pressure on archaeological sites being destroyed. This intensity has
113 been met with resistance from tangtata whenua however the frequency of archaeological sites being destroyed has not decreased.
Even with the protection of sites being entrenched in law (HPA), tangata whenua have been unable to stop the destruction of archaeological sites.
5.2.2 Concerns
Many reasons for the lack of protection exist; some of these relate to the market led strategy of District Councils where development is left to market forces putting pressure on the sites to be destroyed, and some wider issues pertaining to the process, quality of information and standards. Many of these issues were highlighted by a report investigating the heritage management system, "Historic and Cultural Heritage Management in New
Zealand", in particular cultural heritage. At a local level the issues were dealt with by way of a tangata whenua heritage hui held at Wairoa Marae in
August 1996.
"Historic and Cultural Heritage Management in New Zealand" report was was an evaluation of the current Government system to ascertain how heritage was being managed. Prepared by the Paliamentary Commission for the Environment, was completed in June 1996. The report recognised that heritage protection for many places was not being achieved and the permanent loss of many historic and cultural sites was causing widespread anxiety and most acutely amongst tangata whenua.
114 "There is no doudt that significant losses of historic and cultural heritage in New Zealand are continuing ... "M
The report addressed a range of issues relating to heritage management with
the concerns in the background to the investigation being brought to the
attention of the Commisssioner. These being Maori in Northland, Auckland, Tauranga, the Kapiti Coast and Waipa District among others. A summary of
critical issues was produced in late 1995 and a submission period allowed for
refinements which were added to the summary in due course. Under the Terms of reference the investigation was initiated.
Terms of Reference
1. Te review the allocation of powers and functions to public authorities involved in historic and cultural heritage protection.
2. Te review the effectiveness and suitability of procedures for the protection of historic and cultural heritage.
3. To report the results to the House of Representatives and to provide advice as appropriate.
Some 35 conclusions and 16 recommendations were achieved by the report
which clearly identified Maori Heritage as an area requiring substantial effort from the government system to develop options and strategies for protecting
and managing historic and cultural heritage of significance to Maori.
(Appendix N) In conclusion the report noted;
".... the system for the management of historic and cultural heritage as a whole lacks integrated strategic planning, is poorly resourced and appears to fall short of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Consequently, permanent losses of all types of historic and cultural heritage are continuing. "65
64 PCFE. June 1996. Historic and Cultural Heritage Management in New Zealand. p29 65 PCFE. June 1996. p.91 115 A miriad of failures of government agencies at national and regional level in
actively protecting historic and cultural heritage and variances in protection,
management and participation mechanisms applicable under the number of
Acts affecting heritage protection were identified. Summaries of
assessments are included in Appendix Land M.
Tangata Whenua Cultural Heritage Hui
At a local level Ngati Kahu initiated a hui that addressed cultural heritage management for arcaeological sites and areas on August 12 1996. The hui
was essential in the light of the recently released PCFE report and the destruction of a number of important pa in the Tauranga area through
subdivision, with a particularly important site under threat, (the Kotonui pa at Athenree of the ancient Ngamarama tribe). The hui included representatives
from territorial authorities, HPT, NZAA, DOC, and tangata whenua; iwi and hapu. The primary goal was to workshop standards and criteria for the
management of archaelogical sites termed "cultural heritage" by the tangata
whenua.
The hui was documented by the Ngati Kahu Resource Management Team
and the following is a summary of the major issues that were discussed.
The priniple themes are;
The present status of standards for territorial authorities and the Historic Places Trust.
Reasons for heritage destruction in the planning process.
Problems with heritage management.
Standards for territorial authorities - present status archaeological reports and assessments
116 no peer review within District and Regional Councils - passed on to NZHPT applied scientific method orientated to developer as client archaeological monitoring achieved using scientific evidence objective rather than cultural heritage concept individual site approach denies the relationship of other sites and the context of significance.
consultation with tangata whenua
lack of scrutiny - general acceptance of developer's reports by authorities consultation generally used as the consent process consultation often ,carried out too late after planning considerations completed
qualifications and experience of professionals
none required cultural impact assessment
none required done at the descretion of the resource consent applicant May be included as part of assessment of Effects (AOE) under fourth schedule but not enforced.
Standards for NZHPT - present status archaeological reports and assessments
no cultural assessment of impact on heritage. consultation with tangata whenua
specified by NZHPT but not in the HPA. qualifications and experience of professionals
none required cultural impact assessment
none required
Planning Process: Heritage Destruction Occurs Through:
Lack of available information Identification, assessment, value
117 Passive consent process absence of standards absence of integrated approach from statutory bodi.es
Passive local body role minimal notification lack of expertise in heritage management
Passive tangata whenua role lack of knowledge, expertise, expenses involved
Passive role of NZHPT absence of standards - consent, professionals lack of expertise - heritage and resource management
Problems in Heritage Management current management
1. Upgrading of heritage information is slow and sporadic. 2. Identification and assessment criteria are relaxed 3. Low level of resources and political committment 4. Absence of waahi tapu site registration 5. Low level of heritage identification and assessment 6. Emphasis on scientific values - archaeological sites archaeological
1. lack of available information 2. no peer review 3. lack of definable categories 4. no information of context 5. ranking system approach 6. destruction is necessary for information cultural
1. lack of available information 2. little identification and assessment done to date 3. responsibility remains with tangata whenua 4. ack of expertise 5. no funding (voluntary)
The hui was constructive for all parties however the implementation of standards and criteria for the protection and management of tangata whenua cultural heritage at a local level was not able to be achieved, in part due to
118 the completion of the Draft Western Bay of Plenty District Council Plan and the Tauranga District Plan being in its final stages of release for submissions. The Council staff however took on board the concerns and wished for further hui to discuss the potential for using existing policy and implementation mechanisms. The other authorities namely HPT, DOC and NZAA acknowledged there was a lot of work to do and have an important part to play in enforcing their statutory obligations and providing frameworks and standards to achieve their purpose; the protection and management of historic and cultural heritage for future generations.
119 Aerial phot of Lower Wairoa River (places of significance) Figure 8 Aerial photo of Lower Wairoa River (places of significance) J • :.:.:'" . .!. .. :: . ':. ~~"-/ .. .: I ~.: .-, T .4 f/ I I
I Raad.;;...... • ----- TracJ<.~ •..• .•.•.•....
• 7.·.· .,~ '''-' I .E ntl":";lIJ (U...... Oltl..!/iltlri p.~:z.""'" .. =::;;;J J
C,'!'I t;~-<. .;.....,. I .~ 1.'-C-11.,z :""'" ';.c ,-,4 ." I ~--- J 1 1 I
'..
Figure 9 Wairoa / Bethlehem 1865 (After Kahotea 1992a) 5.3 Nga Waahi
The papakainga Papa 0 Wharia
Figures 2, 3 & 4 Plate 21
During ancient times Papa 0 haria has been the venue of many important
intertribal hui. In times of battle it was a spiritual focal point for religious rites
to be conducted. The preparation for battle was performed through karakia and certain kawa and afterwards a cleansing to whakanoa or clear the tapu
by karakia and bathing in sacred springs. The papakainga is associated with
many waahi tapu so is considered to be a sacred place.
Located on a gently sloping elevation overlooking the river on the eastern side of the river opposite Pukekonui (now Pukehou) the extent of the papakainga incorporated the promontory and surrouding area which included extensive gardens.
Some of these waahi tapu referred to above include the kainga (home) of the taniwha which is situated very close to Papa 0 Haria known as Te Roto
Horua, the ruataniwha - sleeping place of the kaitiaki taniwha, a small stream that runs to the river and many flax on the river banks. Others may be given through oral evidence.
After the war ( battles of Pukehinahina and Te Ranga) Pene Taka lived at
Papawhare (Papa 0 haria), on the east bank of the lower Wairoa River opposite a flour mill, built in the 1850's, which they were operating. Troops remained at Tauranga for a time and Robley, stationed there until early 1866,
120 Wairoa River showing Whare c.a. 1900 recorded that Pene Taka remained on friendly terms with the forces, cultivating the lands allowed him.66
During the next 13 years the Wairoa to the Kaimai was an area of military
occupation. Irritated by land confiscation and purchases involving lands
claimed by these hapu of Papa oharia, from the mill site across the river, Te
Irihanga - a Ngati Rangi stronghold and Pirirakau of Te Puna adopted the Pai Marire faith (hauhau) and obstructed surveying of their stolen lands which
lead to a series of military actions in January and February of 1867. The
hapu were driven off into the bush, their homes burnt and their crops partly destroyed. Throughout the 1870's hapu under the mana of the Maori King
and lead by Pene Taka and Pirirakau chiefs the hapu of the Wairoa and the
bush publicly demonstrated their opposition to settler encroachment.
A sketch of a pataka (carved food store hose on poles) was done by Robley
in 1864. Robley also sketched a portrait of Pene Taka with a forage cap and
fine moko.
The Tauranga Urban Growth Strategy Cultural Resource Inventory, June
1992 made these recommendations.
That the following be recognised as areas and places of significance:
i. Wairoa River ii. Pa - Papa 0 haria, Poteriwhi iii. Papa kainga - Te Roto Parera, Poteriwhi
66 Department of Internal Affairs. 1990. The People of Many Peaks. The Maori Biographies from The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Volume1, 1769-1869. Tuaia, Pene Taka, p.331 121 iv. Waahi tapu - Te Roto Arama Reia, Poteriwhi, Te Roto Parera
Although the Inventory report considered Papa 0 haria a pa and of high significance the catergory of papakainga (undefended) settlement in this report should not lessen its heritage value.
Traditional resources associated with the papakainga.
Springs and a small stream provide a valuable source of water for Papa 0 Wharia that has been used until recent times. The stream that runs under
Taniwha Place to the river by way of culvert contains water considered to be
"waiora", waters of the highest class of purity. Kokopu (galaxid species) live there.
A large stand of flax grows on the river margin. These harakeke are used for specificaly for whariki
This area that contains the stream and harakeke was taken for landing reserve and is currently vested with the Land Corporation. (Figure 14)
Associated with the Papa 0 Wharia is a sacred spring or waipuna. The hot waipuna (spring) situated near the banks of the Wairoa below Papa 0 Wharia was used to cleanse and heal wounds of chiefs and warriors returning from battle. The sacred waters of the spring and muds were used in conjunction, to create the best effect.
The Waimarino canoes was established in XX and has developed into a substantial business utilised particularly in the Summer months. Children
122 from the area and Tauranga frequent the business that provides canoe rides, a range of water sports, and the use of hot waters from the spring.
Wairoa hapu have been extremely upset over the commercialisation of the tapu spring and the area as a focal point of occupation in recent times. The special significance of the spring still holds today as told in stories and a hapu members name being dedicated to the spring to keep the tradition of history alive.
It should be noted, that it is some reluctance that Wairoia hapu bring this issue to the attention of the public. It is understood by the writter that no formal submissions have been filed with Tauranga District Councilor
Environment BOP however the subject was raised in the 1994 Planning Tribunal submission.
" On land, Ngati Kahu have witnessed the desecration of waahi tapu, in particular, a sacred spring close to the river was pOinted out to its pakeha owner. When Ngati Kahu requested the private land owner that he respect the spring, the owner's response was to concrete it and utilise it for commercial clients."67
With the degree of "mamae" (hurt) that has been expressed to the writer by hapu members concerning the use of the spring it is ironic that the
Waimarino Canoe proprietor - Anderson is unaware of the concerns of Ngati Kahu, Ngati Pango and Ngati Rangi hapu. This however would be a reflection of the reluctance to disclose sensitive information in the light of transpiring events.
67 Williams, Joe. 1994. Submission on behalf of Ngati Kahu. (Appeal RMA 519/93) 123 Te Paorangi
Figure 9
Plates 23 & 25
Te Paorangi is a Ngati Pango pa according to ancient history. Situated above the flood plain on the western side of the Wairoa River north of State
Highway 2, the pa provides a strategic location to the resources of the river.
A house is currently occupying the top of the pa which is believed to have
been built in 1975. The importance of the pa has been recognised by others too. The Tauranga Historical Society had this to say about the pa.
Tauranga Historical Society: Report on pa sites between Pahoia and the
Waimapu Stream68
"Proposal for construction of a model pa. Mr Borell and I are agreed that the best site for construction of a model pa is the site of Paorangi Pa on Mr Hector Clarke's property- if permission can
be obtained. This site is 1/2 mile west of the Wairoa bridge and
slightly north of the Tauranga - Waihi Road. The best alternative that we can suggest is the site of Waihuri Pa at the northern end
of Omokoroa Peninsula."
The model pa did not come intio fruition. Currently under claim to be returned to Ngati Ranginui hapu. An interesting comment of note that needs attention is the korero of one of Ngati Kahu's kuia's.
68 Tauranga Historical Society. Pa sites between Pahoia and Waimapu. 124 Plate 22 Western side of Wairoa River, Te Puna Station Road. Hakao, the flood plain below dwellings built on pa and papakainga.
Plate 23 Te Paorangi in background with house on top. Plate 24 Te Paorangi with house built on top. Western side of Wairoa River.
Plate 25 Te Papa 0 Wharia " ... Clarke's owns all that land eh, you'd think he'd give some for
the maori's eh, just a bit for us. He knows it's all maori land. He
used to work with us ... "69
69 pers. comment. April 1996. Te Ruia Nga Purapura. 125 Poteriwhi Pa
Figures 2,8 & 9
Plates 26 &27
Porteriwhi is a battle pa and papatipu situated on the eastern side of the
Wairoa River above Te Papa 0 Wharia adjacent to State Highway 2 and
carmichaels Road. Built as a battle pa in 1864 for the land wars it was subsequently destroyed by Crown troops and filled however Robley did some
portraits at Porteriwhi and a detailed plan of the battle pa.
The name of Porteriwhi is a transliteration for the words "Port of Relief' which denoted its strategic location at the crossroads of inland tracks and access to coastal settlements.
Several houses are built on the pa and surrounding area with kiwifruit production the predominant activity. Livestock farming was concluded about
late 1960's with more intensive horticulture introduced.
The Porteriwhi area has been identified as a preferred site for a recreation
reserve sports field centre for Bethlehem. 70 This has been carried further
with a designation in the Tauranga District Council Draft Discussion Document71 for sports field and a paper road going through the middle of the
pa, this providing an access. The designation has been proceeded with regardless of the Cultural Inventory identifying the pa and the Waitangi
claim.
70 Boffa Miskell Partners. Feb 1993. Assessment for a Central Sports Area, Bethlehem. 71 TDC Draft Disscussion Document. p328 126 ..
"
Plate 26 Wairoa Redoubt, built on Poteriwhi Pa [Robley 1864] ~l! g';ii"~ Building a redoubt at the Wairoa, Tauranga National Museum of New Zealand 224
38. Old Canoe on Wairoa bank, Tauranga 1864 w/c & pencil on white cart. 157 x 260 rnn. NMNZ Collection FA 853 Purchased from the Artist by the N.Z. Govt, 1905 Inscriptions VERSO: (pencil, R's hand) whole page [sketch of ILl shaped pa at Wairoa (Poteriwhi), with numbered notes.] Robley Album: (ink, Rls hand) "3/ Old canoe on Wairoa bank, Tauranga 1864/ G. Robley/ back of sketch has plan of the native fortification - close by."
Notes: Robley's plan of Poteriwhi (a.k.a. the "L-shaped" pa) was subsequently reproduced in the British War Office Records. [A.T.L. MS 1387 T.E. DONNE Papers. (Folder 24)].
d ~:i;:i~;.~::·~;:;~'fj;t
":' . . J.i~ut. Eo~a1.io G; Robley 68~Reg~ .. , .. '. r 1864. /" 1--_..-______...... ,...,..1--- .. -1 ---- ··----'-+----_I'-...... -~ .~ : " .. t· ...... 4 • ", •• , ...... ', ..•... ~ " '.' .. : ~~.Paliia.iu· _i . · B. Zigxag RiIldPiU ~«et/dup · 0.· wv~wa:r$ to f.:nMri.or · D. fHou.,ow,- iruidd dug oldl To7' living : . :lycookirrg 8Feet7tUep E. Higlv.Hounu Iat' Eou.ru. WPea=/tu'nei
.. ,. .~. ,., , . j ~. : :,; ., ,0. • -,' • , ~ ,......
British War Office records (see Cat.No.38) Alexander Turnbull Library MS 1387/24
Plate 27 Poteriwhi, Battle Pa. [Robley 1864] Ngati Kahu and Ngati Rangi have claimed the pa and wish for its return regardless of the houses built on it. It is assumed by the writer, that from talks with Ngati Kahu, the houses on top of the pa would be removed and development of the pa as a focal point for the hapu's of the Wairoa initiated.
Historical
This pa on the Wairoa River, was also known as Poteriwhi and was usually occupied by Penetaka, the Ngaiterangi engineer who designed the Gate Pa, this pa and many others. The Ngaiterangi retreated to Poteriwhi subsequent to leaving the Gate Pa in April-May 1864. On reaching it a few days later the British found it deserted, so the palisading was dismantled and set fire to. A redoudt was then constructed on the site. It was subsequently decided to abandon the Wairoa redoubt and concentrate all the British forces at Te
Papa. 72
Robley on the scene in 1864 recorded observations of "filling in the pits of the [L] shaped pa Wairoa, Tauranga, & with fern building a redoudt in layers, in the distance is much burnt land after fires lit, by Maoris on retreat from this abandoned pa,".73 (Plate 26)
The Ngati Kahu relationship with the whenua and the awa was deeply affected by the events of the 1860's on. After the battles of Gate Pa and Te Ranga, Ngati Kahu and Ngati Rangi retired to their inland settlements of Kaimai and Te Irihanga. Prior to 1864 Ngati Kahu and Ngati Rangi were
72 [Fildes: 1921. p.64-65.] Robley Thesis: p 214 73 Walker, Timothy. Robley Thesis p.214 127 located at their pa in the Wairoa at Papa 0 Wharia and Poteriwhi (see Smiths
census 1864). When British troops invaded Tauranga Maoana in 1864,
Ngati Kahu, Ngati Rangi and Ngati Pango aligned themselves with Ngati Ranginui and Ngaiterangi in defence of their homes and families. A pa was
constructed at Poteriwhi by the Wairoa people as a ring of pa around the
foothills of Tauranga to stop the troops entering Waikato from this area. 74
Poteriwhi was the original pa for the confrontation between Tauranga Maori
aligned with the Maori King and the British troops. However what transpired was the reluctance of the British marching all the way to Poteriwhi, even though a road was built. 7S
When the government sent troops to Tauranga in January 1864, Ngai Te
Rangi warriors hurried home to defend their terriotory. They fortified a number of pa that Pene Taka apparently had a hand in designing, including his own pa, Poteriwhi, which was situated high above the east bank of the lower Wairoa River. At Poteriwhi, Ngai Te Rangi met and agreed to a code of humane and chivalrous rules of warfare, and on 28th March 1864 a copy of this code, as well as a challenge to attack, was sent to Lieutenant Colonel H. H Greer, commander of the military force. Greer did not respond and by early April Ngai Te Rangi, under their commander Rawiri Puhiraki, began building a pa nearer the soldiers' camp, in a strong position on the
Pukehinahina ridge. It was afterwards called the Gate Pa, because of its position at the gate leading into the Chuirch missionary Society mission property.
74 Kahotea, Desmond Tatana. 1994. Submission to the Planning Tribunal on behalf ofTe Pura and 453 Trusts and Wairoa Marae Committee. p.19 75 Korero 128 "However, the garrison abandoned the pa on the night of 29 April, some of them resting briefly at Poteriwhi, which was afterwards destroyed by the British and a temporary redoubt built in its place."76
Several pa were established by Ngai Te Rangi leaders. Puhirake rebuilt and occupied an old pa named Te Waoku close to the Waimapu river. He sent formal messages to Lieutenant Colonel H.H. Greer inviting him to bring his soldiers to fight at Te Waoku, and constructed a road to the pa to assist
Greer to take up the challenge. No reply was received, and a further challenge was sent from combined Ngai Te Rangi leaders gathered at
Poteriwhi, Pene Taka Tuaia's pa on the lower Wairoa River. At Poteriwhi a code of chivalry for the conduct of the war was drawn up with the assistance and approval of Henare Taratoa and other leaders."77
On May 6th, a week after the Gate Pa engagement, a reconnaisance in force was made from Te Papa towards the Wairoa River, some four miles to the westward. The boats of her majesty's Ships "Miranda" and "Esk" assisted in passing the troops across the Waikareao Estuary. After spending some hours in examining the country, the approach of darkness made it necessary to halt the infantry, as from the peculiar nature of the ridges and intervening swamp it would be some time before the Wairoa was reached. The General therefore galloped on with the cavalry, and found a carefully constructed pa (Poteriwhi) in a strong position overlooking the Wairoa river, on its right bank. It was deserted and had been so probably for ten days or a fortnight.
76 Department of Internal Affairs. 1990. The People of Many Peaks. The Maori Biographies from The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Volumel, 1769-1869. Tuaia, Pene Taka, p.330 77 Department of Internal Affairs. 1990. The People of Many Peaks. The Maori Biographies from The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Volume 1, 1769-1869. Puhirake, Rawiri, p 113 129 Some of the palisading was torn down and burnt, and the return journey was made by a much shorter route, utilising the ford.
On May 12th a force consisting of 68th Regiment, the movable column (a mixed detachment under Major Ryan, 70th) with the Defence Cavalry and
one 6-pounder Armstrong gun, moved to Poteriwhi again and emcamped, the intention being to occupy a position on the Wairoa, with intermediate posts
between that and T auranga, and thus to combine the protection of T auranga on the west, by clearing away the enemy to a greater distance in that
direction, with the enclosure of a considerable area of valuable land.
On May 13th the demolition of the Maori work at Poteriwhi was commenced,
with a veiw to the construction of a redoubt to accomodate 150 men.
The following day, the Colonel Steamer "Sandfly" arrived with intelligence
that completly altered the plan of operations. She brought word that the
settlement at Wanganui was in imminent danger of attack; also an urgent demand from the Superintendent of Hawke's Bay for the despatch of
reinforcements to Napier. The completion of the redoubt was therefore
abandoned, together with the formation of the connecting posts between it and Tauranga. The force was withdrawn from the Wairoa to Te Huria
(Judea), and a redoubt erected there for 100 men. These alterations were essential in order to free troops for dispatch to the other centres of
disturbance. It was determined, moreover, irrespective of the news from the
South, not to extend operations in the vicinity of Tauranga, as there were no compensating advatages to offset the difficulties certain to be encountered in occupying and holding new positions."78
78 Gifford and Williams. 1940. A Centenial History of Tauranga. AH & AW 130 The Tauranga Urban Growth Strategy Cultural Resource Inventory, June 1992 made these recommendations.
That the following be recognised as areas and places of significance:
i. Wairoa River
ii. Pa - Papa a haria, Poteriwhi
iii. Papa kainga - Te Rota Parera, Poteriwhi
iv. Waahi tapu - Te Rota Arama Reia, Poteriwhi, Te Rota Parera
Ngati Kahu Marae Community Zone and hapu land as Heritage Area. 79
Reed. Wellington. 79 Kahotea, Des Tatana. June 1992. Tauranga Urban Growth Strategy Cultural Resource Inventory. Features of significance to the Maori Community (tangata whenua). Tauranga District Council. 131 Pukewhanake
Ngamarama hapu pa I Ranginui pa.
Figures 8 & 9 Plates 28,29, 30 & 31
Situated at the mouth of the Wairoa River on the western banks, is the most
outstanding feature due to it strategic position. Like a finger at the river edge the pa gives, panoramic views are of the moana.
The most notable characteristic of the pa at present is the cut on the northern extremity where the pa was used for fill in construction of the State Highway
2. Not only was the modification damaging on Wairoa hapu mana but the desecration caused by the removal of koiwi (skeletal remains), that were left on the road after falling off the truck. Ngati Kahu representatives gathered the remains and took them to Taumatawhioi the urupa below Wairoa Marae.
Wairoa hapu have claimed the pa and wish for return to Ranginui hapu.
The pa has recently been visited by Ranginui hapu for Waitangi Day celebrations. Many of the kaumatua recalled their childhood adventures coming up to the pa and the significance to all Ranginui hapu as the home of the "Ranginui" himself.
Taken from the Bay of Plenty Times 1 April 1910.
Out and About Te Wairoa Farm
A few days ago a Times representative visited liTe Wairoa" the property of Mr H.P. Clarke. The farm is situated about six miles from Tauranga wharf, on the Katikati main road. The holding may
l32 Plate 28 Pukewhanake , Te Puna Station Road. Pa used as borrow for fill in construction of Sh2 and bridge, 1967/68.
Plate 29 Pukewhanake, the sacred home of Ranginui and Ngamarama hapu before him. Plate 30 Pukewhanake. Taken from Western side, Te Puna Station Road
Plate 31 Wairoa River with Pukewhanake pa. also be reached by water and is bounded for a considerable distance on the eastern side by the navigable the Wairoa River. Mr Clarke is the owner of the commodious launch Waimanu and enabled to load all material required for use on the farm at a point on the river bank about 20 chains from the homestead, a well-graded trolley road providing access to the Wairoa. Shaff and other products are sent away by this route. The total area of the farm is 430 acres, consisting 203 acres previously owned by the late Captain Clarke - father of the present owner - and 224 acres purchased in recent years by Mr H.P. Clarke from Messers Laurie Bros. and the Assets Realisation Board. In Captain Clarkes time he engaged in sheep farming and cropping but Mr H.P. Clarke now puts his faith principally to dairying. He has gone out of sheep because there is no ready market for the fats, but would be prepared, however, to go sheep fattening again if a . freezing works were erected at Tauranga.
The highest point on the property is an eminence, known to the natives as Pukewhanake, which was in former days a strongly-fortified Maori pa. The fortifications have long since been dismantled to give place to English grasses. Pukewhanake overlooks the mouth of the Wairoa and the vicinity must have been the scene of many stirring conflicts between the natives. Numerous Maori weapons have been found in the vicinity including stone axes and tomahawks, and valuable greenstone tiki picked up about eight years ago and subsequently disposed of to Captain Mair. Aportion of the extreme end of the pa which was seperated from the main pa by a ditch 30 feet wide and 15 feet deep may still be seen in its natural state. From the top of Pukewhanake is a magnificent view of Mount Maunganui, Mayor, Karewha, Rangiwaea, Matakana and Motuhoa Islands and all the surrounding country from Tauranga to Katikati. 80
80 Bay of Plenty Times. 1-4-1910. 133 Pukekonui/Pukehou
Figures 2, 8 & 12 Plate 7
Pukekonui encompasses the areas of land granted (Te Puna Lot 182) to
Ngati Pango and Ngati Kuku in 1868. The focus of the area being the
elevation overlooking the Wairoa River now used as an urupa and known as Pukehou. An area for a marae reserve has been set aside for a future
development. Only a handful of Ngati Pango still occupy their remaining
lands which is held in Trust. Of the original 204 acres granted some 24 acres remains.
Purakautahi
Figure 2
Settlement in the Kaimai where Ngati Motai and Ngati Pango were said to be occupying in 1864.81
81 T.H. Smiths Report 11th February 1864 134 ; I.' --.
Plan of Native Reserves Between The Wairoa and Te Puna Rivers
'...... '~ ~'. . . '- '~. ' ..~
'If • If. 17 .,. , DJ.o ... ·· o o . "/ ~ 0 ~o· s'; 0 1'.\· . =-==;. . '(, ." , . .•. ~." :.';--:' ; .. ' . .z ..!".U ",. I ,1//~ ',' : Paorangi . (t" ',l~ : ' . t :'''' .~ 6'/. "" 00" , .. /; ~.' .~\:: '#~/fj . ' ..... :;. ::z " 40 ",,; ;t: £$ : g,<'.e. .... /,,0 ::jf/ )I£ill 23 /./t', ./jl.lll(/
/
C,1J.J J'Oll /7L.·
a .'" HOl'i Ngatai rna .
I) , i 182
'.: ". ~ ~ \:-.: 1, '( ...... ~:~i:.L:, \ \ ;:.. ~.. ,.' .'-
~'1 183 ,. .. .HH . .' uhana Karawera
", '".' or4- 0./7. ...J~ ,:-,r"/r( l',::r ...... : .•. L. "/'. ,:...... /1 . '-"""C ~'".(J'.. ~I ... a.. ~---~<~~" 68~ 61..::::_' . -- ) frr---- Figure 12 Plan of Native Reserves (Pukekonui - Te,.~_~na 18~)J A Whakaheke
Figures 8 & 9
This pa and present urupa is situated on the eastern side of the Wairoa River opposite Pukewhanake. Whakaheke has been used as an urupa for at least one hundred years now although many waro (traditional burial places) are in the vicinity. Returned as part of the crown grants to Ngati Kahu and Ngati
Rangi (Te Papa Lot 91).
The pa Whakaheke is located on Maori Land administered by Te Pura I Ngati Kahu Trust which was formed in 1984.
Several springs are associated with Whakaheke and have been used till recent times by the marae and many of the families at Wairoa. Development of mains water and retention from water tanks has improved availability thus use of springs has been abandoned.
Whakaheke was used as a borrow for fill for the railway line. No consultation with Ngati Kahu I Ngati Rangi is known to have occured.
135 Te Roto Parera, a papakainga [pa]
Figures 8 & 9
Plate 32 & 33
The papakainga is located on a promontory overlooking the Wairoa River several hundred metres upstream of the State Highway 2 bridge. Its position
on the eastern banks allows for clear visibility up and down the river for quite
some distance. A residential dwelling is built on the papakainga with a small number of pine as a shelter belt.
Te Roto Parera is an ancient place associated with hapu's of the Wairoa
River. It was the first pa of the Wairoa people. Under the mana of the chief
of this papakainga, Ngakuruparera many of the flax along the river were planted.
"they were the first tribe that lived there and their chief was Ngakuruparera who planted all the flax along side the river here,
and the name of that pa is Rotoparera, - the first pa ... "82
The esplanade margin between Papa 0 haria to the Peninsula of Te Roto
Parera is known as Te Ruahinahina.
The papakainga is presently in pakeha ownership The Tauranga Urban Growth Strategy Cultural Resource Inventory, June
1992 made these recommendations.
82 Albert Tuariki Brown. 1988 136 Plate 32. Te Roto Parera. (papakainga)
Plate 33 T e Roto Parera. That the following be recognised as areas and places of significance:
i. Wairoa River ii. Pa - Papa 0 haria, Poteriwhi iii. Papa kainga - Te Rota Parera, Poteriwhi iv. Waahi tapu - Te Rota Arama Reia, Poteriwhi, Te Rota Parera
Although not included in the original claim for return, Wairoa hapu wish for its return.
137 Te Pura, Wairoa Marae
Figures 1 & 8 Plates 1, 2, & 3
Located beside the State Highway 2 on the eastern side of the Wairoa River,
Wairoa Marae is the focal pOint of Wairoa Hapu today.
The Wairoa Marae was established in the 1890's with the return of hapu from inland bush areas. The loss of Poteriwhi and Papa 0 haria by Raupatu necessitated a new communal focal point. Te Pura Pa was the original marae of which photo's were taken. The carvings were taken off the wharenui during the photo's due to the tapu associated with them.(Plate 1)
The existing wharenui Kahutapu (Plate 2) is the fourth to stand on the site complemented by a paetapu (sacred seat for whaikorero), the wharekai Te
Hoata 0 Ngamarama (Plate 3) and rakau (trees) some of which are of special significance as healing I medicinal plants and several are memorials to kaumatua and children that have since passed away.
The wharenui and wharekai are physical embodiments of our ancestors and are treated as spiritual entities. Springs also surround the marae traditionaly used as sources of water and healing.
The previous two wharenui (Kahu) are buried on the right side of Kahutapu.
138 The name of the taniwha UTe Pura" is used for the benefit of all, maori and pakeha. This is to protect the sacredness of the real name. As the detail of some waahi tapu can not be disclosed so to does the same principle apply to the name of our taniwha. The taniwha is an ancestor of the hapu's of the Wairoa River and gaurdian.
139 Ruahihi
Ngati Kahu pa.
Figures 10, & 11
Ruahihi Pa is situated on top of a 75m high ignimbrite cliff overlooking the Wairoa River some 12km from the sea. South and west of the pa are the
Kaimai ranges which rise to more than 700km; north and east are coastal lowlands.
The pa is divided into two discrete areas: a main area (c. 7000m) and a promontory (c. 125m) connected by a narrow ridge less than 5m wide and
50m long. The main area contains four ill-defined terraces and has a ditch and bank along two sides and a steep cliff along the other two sides. The promontory contains three well-defined terraces with a ditch and bank across the narrow ridge, and vertical clffs around the rest of it.
The promontory commands a view for several kilometres down the Wairoa Valley. That its value as a lookout point was appreciated in more recent times is indicated by slit trenches on the terraces, probably dug during the
Second World War.
The promontory is a very easily defended position which could of only been attacked from along the ridge. The ditch and bank are located where the ridge begins to widen: outside the ditch the ridge is 4m wide and inside the ditch, 7m wide, so that the front of an attacking force would have been an effective barrier to movement along the ridge: the ditch is 2-3m wide and
140 VI NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NEW ZEALAND BULLETIN
o Swamps Q Bush Cultivated Areas
-:. Kainga o Po • Redou bts
---Military Road
---Main Tracks
_ Boundary of Confiscated Land Conf iscat ion Boundary ---on First Survey.
N
o 2 km , I \ I , \ I , \ j \ ,, , ~K"m'; ~ , , -;,-,.. '~.. MAORI SETTLEMENT ON THE Otanewainuku CONFISCATED BLOCK Figure 10 Ruahihi Pa (Stokes) ___--'
Reproduced from E. Stokes. A history oj Tauranga County, Dunmore, Palmerston North, 1980., 4 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NEW ZEALAND BULLETIN .,. Tauranga N 16km
o 500m I I o t Limit of Tidal Influence•
N t
a b
,-
''0~ ~' I~ ~~ '\ .\' 0\\ 9 S\ee
o 100m I I
Figure 11 Ruahihi Pa (National Museum of NZ Bulletin)
Figs la,b. Locality map of Ruahihi Pa (site N67172) on the Wairoa River, near Tauranga, Bay of Plenty. 1c. Sketch map of pa drawn from aerial photographs (693/51 and 52) taken in 1943. Outline of pa shown by heavy lines. Rectangular features on pa are cropmarks in bracken fern. The large rectangular cropmark at bottom left is c. 15 X 10m. All other cropmarks are less than 5m long. Note the smaller northern "promontory" separated from ,he larger southern "main" area by a narrow ridge. Scale approximate. 1.5m deep; the top of the bank is 3m above the bottom of the ditrch. It is therefore very likely that a small group could have very successfully
defended the promontory against a much larger attacking force.
The sides of the narrow ridge leading to the promontory are exceedingly
steep and in places vertical, so that access on to the ridge is through the
main area of the pa. The main area is large with a perimeter some 400m
long: 250m are steep cliffs, 50m comprise a traverse ditch and bank across a flat ridge (the line of easiest access), and 100m comprise a lateral ditch and
bank above a moderately steep slope. It is shown below that the ditch and bank was not supplemented by palisades or a fighting platform, although a
palisade across the main area would have required a much larger groupnof people ti defend it.
The pa was recently developed for farming. Aerial photographs taken in 1943 show it covered in bracken fern; the ditch and bank around the main
area are well-defined and the main area contains some 22 rectangular shaped crop marks. However, in the late 1950's the bracken fern, gorse and
other weeds were cleared, the southern part of the pa was turned into
pasture, and the northern part planted in pine trees. Unfortunately the development badly disturbed the pa - the bank was bulldozed into the ditch
and the pa then disced. By 1977 there were no crop marks, the ditch was ill-defined, and about 50 shallow depressions, each about a metre in
diameter. 83
The Tauranga Joint Generation Committee applied for an authority to destroy
a pa site in the way of the Ruahihi hydro scheme. Under the recent Historic
83 McFadgen & Sheppard. June 1994. Ruahihi Pa. NZHPT 141 Places Amendment Act 1975 (HPAA) the Trust granted an authority provided the pa was investigated. The Ruahihi Pa was the first major investigation carried out under the HPAA 1975.
Work was carried out over a period of five weeks during January and Febuary 1978 and one week in March 1978.
Ruahihi Pa was excavated in 1978 by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT), the total are excavated being about 2000m. Artifacts found included fishing gear, a nephrite pendant and stone flakes. Structural remains incuded palisade postholes, rectangular pits (one with a fire place), bell shaped rua and houses. Three cooking areas with shell middens and fireplces were also distinguished. Botanical remains recovered included charcoals, seeds and pollen. The pa was built about 300 years ago in a foresUscrub environment that was replaced 250 years ago by bracken fern; subsequently a bracken fern/kumara agricultural cycle was practised for about 100 years. Occupation occured about every six years between late spring and early Autumn for the procurring, production and storage of food.
It is understood that the pa was destroyed and no consultation took place with Ngati Kahu. Many of the old people have said that the reason for the collapse of the Ruahihi Dam was because of the what the Pakeha did to Ruahihi Pa and the rivers. 84
84 pers. comment. Hanare Rahiri. Oct 1996. 142 Te Irihanga
Ngati Rangi pa.
Figures 2, 3 & 10
Te Irihanga pa is located on Maori freehold property west of the Wairoa River, up the Ruangarara River. The pa is administered by Te Mahau 1 and
Te Irihanga 2 Trusts.
The pa has an important place in the history of the Wairoa especially during the bush campaigns in which imperial troops marched on the pa and destroyed the village and surrounding crops.
Te Irihanga derives its name from the hanging of people from trees after battle.
143 Whakaheke
Figures 8 &9
Urupa used for at least the last one hundred years.
Umukiri
Figure 8
An urupa close to Whakaheke.
Taumatawhioi
Figure 8 Plate 34
Ngati Kahu urupa situated on a knoll below Wairoa Marae several hundred metres from the Wairoa River. In ancient times this place was the scene of duels to the death to sort out grievances with the loser staying there.
The urupa will become full shortly and the need to designate a new area for urupa or extend the existing necessary.
144 Plate 34 Eastern side of Wairoa River. Taumatawhioi, urupa in centre. Wairoa marae, far right.
.{•. ":"""~":>'~>~¥'~,'>"'''"-' • i":"~_." :,,"", ," ..,~"," -: ~'" .,.<:- ...... ,
,', - },
Plate 35 Eastern side of Wairoa River. Te Papa Lot 453 pasture. Other places.
Te Ruahinahina
Figure 8 Plate 8
The area that forms an esplanade between the papakainga Te Roto Parera and Papa 0 Wharia. Raupo and we we (sedge) form the vegetation. This area has been utilised by Waimarino canoes with buildings being built within close vicinity of the river edge and to date no resource consent application under the Resource Management Act 1991 is known to have been filed.
Hakao
Figure 8 Plates 36 & 37
The flat area directly opposite Te Papa 453 adjecent to the river formely part of the repo that was drained to be utilised for rural purposes. A large plantation of wheat was recalled by kaumatua as being over the area, this wheat serving the old mill. A small stone fruit orchard was established which has been replaced lately by a proposal for a homestay and tearooms. Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango strongly opposed the proposal on the grounds that the ancestral landscape would be modified and the application was not appropriate next to the Wairoa River with the potential of pollutants.
Although forwarding a strong case to Western Bay of Plenty District Council, the application was granted consent with conditions. People of Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango have felt helpless as being the Kaitiaki of the river but being able to perform the tasks of Kaitiakitanga.
145 ·I
Plate 36 Te Puna Station Road (Hakao). Resource consent application to establish a tearooms and homestay next to Wairoa River. July 96. Te Paorangi in the background.
Plate 37 September 1996. Modification of the landscape. Plate38 Kapakapa. Drained swamp for rural production.
Plate 39 Farmland pastures to river margins. Looking south. Kapakapa
Figure 8 Plate 38
The swamp area behind the present Bethlehem shops. The area has been drained for rural purposes with a drain running to the Wairoa River entering near Te Roto Parera.
Nga waahi kei roto i T e Awa 0 Wairoa
Te Roto Parera, the lake Figures 8 & 9
Named after the chief of the papakainga, the lake being T e Roto, and Parera part of his name.
The lake is approximately six metres in diameter with harakeke and raupo growing aroud it. Located on the banks of the Wairoa River below Rot Parera the papakainga the lake. Access to the lake is by river only as land is privately owned.
The Tauranga Urban Growth Strategy Cultural Resource Inventory, June
1992 made these recommendations.
That the following be recognised as areas and places of significance: i. Wairoa River ii. Pa - Papa 0 haria, Poteriwhi iii. Papa kainga - Te Roto Parera, Poteriwhi iv. Waahi tapu - Te Rota Arama Reia, Poteriwhi, Te Rota Parera
TeRata Horua
The home of the Taniwha situated near Papa 0 Wharia.
146 Te Rua Taniwha
A deep hole that is sacred to Wairoa hapu for its cold clear waters and the taniwha that may be lurking. This too is siuated near T e Papa a Wharia.
Whare Poti
Figure 8
A transliteration of house boat depicting a historical event on the Wairoa
River. The house boat was occupied by XX and situated on the eastern side of the Wairoa River between the SH2 bridge and the railway bridge.
Pupuwai
Figure 8
The area upstream of the two Wairoa River Islands of Te Karaka.
Te Karaka
Figure 8 Plate 20
The two islands of the Wairoa River that are covered by an abundance of native vegetation. The small channel that runs between the islands and the
Te Papa 453 lands has been used traditionaly for eel catching by way of hinaki. Particular families have mana over this practise. This however has diminished with the collapse of the Ruahihi Dam in September 1981 sediment has produced a channel shallow destroying a valuable asset. The channel has also been used by the outrigger canoes of Ngati Kahu - Te Pura Canoe Club, with the Dam collapse preventing safe passage around the island much enjoyed by the people of the river.
147 The island further upstream Te Papa Lot 10, some 15 acres was granted to
Hori Ngatai and the other Te Papa Lot 9, some 5 acres was granted to Enoka Te Whanake.
Tautau
Figure 8 Plate 41
A stream that ran from the area of Whakaheke to the Wairoa River. It is described as being a clear fresh water stream with a hard rock bed. The kids would play in it all day during the summer. Food was obtained by scooping snapping shrimps with a kete.
The stream was destroyed by the subsequent clearing and draining of the
453 lands to pay rates in the 1970's. Before then the railway was the only influence but the effects on the stream were minor.
TeTawa
Figure 8 Plates 9 & 10
The marshland on the east of the mouth of the Wairoa River opposite
Tahataharoa. A Fishing area that is good for kahawai, mullet, patiki and parere and traditionaly snapper. Kaumatua have noticed that the fish is not as plentiful as it was. Massive sedimentation has prevented the use of this area on the out going tides due to the shallow bed.
Other traditional uses include the gathering of firewood and the traditional harvest of migrating birds such as ducks and curlews.
148 Plate 40 Abundance of native plants on western side of Wairoa River upstream from the railway.
Plate 41
Tautau. The building of the railway and the draining of 453 lands has altered the stream. Across at Tahataharoa on the opposite side, this is where Tutereinga, the son of Ranginui was buried to be close enough to hear the murmour of the tide.
149 7.0 Tauranga Moana Trust Board Act 1981.
Beneficiaries in the Tauranga Moana Maori Trust Board Act 1981 is;
"the descendants of those tribes who took up arms against the Crown at the Battles of Gate Pa and Te Ranga or which were dispossessed of any lands as a direct result of those battles"
A hapu perspective.
The full and final compensation to the decendants of those who lost their
lives at Pukehinahina (Gate Pa) and Te Ranga and those who lost lands as a result, is the basis of the 250,000 dollars that was deliberatly placed under a Trust Board Act that would serve all Tauranga Iwi regardless if they were the actual claimants who lost the lands. The full and final settlement of the raupatu claims is seen as insufficient, deficient and not representative of the detrimental effects on Ranginui hapu caused by the Crowns actions in the
1860's.
For Wairoa hapu there is resentment and anger at the Crown for imposing a pakeha structure over the mana of tribes. The Trust Board has in its own ambiguous definition of beneficiaries left a sour taste in the mouths of those who were directly affected. Those being the hapu of Ngati Ranginui in the 50,000 acre block. The standardising of the Moana as a complete unit without special recognition to the 'real' affected party of the Raupatu - Ngati
Ranginui is an issue considered as being unfair and unjust.
The use of hapu resources held by the Trust Board in a Tauranga wide context has seen the friting away of valuable resources to our Ngaiterangi cousins. The continuation of Ngaiterangi domination at a Crown level has portrayed a one sided picture of Tauranga Moana, this being to the detriment of Ngati Ranginui.
150 Although Ranginui hapu have received benefits in one form or another, ego
Ngati Kahu has a training shed, has members in employ as tutors at the
Trust Board Training Wing and scholarship grants, the bottom line is: The Crown never intended to deliver a package to those really affected by the raupatu that would see the development of hapu and iwi as self determining units. The utilisation of a government structure accountable to the Minister of
Maori Affairs and not the tangata whenua has exacerbated the feeling of alienation and loss of mana.
The potential use of the Trust board as an lwi authority to make decisions that effect hapu is seen as offensive and due changes are in the making, as understood by the recent moves to scrap the Trust Boards Act 1953. This would be seen as welcome however, substantial work needs to be done in hapu and iwi development before that becomes a reality.
For Wairoa Hapu the main issues of grievance are;
The Tauranga Moana Maori Trust Board Act 1981 did not give special recognition to the 'actual' affected party, Ngati Ranginui
Due to the ambiguity of the definition of beneficiaries the Trust Board gives equal status to those who should not be eligible. ego Those who
had there lands returned. • The Trust Board is a pakeha imposed structure accountable to the
Minister of Maori Affairs and not the people. The 250,000 dollars compensation in 1981 has not restored the hapu and
iwi self determination and rangatiratanga. Ngaiterangi continue to dominate the Trust Board with only three
members from Ranginui hapu.
151 The Trust Board is an Iwi authority for Tauranga with the potential to make decisions that affect hapu.
The setting up of the Trust Board was a breach of Article II of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Trust Board Act disregards hapu as the Treaty partner.
152 Bibliography
Official Documents
Tauranga Minute Books Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives NZ Gazette Raupatu Document Bank Resource Management Act 1991 Historic Places Act 1993 Conservation Act Reserves Act
Archival
Brown. Rev. A,N. Rough Copy Journals. 1829 - 1850. Tauranga Library Archives.
Published References
Geoffrey B. Churchman & Tony Hurst. The Railways of New Zealand; A Journey through History. Tauranga Archives
Gifford & Williams. 1940. A centenial History of Tauranga. AH & AW Reed. Tauranga District Library.
Leitch.D.B. Railways of New Zealand. Tauranga Archives.
Matheson, AH. The Wairere Track. The Elms Trust.
Hansen, Neil G. 1995. Tauranga County 1945 to 1989. Western Bay of Plenty District Council.
McFadgen and Sheppard. June 1984. Ruahihi Pa. National Museum of New Zealand and New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
Steedman, John Aramete Wairehu. May 1995. Pukenga, The Lament of Pukenga, "Where are all my people 1".
Steedman, John Aramete Wairehu. 1996. He Toto, Te Ahu Matua A Nga Tupuna.
Stokes, Evelyn. 1983. Ngamanawa; A Study of Conficts In The Land Use Of Forest Land. University of Waikato.
153 Williams, H. W. Dictionary of the Maori Language
Waitangi Tribunal Reports and claims
Stokes, Evelyn. 1990. Te Raupatu 0 Tauranga Moana. University of Waikato.
Stokes, Evelyn. June 1980. A Study of Urban Growth on Rural Maori Communities.
Ngati Kahu, Ngati Pango, Ngati Rangi Waitangi Tribunal Claim 42a.
Thesis
Kahotea, Desmond Tatana. 1983. The Interaction of Tauranga Hapu with the landscape. University of Auckland.
Walker, Timothy. Robley: Te Te Ropare. 1840 - 1930, Volumes I and II.
Wilson J.A M.A Thesis "The Ngaiterangi of Tauranga".
Various Reports
Boffa Miskell Partners, Auckland. Feb 1993. Assessment for a Central Sports Area, Bethlehem
Bruere, AC. 1994. Compliance Report; Summit Deer Products Limited. Environment BOP.
Coffin, Antoine. 1995. Wairoa River and Environment. Issues and Options Paper.
Coffin, Antoine. 1995. Ngati Kahu Resource Management. Discussion Paper.
Coffin, Antoine. September 1996. Ngati Kahu Bethlehem Planning Strategy.
Crengle, Diane. LLB. January 1993. Taking into account the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Ideas for the implementation of Section 8 Resource Management Act 1991. Ministry for the Environment.
De Lucca, Russell. September 1996. Bethlehem Planning Study.
Environment BOP. 1995. Bathing Water Suitability. Nov 1992. Establishment plan for Tauranga Electricity Limited I Kaimai Hydropower.
154 Goodwin, John & Ralph, Christine. October 1994. Upper Wairoa River Draft Management Agreement and Development Proposals. Boffa Miskell ltd & Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner Ltd.
Kahotea, Des Tatana. June 1992. Tauranga Urban Growth Strategy Cultural Resource Inventory.
Kaimai Hydropower. May 1995. Annual Report.
Ministry of Works and Development. February 1982. Report of committee to inquire into the failure of the Ruahihi Canal. Wellington. Dept of Conservation. 1994. Draft Conservation Strategy for Bay of Plenty. DOC, Bay of Plenty Conservancy, Rotorua.
Ngati Kahu I Ngati Pango I Jan Crawford. October 1996. Assessment of effects on Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango, Northern Arterial Route. Prepared for Transit NZ.
Ngati Kahu Resource Centre. 12.8.96. Tangata Whenua Heritage Management Workshop, Papers and Notes.
Ngati Kahu Resource Centre. 1996. Papers relating to Resource Management.
Ngati Kahu Resource Centre. 1996. Draft Agreement of the Runanga 0 Ngati Kahu with a potential developer.
Nugent Consultants. April 1996. Consultation with Ngati Kahu and Ngati Pango on the Tauranga Northern Arterial Route. Prepared for Transit NZ.
Owen, Keith L. 1993. Protection and Restoration of Marshbird Habitat in Tauranga Harbour. Department of Conservation, Bay of Plenty Conservancy, Rotorua.
Parliamentary Commision for the Environment. June 1996. Historic and Cultural Heritage Managemnt in New Zealand.
Russell, John. Bay of Plenty Railways; The East Coast Main Trunk. Tauranga Archives.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council. 1995. Options Paper; Upper Wairoa River.
Terriotorial Authority Plans, Strategies and Schemes.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council; Proposed Coastal Environment Plan
Tauranga District Council Draft Disscussion Document. 1996
155 Tauranga District Council; Transitional Plan Change N01. Jan 1996
Tauranga District Council. June 1992. A Scoping Report on a Heritage Management strategy for Tauranga District
Tauranga District Council. February 1993. Heritage management. Issues and Options for Tauranga District.
Tauranga District Council. December 1994. Tauranga District Management Strategy.
Tauranga District Council. 1996. Draft Heritage Section of Proposed Tauranga District Plan
Western Bay of Plenty Draft Plan 1996.
Various Submissions to Councils.
Submission to establishment of homestay and tearooms, Te Puna Station Road.
Submission to establish a Shopping Centre on land known as the Thompsons Block.
Planning Tribunal Evidence 1994. Appeal 519193 between Ngati Kahu and Tauranga District Council and Pacific Investments Limited appeal 509/93. Hearing at Tauranga on 9 and 10 May, 5 to 8 July and 11 to 15 July, 1994.
Cross Submissions to Ngati Kahu (B 1), Transitional Plan Change NO.1.
Decision No.A 72194. Judge Bollard
Statements of Evidence from;
Nugent, Dennis. B.A. in Anthropology and Bachelor of Town Planning. Member of ICOMOS.
Kahotea, Desmond Tatana. M.A. with honours. Archaeologist and cultural heritage expert.
Salmond, Anne. Professor in Social Anthropology and Maori Studies.
Williams, Joe.
Goodwin, J.L. Landscape Architect and director of Boffa Miskel.
Batchelor Craig. Manager Planning Division of Tauranga District Council.
156 Newspapers and articles
Bay of Plenty Times
Daily Southern Cross
Forest and Bird
NZ Herald
Photo News (Tauranga)
Te Puni Kokiri monthly newsletter
157