He aha tēnei hanga te hiranga

Parininihi ki Waitotara - whakapakari hononga ki ngā whānau me te whenua

I ngā tau 1970 i kotahi tētahi huinga kaipupuri whenua Māori o Taranaki ki te aukati i te hoko whenua Māori i tō rātou rohe, ki te tiaki hoki i te whenua e toe ana. Manawanui ana rātou ki te whai i tā rātou i pai ai, ka whakatūria e rātou te Komiti Whakahaere o Parininihi ki Waitotara (PKW) hei māngai mō ngā hiahia o ngā kaipupuri whenua.

Te Poihi Campbell – Meremere Marae, Taranaki: Tē taea te whati i tēnei mea te whakapapa. Tērā tērā mamae, me te kaiātanga mai rā o te whenua, he tino kaupapa i roto i a tātou o Taranaki tēnei mea te kaiātanga mai rā o te whenua, te tāhae o te whenua, koinā te muru me te raupatu. Kei te rongo tonu mātou o te kāinga nei i tērā o ngā mamae.

Whakapapa cannot be severed.

There is deep anguish and there’s the theft of the land. That is a significant issue for us Taranaki people, the way the land was stolen, how it was plundered and confiscated. We still feel this pain.

Tēnā koe. My name is Te Poihi Campbell and I’m from this marae, called Meremere Marae.

Text:

Meremere Marae and Parininihi ki Waitotara are working together to mend the hurt caused by the Taranaki land confiscations.

Jacqui King – Head of Corporate Services, Parininihi ki Waitotara: The motivation was land loss. It was the loss of land. It had become significant for us as Taranaki Māori.

The boundary line started from Parininihi in the north and there’s a terrible zig zag which the Crown at the time put in place which confiscated all of our land. And it started at Parininihi ki Waitotara and that “ki” is the distance to Waitotara in the south.

Text: Parininihi ki Waitotara Incorporation manages 20,000 hectares of whenua Māori in Taranaki and represents the interests of over 10,000 shareholders.

Adrian Poa – Shareholder Advisor, Parininihi ki Waitotara: We have a history with Taranaki, we have a long history from the 1880s. Parininihi ki Waitotara, the West Coast Settlement leases, have been in this place and being able to re-establish that relationship with our whānau to their whenua is very important

Cherryl Thompson – Shareholder, Trustee for Hine Rose Whānau Trust: My name is Cherryl Thompson. I’m the chair of the Hine Rose Whānau Trust which is a family trust of shareholders with PKW.

I went to school here when I was 5 but we didn’t live here for very long and I did most of my growing up in Auckland.

Adrian Poa: I’ve got the best job. My role is about making the connections between our shareholders so they can come and make contributions back to PKW, helping them to re-establish their relationships back with Parininihi ki Waitotara and with Taranaki.

Cherryl Thompson: On my grandmother’s side, most of the land is in the Hawera district but where it is exactly, that’s one of the things I’m still reconnecting to. But for us it’s more about the connection with the whānau.

I have 7 children, so everybody has a turn at coming back and then when I’m not available my older daughter now she’s started bringing her sisters back with her.

Text: Whānau from Meremere Marae are finding connection with their whenua by naming two Parininihi ki Waitotara farms.

Adrian Poa: Their relationship to their whenua has always been strong because this land belongs to the people from this hapū.

Te Poihi Campbell: So we thought as a starter we’ll look at the naming of the birds and then the very first bird that came to mind as one of our kaitiaki was the ruru.

Adrian Poa: Being able to share the stories about the land, about the connections with the land and being able to re-establish that relationship with the land to the people is more empowering. It makes the stories of Parininihi ki Waitotara a lived experience.

Te Poihi Campbell: The second farm, the same procedure happened again. The day that we unveiled that particular sign there was a kāhu sitting on the fence waiting for us. That was awesome.

Cherryl Thompson: We’ll keep coming back, we’ll keep having reconnections with family but the one that we’re most excited about is next year that we will actually be planning a wānanga with Te Poihi who’s going to help us with his knowledge of all the land and the whakapapa.

Te Poihi Campbell: Engari anō rā, nā te whakaaro rangatira o Parininihi ki Waitotara e taea e mātou te tūhono anōtia ki tō tātou nei whenua, ka tū hei tangata whenua ki runga i te marae. Ka tū hei tangata whenua i ngā mahi kei mua i te aroaro o mātou o tēnei whenua.

The leadership of Parininihi ki Waitotara has enabled us to reconnect with our land and be the custodians of the marae, to be the guardians of matters arising for us who are tangata whenua of this land.

Jacqui King: We’ve persevered. We’ve persevered in the face of adversity and we’ve done that through determination and through resilience. It’s a fundamental part of who we are as Māori but particularly for Taranaki Māori.

I tēnei rā, 20,000 heketā e whakahaerehia ana e te Kaporeihana Māori mō ngā kaiwhaipānga 10,500 nui atu. Nā te pakari o te whakahaere pāmu kau, kua huri ki roto i te mātotorutanga o te ahuwhenua, ko te koura tērā, ko te ngahere tērā, ko te rawa arumoni hoki tērā.

Ahakoa ko te mahi matua mō PKW ko te tiaki me te whakatupu i ā rātou rawa ake, ko te ngako o āna mahi ko te paihere i te whānau ki te whānau anō me ō rātou whenua.

Ko tā rātou tirohanga whakamua, He Tangata, He Whenua, He Oranga (ko te whakarauora i ā mātou tāngata mā te tōnuitanga) he ohonga wairua, he hikinga ahurea hoki me te whai huamoni.

I raro i te ātārangi o ngā raupatu

Mō ētahi o ngā iwi o Taranaki, ko te ātārangi o ngā raupatu i ngā tau 1860 e ara ake ana i ngā wā katoa. Ko te ingoa o Parininihi ki Waitotara e whakamaumahara ana i te ngaukino ki ngā whakatupuranga mō ngā rironga. Ki a Jacqui King, Kaihautū o ngā Ratonga Rangatōpū, he tohu i te rohe i raupatu, ā, e whakahaere ana rātou i ngā whenua i waenganui.

Ka tīmata te rārangi whenua atu i Parininihi ki te raki, kātahi ko tētahi rārangi pikopiko i whakatūria e te Karauna i raupatuhia ai ō mātou whenua. Ko te ‘ki’ ko te wāhi ki Waitotara ki te tonga”, tāna i whakamārama ai.

“Nā te Karauna te whenua i tūkino, ā, ka māhuta ake ngā kaupapa Māori i ngā tau 1970 ka whakaara ake hoki tō mātou rangatiratanga. Nā tērā kaupapa ō mātou kaipupuri whenua i kōkiri kia kotahi, kia tiaki anō hoki i te whenua e toe ana.”

Ko te hokinga ki te whenua

Ki a Te Poihi Campbell, ki tētahi kaipupuri whenua o te marae o Meremere i te tonga o Taranaki, ia rā he mātakitaki nōna ki te pāmu taurikura me tana mōhio ki ngā hononga o te haukāinga ki tēnei whenua kua ngaro atu.

“Kāore he whanaungatanga ki ngā kaiwhaipānga o konei me ngā whenua e whakahaerehia ana e PKW ki tēnei rohe. Kātahi ka whakahouhia te ahurea o te pakihi PKW kia tūhono ki ngā iwi, ā, he whanaungatanga tika, ngākau pono hoki,” tāna i kī ai.

I ia marama ka whakahaeretia e tētahi rōpū iti o PKW ētahi hui kaitiaki mō ngā kaupapa here a te pāmu. I ia hauwhā o te tau, ka karangatia tētahi hui whānau huri haere i ngā marae ki te ako i te hitōria me te iwi.

Nā tētahi o ēnei hui ki te marae o Meremere i tīmata ai te whānau ki te hoki mai ki tō rātou whenua.

“Nā te iwi i tūtohi kia whakaingoatia e mātou ngā pāmu (ki te taha o PKW) ki ngā ingoa Māori. Ka manawareka tērā ki a mātou i ērā o te Farm 2 i a mātou e mahi ana me ngā whenua e tata ana ki tō mātou marae,” te kī a Te Poihi.

Ko Adrian Poa te kaitohutohu mō ngā kaiwhaipānga ki PKW, ā, e mea ana ia, “kātahi te tūranga mahi”. Ka āwhina ia i ngā kaiwhaipānga pērā i a Te Poihi ki te whakaara ake i tō rātou hono ki te rōpū me tō rātou whenua. Ka āwhinatia hoki e te tīma ngā āheinga kia tūhono rātou ki ngā kaipāmu e whakahaere ana i ngā whenua mō PKW.

“He haerenga mīharo mō te tangata ki te takahi i tō rātou whenua mō te wā tuatahi atu i ngā tau 1880. Ka ora anō ngā kōrero a Parininihi ki Waitotara.

“I ētahi wā he tino iti te moni whiwhi. Ko te hokinga mai o ngā whānau ki te whenua me ā rātou whakawhitinga kōrero mō ngā whenua he mea whakamana.

Ko te hokinga mai o Te Ruru me Te Kāhu

2 people standing talking in front of the Te Kāhu farm sign.

I mahi a Adrian ki tētahi tīma i mahitahi me te marae o Meremere ki te whakaingoa i ngā pāmu PKW e rua me te whakatū i ētehi pou whakairo kia kitea e te marea. Nā rātou ngā ingoa manu i whiriwhiri.

“Ko te manu tuatahi i toko ake i ngā whakaaro ko tō mātou kaitiaki ko te ruru,” tā Te Poihi kī. “He kuia tokorua hoki i kōrero mō ō rātou whānau me ngā ruru i te rohe nei, ā, i ngāwari te whānautanga o tērā ahakoa he hui komiti marae!”

I whakatauhia mō te pāmu tuarua ko Te Kāhu.

“I tērā rā i huraina ai te pānui mō tērā, he kāhu i te noho ki te taiapa e whanga ana ki a mātou. Ka rawe hoki.”

Mō Te Poihi, i tērā rā ka hokihoki atu te mamae o te ngarohanga me te wehenga. “I te mea, ka roa taku pāpā me taku matua kēkē e tū ana ki ngā taiapa o ēnei pāmu nō rātou tonu, ā, nō te rā nei ka hīkoitia te whenua.”

Ka mutu ka tū te huranga hei huarahi “whakaora, whakakaha, whakarauora i tā mātou ahureatanga ki runga ki ēnei whenua.”

“He mea whakahirahira ki ō mātou tāngata i reira rāua ki te hura i te tohu,” tāna i kī ai me tōna tangi hoki.

Ko te whakapakari i te whanaungatanga

E hia kē nei ngā kaiwhaipānga PKW e noho tawhiti atu i ō rātou whenua. Ko tā rātou hokinga atu, he kimi, he tūhono ki ngā whānau – tētahi kaupapa matua mō te rōpū me te tūranga mahi a Adrian Poa.

“Ko ētahi o rātou e ngaro ana i Taranaki mō te wā roa, e pōhēhē ana he iwi a Parininihi ki Waitotara, nā reira ka whakaaturia ō rātou whakapapa ki a rātou,” tāna i kī ai. “Ko te mōhio ki ō rātou whānau e pakari ai ō rātou reo i ngā hui ka hoki atu ai rātou.”

Ko Cherryl Thompson te tiamana o te Tarahati Whānau o Hine Rose, he tarahati kaiwhaipānga ki roto i a PKW. I kuraina ia ki te kura tuatahi ki Taranaki, engari i pakeke ia ki Tāmaki Makaurau, ā, e noho ana ki Tauranga ināianei.

“Ka hoki aku mahara ki taku kuia e hokihoki ana ki Taranaki mō ngā hui. I pēnei mō ngā tau tini tae noa ki tōna matenga. Ka whiwhi taku māmā i ngā hea, ā, ka haere tahi māua ki ngā hui. I tērā wā i tīmataria taku tūhono haere,” ki tā Cherryl kōrero.

Ka maumahara ia i ngā whaea, i ngā matua kēkē – “kāore au i te mōhio ki te whanaungatanga ki ahau” – ka tae atu ki tō mātou kāinga ki Tāmaki me te kai tīhi, ika rānei. “Koinā ngā reka i te kāinga i ngākaunuitia ai e tō mātou nanna.”

Ehara mātou i te tūruhi ki tō mātou rohe

I te hui PKW tuatahi i tae atu ai, i te āhua ngaro a Cherryl, nō reira ka noho ki muri, ka mātai, ka ngana ki te mau i ngā kōrero. Haere te wā, me te āwhina a Adrian rāua ko Te Poihi, kua tūhono atu ia ki ētahi, ā, kāore rātou ko āna tamariki pakeke e rongo nei i te āhua o te “tūruhi me te mapi.”

“Ko te nuinga o te whenua kei te takiwā o Hawera, engari kāore i te mōhio pū, kei te ngana tonu ki te tūhono. Mō mātou ko te tūhono ki ngā whānau i te tuatahi, ā, māringanui mātou, he whānau ō mātou e noho ana ki runga i te whenua o te whānau.

“Ka hokihoki atu, ka tūhonohono tonu ki ngā whānau. Hīkaka katoa mātou ki te wānanga e whakarite ana me Te Poihi me tana āwhina ki a mātou ki ngā kōrero mō te katoa o te whenua me te whakapapa. He akoranga nui mōku me tōku whānau.”

2 people standing looking at a map

Haere tonu te whakapapa

Ki tā Te Poihi, e kore e motu te whakapapa. Ka haere tonu ahakoa te ngaronga me te mamae. Ko te tūhono whakapapa – te whai atu i ngā taonga a ngā tūpuna – koirā te hihiri me te kaha i te whānau whānui o Parininihi ki Waitotara.

“Kua manawanui mātou,” tā Jacqui King kī. Kua omangia te omanga roa, ā, kua tutuki tērā i te manawanui, i te manawaroa.

“Koinā tētahi āhuatanga nui o te Māori, engari rā mō Taranaki Māori.”