Te Whanake - Our Blog
An exhibition - Mai i Hawaiki - Te Ahi Ka Roa
In the 1820s some of the Kāwhia tribes of Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Rārua saw opportunities in a migration (heke) to conquest the south. They were joined at that time by Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga, and Te Ātiawa.
Later joined by some Ngāti Raukawa of Maungatautari and northern Taranaki hapū, they moved south in successive migrations to Manawatū, Horowhenua, Kapiti Coast, Te Upoko o te Ika, and Te Tau Ihu – Top of the South.
By the mid 1830’s some of the Kāwhia and Taranaki hapū had begun to put down roots in the Te Tau Ihu districts they had helped conquer, and by 1841 mana whenua over the different districts of the Te Tau Ihu was clearly established. For Motueka this was several hapū from the Ngāti Rārua and Te Ātiawa tribes – our tūpuna (ancestors).
In few places has this kōrero been captured, so when asked to contribute and support the latest exhibition in the Motueka Provincial Museum we jumped at the chance. The Trustees were enthusiastic about the opportunity to showcase our rich history and the bond we have with the land to the wider community.
The Mai i Hawaiki - Te Ahi Kā Roa exhibition tells the story of the great migrations from Kāwhia down the west coast of the North Island and on to Te Tau Ihu. It also tells the story of our entrepreneurship in trade at the ports with whalers and Europeans. Perhaps most importantly it tells the story of our tūpuna’s loss of lands and livelihoods, and the injustices by the New Zealand Company and the Crown spanning 150 years.
Overall the exhibition showcases our tūpuna’s courage and resilience through incredibly unjust times and how we revitalised our position as mana whenua ki Motueka.
NRAIT provided a collection of images as well as stories on our tūpuna and whenua that have been captured overtime in written form. Some influential and high ranking individuals included are Te Ātiawa o te Waka-a-Maui kuia Merenako, and the son of Ngāti Rārua chief Tana Pukekohatu, Kerei Pukekohatu. You can read our kōrero on Merenako here and on Kerei Pukekohatu here on our website.
We know that many locals have little knowledge of the town’s indigenous history and what took place when Europeans arrived, so piece by piece these stories are told in books, videos, events, online articles and now an exhibition. Passing this knowledge on to the next generation is of great importance to us.
We were humbled to part of this project and to work closely with the Nelson Provincial Museum who developed the work as part of their outreach and support of affiliated museums.
Mai i Hawaiki - Te Ahi Kā Roa will be Motueka Museum’s featured exhibition through the summer until 30 June 2017. A dawn ceremony took place on 4 December with around 80 people gathering to bless Mai i Hawaiki - Te Ahi Kā Roa. You can learn more about the exhibition and opening times of the museum here.