So This Is Matariki

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According to Ranginui this is Matariki or the group of stars that appear to start the Maori New Year. I must confess. As a Maori, Matariki the stars and the Maori Tau Hou have only recently seeped into my consciousness in the last say 10 of my 77 years on Papatuanuku. And yet for as long as I can remember the name Patia O Matariki has been part of my placename vocabulary. Again, only recently I discovered what the name meant in the course of my research for the book "Nga Tapuwae O Hinetewai."

Click Onto The Picture to Enlarge:

Patia O Matariki or Patia for short is the place/bay/beach behind our marae Haititaimarangai. The high hill behind it is the pa/headland (below). The marae is visible in the left corner. The little hump jutting out into the sea is Te Tuuta which was well known to the French De Surville Expedition who drew a sketch of it. The other end of the beach/bay is another headland and ridge called Matariki. The Parakerake Block subdivision stops along this ridge at Matariki Place that joins the Whatuwhiwhi road down to the marae. As you drive down from Matariki Place you will see "Pari Raharuhi's House" (still standing) and Takapu Urupa. About level with Pari's house there used to be a path off on the right which led us  to a grass clearing and a small peach orchard about halfway down from Matariki Place and up from Patia Beach. That was Matariki Pa. 

(Below: This pa is between the caravan and the houses above.)

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Now the full meaning of Patia O Matariki is The Pa Where Matariki Shows (tia). I don't know how often a wananga was held to observe the tia of Matariki but I do know that the last one was held in 1924 at Matariki Pa. The Tohunga who took that wananga was Honetana Papahia. I don't know who attended nor what the kaupapa or matauranga of the wananga was. Honetana was also an Anglican Minister and a descendant of Wharewhare.

I Have Been Thinking.......

You may have been wondering about all this korero in politics such as left, centre and right. Back in the day left meant various ideologies from Communism (extreme left) to Socialism (left) and Social Democracy (centre left). Labour straddled the centre left. The extreme right meant Fascism, right meant capitalism and centre right meant capitalism plus social conservatism. National straddled the centre right. 

That was then. Since the introduction of "more market", the selling off of state assets, and something called neo-liberalism , but was introduced by Labour and continued enthusiastically by National, the economic and political concepts of left and right have become blurred. Under a first past the post system of elections this ideology which purports to come from Milton Friedman of the USA (extreme market) was cemented into the economic and political korero of our time. However the impact of this ideology has resulted in the rich getting richer, the poor numbers increasing dramatically and the cost of housing increasing. 

The introduction of MMP and the growth of minor parties has highlighted the excesses of capitalism. Minor parties have introduced into politics those issues like the environment, tangata whenua interests, New Zealand as distinct from global issues, that would otherwise have been ignored ahead of major party concerns that cover the broad spectrum of centre-left and centre-right. 

An Economic Activity: 

Our tupuna harvesting kumara in a largely subsistence

economy of those times.

These trends of course are determined by major economic and social change since the hey day of Labour and National governments from 1935. The "working class" are no longer only the skilled and unskilled. Technical knowhow and the explosion of skills has multiplied a hundred fold. The middle class are now richer. As we all know the days of full employment and cheap housing are long gone. We do have an "under class" who are the poor as defined by level of income and the unemployed. 

I am not trying to tell you who to vote for but as you know we now have choices. Most important on election day however is: VOTE. KAUA E WAREWARE. KAUA E MANGERE. If you don't vote then don't moan. 

Catching Up; After Google Glitches

I have finally got my blog back in order to post more korero. What a performance! The trouble is I was asked by the system to change my email from msn to outlook. Don't ask me why. It's one of the mysteries I am too hoha to work out. However and I don't know why I got my blog back after many frustrating weeks. This is no excuse for not blogging. It's the truth. Am I too old for all this mod technology?

What's Been Happening?

Well a lot actually. The Runanga in it's cause celebre against Carrington Farms Ltd; did get it's day in the Supreme Court over the Ana O Taitehe affair to do with a resource consent matter. Then the new owners from China arrived and things changed. Given that the Chinese such as Mr. Guang Liu have been in the political spot light lately with all that dosh, it's hard to access the impact the arrival of the new owners of Carrington Farms will have. No doubt within the Karikari-Whatuwhiwhi Peninsular it could be major, but as long as pragmatic heads rule the day on our side (Haititaimarangai Marae and Te Whanau Moana-Te Rorohuri) then the relationship and outcomes should be positive.  On the other hand if the Runanga A Iwi O Ngati Kahu goes on another cause celebre like the last one then there could be some fun. The Runanga has not yet withdrawn its case, but no doubt it will once it has what it's leaders want.(Yen?)

Labour is down in the dumps but fighting back. It's amazing how much money has become involved in our politics. The Big Kim Dot.com has paid $3m into the newly formed Internet.Mana Party. For a small party that's a lot of dosh, not to mention Mr. Liu's yen. However some $100k to Labour seems to be in doubt and part of Mr. Liu's excessive accounting. No wonder the major parties especially of the right are worried. National however is so far ahead of Labour (50% -23%) I doubt if all the money in the world is going to change the fact that they should. The only interest will be the cuppa tea arrangements if they happen again. Good on Labour for not making cups of tea for any other party.

2013 Windup:

Nelson Mandela

All the korero for this immensely great and significant Rangatira and international leader have been spoken and the man himself has been has been laid to rest. For the latter half of last century and this millenium so far he has stood out without peer anywhere in the world. Apartheid was a racist and fascist evil obvious to any fair minded person regardless of colour but there were many in NZ and elsewhere who justified apartheid sport and trade with that system for example. Gradually Mandela and his fellow prisoners imprisoned by apartheid were able to emerge from that darkness into the light and without rancour against his imprisonment. That is God given. There's much to do in SA but that's a job for those he has left behind. His great accomplishments included the process of reconciliation. It was far too much to expect that his government would accomplish economic and social equality through wealth redistribution. Even we don't have that yet.

Remembering:

So where were you in 1981, Atihana? Were you on Rugby Park, Hamilton? No. Did you go on protest marches? No, mainly because I could see how intense the opposition was and that it would turn violent, there would be confrontations, etc. Did you attend ati-tour hui? Yes, but only two. Were you apposed to the Springbok Tour? Definitely, and other tours to and from S.Africa in the 1970s. So what did you do in 1981 then, Atihana? I decided not to attend matches, or even watch any games on TV except the one that was cancelled. I ignored other media.Thereafter I couldn't tell you who any of the players were in either of the teams. That was hard for someone who at the time was a coach, sometime referee and keen follower of the game. What about the rest of your whanau then, Atihana? My good wife marched with the protesters in Hamilton, and my son and son-in-law attended that cancelled game. They assure me that they didn't throw anything at the protesters on the field. I believe this was typical of whanau of that time. One thing's for sure. Unlike our current PM we remember where we stood in 1981.

Xmas?

Well it is nearly upon us. This is a Xmas past in Hamilton. These lovely mokopuna are now adults. They and our great grans wish you all a Merry Xmas and a Great New Year. Ma te Atua hoki tatou katoa e manaaki e tiaki i nga wa katoa.

Atihana

NGATI KAHU- A FISHY STORY-OR IS IT THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY?

Getting the fish putea as an outcome of "The Sealords Deal" is a story in itself led by Rt.Hon. Matiu Rata who made the claim before the Waitangi Tribunal back in the day. The Crown (Government) had as a sustainable management of the fishery quota-rized the fishing catch and divided the sea off Aotearoa into fishing areas. Matiu won a landmark decision by challenging the Crown's title to the quotas of snapper and other species. After winning a proportion of the quota it was then up to Iwi Maori to manage their portion which they did under "Te Ohu Kai Moana." The series of hui then began around the country to deal with the allocation. 

Te Hiku O Te Ika or the Far North or five tribes sorted their allocation simply by dividing by five to avoid any silly territorial squabbles. Ngati Kahu received a fifth of the Hiku total quota and shares in Te Ohu Kai Moana. That is how Ngati Kahu got its quota which it leases and its share dividends as a shareholder in those TOKM fishing companies. So the money comes from this source. Te Runanga A Iwi O Ngati Kahu is the administrator of these assets. When I held the fisheries portfolio for the Runanga we allocated all the proceeds (money) to the 12 marae of Ngati Kahu equally, ie we divided the money by 12. 

After some years the Runanga took a percentage for administration which by then was administered by Tipene Herewini of Patukoraha. This was fair enough. However that proportion went up to half which was gross and by 2013 the Runanga took the lot. Also long before then the number of marae increased by two to 14. "Karikari" and "Werowero" were not marae according to the criteria set out by Makari Matiu and Waitonga Marsh for the Ngati Kahu Trust Board's membership inherited by the Runanga. That criteria was an existing and operating marae, and marae existing within the life time of our Kaumatua and Kuia informants at the time (1980s). These included Waitetoki, Okakewai and Mangataiore.

After speaking to Sonny Tomars at Werowero prior to his death he maintained that the cheques he received went back to the Runanga. However "Karikari" has a bank account and as of this year they have acquired over $80k. This has been acquired through constitutional fraud and needs to be investigated. The Runanga's constitution recognises these two non-existent marae. Their rules then say that allocation of this putea  is by democratic vote of the delegates to their hui regardless of what marae people think. 

Three marae to my knowledge voted no to their putea being given to the Runanga in this way. They were out voted by the others. The tikanga is that the assets and quota belong to the original 12 marae and it is up to them as to what they do with their putea. It's theirs not the Runangas.The Runanga as Administrator and not Owner are entitled to a proportion only for administration. "Karikari's" proportion is acquired by fraud.

So that's the fishy story. 

Haititaimarangai Marae DIY

CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE

Our young women were to the fore not only in the wharekai
but outside doing the gardens.

The TV Programme was the last of this AIA Marae DIY Series and was on Wednesday 14th August 2013. By now this photograph taken from a cherry picker by a brave and skilled photographer is at least world famous in Patia O Matariki where our now beautiful marae is situated. As the kaumatua involved I have many thoughts and memories. In 1979-80 during the setting up of the Haititaimarangai Ahu Whenua Trust the vision was actually of a new marae at the old Rangiawhia school site at the end of Whatuwhiwhi Rd that goes past this marae. However the money reeceived from the logs didnot stretch to a deposit for a new marae and so with the Marae Trustees and Ngati Kahu Ahuwhenua Trust we all three combined financially ($75K) to fund the four days with the assistance of AIA sponsors, and for our marae project manager Shane Horan completing a lot of work prior to the DIY, we were able to get it done, plus Shane and the group completed the flooring and bits and pieces left over. For our marae this has to be the greatest event since the whare was shifted to Patia from Waiari in 1952.

It wasn't all work; the visionaries needed time
to review progress.

We even managed an ANZAC Service on the second day of the DIY to honour those from this marae who served in the wars of WW1, WW2, Korea, Malaya-Borneo, Vietnam and peace keeping operations in the Middle East. A flag pole was erected that night and a flag was found by Timoti Hetaraka from somewhere. A former Commanding Officer Rev. Stanley Pilbrow officiated with the Army Engineers who took part in the DIY as the Guard of Honour. Sgnt Horiana Rupapera served in the 28 Maori Battalion in WW2. This marae has a long list of soldiers who served.



In WW1 these were; Hamuera Rupapera: Peretiti Hetaraka Heta:         Hurae Hetaraka; Ihaka Hopa or Hopa Riwhi:
WW2: Horiana Rupapera, Mu Hetaraka, Raniera Matiu, and Ranga Raharuhi who was killed in action in Crete.

Note: I have also taken these names from the Rangiawhia Native School records where these soldiers went to school.

Other Highlights: All the mahi done by the kai mahi who in such a short time accomplished so much; the arrival of the waka arranged by Niki Tauhara and the Tohunga Tauira to name and dedicate the taonga and waha roa, Te Ori Paki and his TV crew, our Whaea Pere, Roharia, Paula, and Meri whose presense gave so much to the mana of the DIY endeavour, and so much more. There's too many to give accolades to but all those from outside the hou kainga who came from a long way to contribute, Awhi the chief chef who in difficult circumstances kept the kai coming, Richard and all his earth movers, Sana and her ladscaping skills, and if nobody minds I pay speciaL tribute to Wyvern.

Nga mihi kia koutou katoa i mauria mai o kaha, o hiahia, o ngakaunui me o ringaringa ki tenei mahi.

Tihei Mauriora.

Ngati Kahu Lost Appeal Court Case v FNDC/Carrington Farms Ltd.

Well its official. It's repertitious stuff but it happened like this:

Ngati Kahu objected to a resource consent for 12 sections on Carrington Farms Ltd property overlooking Karikari Bay. They maintained that;

1. It was close to Te Ana O Taite burial cave (that's their words. The correct name is Taitehe who was a Te Whanau Moana tupuna)

2. They had a signed agreement with Carrington Farms for consultation. While they did have this, the tangata whenua (Te Rorohuri) were sidelined in this agreement.

The Runanga appeared at the FNDC Review Panel at Kaikohe and lost.

They then went to the Environment Court at Paihia and lost there.

They then took it to the High Court and "won" in Whangarei. That Court thought the "agreement" with C Farms was relevant.

Then the other litigants contested the High Court's decision and of course won. The Appeal Court found that:

• The resource consent in dispute was upheld
• The Runanga was liable for the costs of the litigation.

The consequences for Ngati Kahu are humungus (pardon my spelling) especially the costs of this litigation if we are taken to the cleaners. All Ngati Kahu's assets such as their Fishing Settlement Assets, the Taipa Farm, and any cash held by the Runanga could be under threat. This also applies to the assets and money held by Marae members not to mention individuals who made those decisions on behalf of Ngati Kahu. That's the worst case scenario.

The alternative is that saner heads in Ngati Kahu get together under their Hapu banner and negotiate with FNDC/Carrington Farms Ltd to aleviate the costs to Ngati Kahu and reduce the exposure of our Marae and individuals. 

We should also challenge the Runanga's mandate to negotiate our Treaty claim. Their credibility is shot to pieces. In fact resignations are in order.  So, briefly then our objective is to:

• Reduce the financial fall out from this litigation by negotiation.
• Get back on track with our Treaty claims.
• Plan for a post Treaty settlement.

I don't want Ngati Kahu to think that all is lost. It's far from that but then it's up to us and our Hapu now.

Nga mihi kia tatou katoa.

Atihana