Significant sites in Far North
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga recognises sites
Two Far North places that have strong heritage and cultural significance to Ma¯ori have been formally recognised by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Ma¯ngungu, at Ho¯reke, has been added to the New Zealand Heritage List/Ra¯rangi Ko¯ rero as Wa¯ hi Tu¯ puna, a place important to Ma¯ori for ancestral significance and associated cultural and traditional values, while Piakoa, at Ta¯kou Bay, has been recognised as a Wa¯hi Tapu Area containing sites sacred to Ma¯ori in the traditional, spiritual, religious, ritual or mythological sense.
“These listings, under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act, give formal recognition to the cultural and heritage values of these places,” said Atareira Heihei, Senior Pouarahi Northland for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.
“We are grateful to iwi/hapu¯ who have shared their precious ko¯rero and other information with us as part of the research that went into the listings.”
Although the Ma¯ ngungu Mission House was already listed as a Category 1 historic place, and was in the care of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, it was important to acknowledge the deep connection many Ma¯ori had to the wider landscape through the Wa¯hi Tu¯puna listing.
Perhaps best known as the site of the third and largest signing of Te Tiriti, on February 12, 1840, Ma¯ngungu was part of a wider Hokianga ancestral landscape extending back in time to the explorations of Kupe and Nukutawhiti.
In the late 1820s, the hau ka¯inga of this part of the Hokianga — Nga¯ti Toro, Te Popoto and Te Ngahengae, of Nga¯ puhi iwi — provided a place for Wesleyan missionaries to establish a base. The mission station that was established there came under the protection of Eruera Maihi Patuone, Ta¯mati Waka Nene, Makoare Te Taonui, Muriwai and others.
“Under the protection and support of these tu¯puna, Ma¯ngungu became a significant place of cultural exchange on the Hokianga Harbour,” Heihei said.
“The mission station balanced the commercial centre at nearby Ho¯reke, while paving the way for Hokianga hapu¯ to engage with missionaries and their Christian message. Within a few years, Sunday services were frequently attended by hundreds of Ma¯ori converts, many of whom became teachers and preachers, both at Ma¯ngungu and in communities around the country.”
Piakoa, a network of traditional burial caves in the cliffs high above Ta¯kou Bay, was where a number of very significant rangatira were laid to rest, including Auwha, who, with Whakaaria, led the Nga¯puhi conquest, along with his descendants. The grandson of Auwha, Hongi Hika, was also placed there for a time after his death from a musket ball wound at Pupuke in 1828 before being removed to another burial place near Kaikohe.
An indicator of the tapu nature of the area was shown in an 1845 land deed relating to the sale of land nearby to missionary Philip King in 1836. It was notable that Piakoa, also known as Opiako, was excluded from the sale, and was described as “the sacred place of Opiako” on the deed, and as a “wahi tapu” in a later 1856 survey.
The remains of many tu¯puna were removed to Matauri for a Christian burial by the hau kainga in the 1930s.
“At the time, none of those who participated in the relocation or reburial were allowed to touch food with their hands, and they were fed morning and night by others, in line with traditional Ma¯ori funerary practices. Although many tu¯ puna were relocated at this time, the area is still held to be tapu.”
Listing on the New Zealand Heritage List/Ra¯ rangi Ko¯ rero informed and notified owners, the public, community organisations, government agencies and local authorities about significant heritage places. It was also a source of information about those places.