Stars aligning for M¯aori compass plan
Plans to turn the south-eastern corner of the North Island into a dark sky reserve have kickstarted other ideas to attract people to South Wairarapa.
A group of locals want to build a Ma¯ ori star compass on top of a hill behind the seaside town of Lake Ferry to take advantage of the region’s deep black skies and glittering celestial bodies.
Reuben Raihania Tipoki, of Lake Onoke on Wairarapa’s south coast, believes the stars have aligned with South Wairarapa District Council already moving ahead with plans to build a track up to a spot that would be perfect for an observation circle.
‘‘You can get pretty good 360-degree views. The more sky you can see, the better,’’ he said.
Tipoki became keen on Ma¯ ori astronomy when he learned celestial navigation while aboard seafaring waka.
He said the topic could be taught in the traditional Ma¯ori way, where stars were used as seasonal cues for harvesting and planting while certain stars were rising and falling in the heavens.
‘‘It would be like a calendar which will help us track the changing of the seasons.’’
The concept is to place carved pou (poles) in a circle marking key points on the compass.
‘‘Since we learned that it was quite likely we were going to become a dark sky reserve, we started talking about doing this.’’
Ray Lilley, of Martinborough Dark Sky Society, said the project was the kind of development they hoped would result from having a dark sky reserve.
The society is hosting a director of the International Dark-sky Association (IDA) – Dr John Barentine of Tucson, Arizona – next week, and showing him around the potential site for the region’s star compass and an astronomy centre.
The IDA will decide on the society’s application to have the south-eastern corner of Wairarapa made into a dark sky reserve.
"You can get pretty good 360-degree views. The more sky you can see, the better."
Reuben Raihania Tipoki says the hill behind Lake Ferry is the perfect spot for a Ma¯ ori star compass.