Another step toward healing the past
Thousands of people huddled out of heavy rain at a Taranaki marae yesterday to take the next step in reconciling New Zealand’s turbulent past.
Te Putake o Te Riri, He Rā Maumahara – a three-day national initiative to mark the nation’s land wars – began at Waitara’s Owae Marae at 10am with a spine tingling haka powhiri to welcome guests including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Government ministers, and iwi leaders from around the country.
While the three-day commemoration will specifically reflect on battles near the north Taranaki town, remembering what happened around the region and country during the New Zealand wars between 1845 and 1872 will also be in focus.
The first shots were fired in the Taranaki war on March 17, 1860 after Te Atiawa rangatira Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitake refused to sell the fertile grounds of Waitara to cater for immigration from Britain and Ireland but later a deal was done by another chief.
Ardern said she had never experienced a welcome like it. She described the scene as ‘‘hugely powerful’’ and ‘‘the beginning of a conversation, the chance to talk about our history, to talk about parts of Aotearoa’s story that just haven’t been told nearly as much as they should, and, I hope, part of what will be part of a very different future where that history is widely taught.’’
Asked whether a national day of significance should be established, Ardern said the most important thing that could be done to commemorate the New Zealand wars was make sure they were taught in schools.
Last month Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced that New Zealand history will be taught in all schools and kura by 2022.
The curriculum would include key aspects of the nation’s history, including the arrival of Māori to Aotearoa New Zealand, and early colonial history.
Ardern said teaching children the history of the country was the best way to ensure the events of the past were remembered.
‘‘Days of Commemoration, yes they are important, but it doesn’t mean that we build understanding just through a single day in a year.
‘‘Putting the teaching of New Zealand history into our schools, into our education system, for all our young people to learn, I think that is the most significant and important thing we can do going forward.’’
Academic Dr Ruakere Hond, an advocate of Te Reo Māori, said the initiative was another step towards healing the past.
‘‘This is a way to recognise Waitara and recognise Taranaki and what we have been through,’’ Hond said.
‘‘Not many people know about the background of Taranaki, what took place within Taranaki but also outside so this is an opportunity to do that.’’