The past is entrenched
History lessons in the landscape
Our tarnished history lies buried in the landscape of Aotearoa, but it is about to be revealed. Next year, schools will teach the colonial history of New Zealand, warts and all. Our children and grandchildren will be the ones to break the ice to have those conversations that we should have shouldered generations ago.
But it’s clear the land has always spoken, if you can find the places where our Pa¯ keha¯ /Ma¯ ori history played out.
The first time I went to Parihaka in Taranaki, some 25 years ago, I received good directions over the phone from then Parihaka stalwart and spokesman, the late Te Miringa Hohaia.
The directions came with a stern warning for the documentary crew and I not to be late for the breakfast bell.
Leaving New Plymouth, I had expected to find a signpost emblazoned with the name Parihaka.
Surely such a significant community would have a roadside monument or information board? But there was nothing.
Searching along the highway, eventually we found the nondescript names of two side roads, Lower and Mid Parihaka roads.
It seemed like such an understatement for a place so significant in our history.
The place where 1600 troops invaded a village for ploughing the land as a form of passive resistance against land losses.
Parihaka’s community now has plans and government funding for a visitors’ centre to deal with the increasing interest from school groups, community groups and researchers. It’s a chance to finally tell their own story, their way.
Even more remote than Parihaka, is Maungapo¯ hatu, deep in Te Urewera. It was at this sacred maunga that Nga¯ i Tu¯ hoe prophet,
Rua Ke¯nana Hepetipa, established his peaceful community in 1907, with its architecturally distinctive round house, Hı¯ona. But later, Hepetipa was charged with sedition for his opposition to Ma¯ ori recruitment in World War I.
Armed police raided Maungapo¯ hatu in 1916, and two residents were shot and killed, including Hepetipa’s son.
Charges of sedition against Hepetipa were eventually thrown out, but he was found guilty of resisting arrest from an earlier incident and was sentenced to one year’s hard labour and 18 months in prison.
The mostly rough and rut-filled metal road through Te Urewera hides a hidden turnoff, the track to Maungapo¯ hatu.
Other landmarks of our shared history are emerging from the shadows of the past.
The Waikato Expressway, south of Auckland, passes by Rangiriri.
For years, the road cut through this sacred pa¯ site where, in 1863, the battle of Rangiriri saw 1500 British and settler soldiers, in gunboats and on land, battle with 500 Waikato Ma¯ ori under Kı¯ngitanga. About 80 people died.
When the expressway replaced the old road, it was realigned to run west of Rangiriri Pa¯ . Now this battle site is a place to stop to reflect on our shared histories.
At the waharoa (entrance) are 10 pou representing important Ma¯ ori leaders, a walkway follows the layout of the trenches, and information boards tell the story.
Ruapekapeka Pa¯ in Northland is another battle site, recently restored and accessible by road. The 1846 battle was the last of the Northern Wars.
The pa¯ is renowned for its trenches and underground bunkers, designed by Nga¯ ti Hine rangatira, Te Ruki Kawiti. Now the site is marked by a waharoa, carved pou, and information boards.
Visitors are welcome, but mana whenua ask people to treat these sites as sacred. Avoid eating there and walk with respect in your heart and an open mind.