Waikato Times

What we can learn from Rangiaowhi­a

- Lawrence Gullery lawrence.gullery@stuff.co.nz

For more than 20 years Rangiaowhi­a in the Waikato was a thriving village where the promise of the Treaty of Waitangi was beginning to be realised.

Maori and Pakeha lived together. They shared languages, trade, education and religion.

All that changed on February 21, 1864, when British Crown soldiers raided the prosperous village in the Waipa district, as part of an overall plan to destroy the Kingitanga movement.

Many were killed, including elderly, women and children. Some sought refuge in a church which was duly set on fire by soldiers.

Those details still burn in the hearts of descendant­s of Ngati Apakura, the iwi which was displaced following the attack, and has never been able to return home. One of those descendant­s is kaumatua Tom Roa who led this year’s commemorat­ion event yesterday.

It started with a dawn karakia service on the corner of Puahue and Rangiaowhi­a roads, about 5kms east of Te Awamutu, overlookin­g a paddock where women and children perished in the burning church.

‘‘I ask you all to keep women and children as the focus of today,’’ Roa said to the service.

‘‘We call upon the powers that be, to recognise the spirit of reconcilia­tion, the spirit of remembranc­e, that this was a place which was starting to realise the potential, the promise of the Treaty of Waitangi.’’

Roa is also the Associate Professor of Maori and Indigenous Studies at the University of Waikato.

Speaking later in the morning, Roa said he was hopeful the Crown and politician­s would begin speaking to Ngati Apakura about the possibilit­y of a reconcilia­tion package.

‘‘Ngati Apakura remains largely homeless and it is hoped those descendant­s alive today might have a place here for them.

‘‘What that might be, we need to work on and talk about.

‘‘We understand this land is no longer their home. It belongs to someone else now and in no way do we want those people undone.’’

Roa said reconcilia­tion was not a Treaty matter but in fact a matter of treatment of a ‘‘war crime’’.

‘‘And I use those two words deliberate­ly. We remember the massacre in Christchur­ch but Rangiaowhi­a doesn’t seem to be part of the national conscience. We don’t seem to realise that Rangiaowhi­a, this sad event which happened 100 years before Christchur­ch, that the mistakes of that time are still being made.

‘‘We must remember but also move forward into the future, to make sure an event like Rangiaowhi­a never takes place again on this land.’’

Roa said the efforts of a group of Otorohanga ¯ students, at the 150th anniversar­y of Rangiaowhi­a, helped put the deadly attack at Rangiaowhi­a on the nation’s radar.

Waipa¯ District Council had also worked hard to put a bigger public focus on Rangiaowhi­a and other important events from the New Zealand Land Wars. It included the council’s Te Ara Wai Journeys a self-guided tour of culturally significan­t sites in Waipa¯ .

‘‘We can now have an adult conversati­on about our history, our past. Actively engaging in our past means we will come to know how we got to where we are today.

‘‘Then that narrative will serve as a guide to our future.’’

Speeches and karakia were held at two other key sites along Rangiaowhi­a Rd following the dawn ceremony.

It included St Paul’s Anglican Church and Rangiaowhi­a Urupa.

Primary and secondary schools formed a large part of this year’s commemorat­ion and Roa said it’s likely to become more important at schools begin to teach New Zealand history in a few years.

‘‘What will be especially important is how those stories come out of the classroom and into the community. We need to make sure that those stories and memories are shared, not just with one section of the community, but with everyone, so we can come to understand who we are as New Zealanders.’’

‘‘We understand this land is no longer their home. It belongs to someone else now and in no way do we want those people undone.’’

Kaumatua Tom Roa

 ?? PHOTOS: DOMINICO ZAPATA/STUFF ?? Commemorat­ion event organiser Bill Harris, right, with Ngati Apakura Runanga Trustee George Griggs and his twin sons, Kairangi and Tarai, 9, outside St Paul’s Church, Rangiaowhi­a.
PHOTOS: DOMINICO ZAPATA/STUFF Commemorat­ion event organiser Bill Harris, right, with Ngati Apakura Runanga Trustee George Griggs and his twin sons, Kairangi and Tarai, 9, outside St Paul’s Church, Rangiaowhi­a.
 ??  ?? St Joseph’s Catholic School Te Kuiti students: Libby Kearins-Te Whare; Helena Shearer; Ngahuia Salmond; Ebony Phillips (back) and Zoe Rawles.
St Joseph’s Catholic School Te Kuiti students: Libby Kearins-Te Whare; Helena Shearer; Ngahuia Salmond; Ebony Phillips (back) and Zoe Rawles.
 ??  ?? Chairs were set up on the road for people to sit and listen to speeches, delivered by primary and secondary school students, outside the Rangiaowhi­a Cemetery, as part of the commemorat­ion event.
Chairs were set up on the road for people to sit and listen to speeches, delivered by primary and secondary school students, outside the Rangiaowhi­a Cemetery, as part of the commemorat­ion event.
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