Tēnei te mihi ki a koutou, ko Ngāi Tūāhuriri, ko ngā mana whenua o te rohe nei.

Image from here.

Ngāi Tūāhuriri are mana whenua for our rohe/ area.  

They acknolwedge Makawhiua, Tākitimu as their waka, Tūāhuriri as a key ancestor, Maungatere (Maukatere) as their maunga/ mountain, Rakahuri as their awa, Tuahiwi as their marae and Maahunui II as their whare tīpuna. 

It was Tūrākautahi who established the main Ngāi Tūāhuriri pā, Kaiapoi Pā, and the hapū draws its name from his father, Tūāhuriri.  The pepeha of Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga is here.

The main marae for Ngāi Tūāhuriri today is Tuahiwi Marae.

Tuahiwi Education run workshops for kaiako to get to know them better which you can register for here.

Other marae/ rūnanga we are strongly connected to, due to our proximity to Horomaka/ Banks Peninsula, include:

• Rāpaki, in Lyttelton Harbour

• Taumutu, on the banks of Waihora/ Lake Ellesmere. For those kura within the Taumutu rohe/ area, please read this incredibly informative PDF. 

• Wairewa, at Little River

• Ōnuku, in Akaroa Harbour - the Ōnuku rūnaka website includes videos about the history of the rūnaka that are very accessible to ākonga.

• Koukourarata, in Port Levy

There is an excellent website that gives the pepeha for each hapū here - a great help if you have ākonga/ students who are Kāi Tahu but don't yet know all the details of their hapū. It also has a really useful series of online books for further research (aimed at adults).

Kōrero Tuku Iho/ Oral history

The above image from about 1910 shows how Tuawera/ Cave Rock resembles a whale and how Pākehā over time have had no idea of the site's tapu status.

Turakipō, Hineao and Te Ake

This oral history may not be suitable depending on the age of your ākonga, but is important for kaiako to know. It explains, for example, why there was a rāhui/ ban on collecting shellfish around Tuawera/ Cave Rock.

According to oral tradition, Turakipō was a rangatira of Ōpāwaho, the pā at the banks of the river from which the river draws its name.

Turakipō fell in love with a wahine called Hineao, who was the daughter of a rangatira based at Akaroa. His name was Te Ake. However, Hineao did not return Te Ake's affection and out of jealousy he used makutu (a curse) and she died.

Hineao's father, Te Ake, was wracked with grief and anger, and sought revenge on Turakipō and his hapū. He used a karakia to call forth a tohorā (whale) to beach itself at what is now Cave Rock/ Tuawera. Turakipō and his hapū heard of the beached whale and journeyed down the river to feast on whale meat.

Turakipō was wary of the whale and didn't eat, but the rest of his hapū feasted and then fell asleep, never to awaken again. Turakipō was left isolated and Te Ake and some of his men killed him.

The name of Cave Rock, Tuawera, refers to the burning of the kōiwi/ those who died. There was a rāhui (a ban on seafood harvesting) around Tuawera that should still be respected today, although it is now often used as a picnic spot by people with no knowledge of its history. 

For more detail on this, see Tī Kouka Whenua and P7 onwards of this cultural narrative.

There are a number of famous individuals from our local area we should know about. This video is very helpful in covering a number of key tīpuna.

Tūāhuriri 

Tūāhuriri was a Ngāi Tahu rangatira from the Wellington region. although he was not from Canterbury, he is significant because he sent his sons and relatives south to defeat Ngāti Mamoe and claim Te Wai Pounamu for Ngāi Tahu. This is why he is known as the chief ancestor of the Ngāi Tūāhuriri hapū.

Moki

Moki was the youngest son of Tūāhuriri, and a fierce warrior. He was a key leader in the Ngāi Tahu campaigns against the Ngāti Mamoe.

Makō

Makō was a Ngāti Kurī rangatira and a great warrior, who led his people south through Te Waipounamu and settled on the banks of Wairewa. His descendants make up the Wairewa Rūnanga. Watch an animated video about Makō's life here.

Te Rakiwhakaputa

Te Rakiwhakaputa was a Ngāti Kurī rangatira and warrior who was related to Tūrakautahi and makō through marriage. As part of the Ngāti Kuri/ Ngāi Tahu migration south, he first established a pā on the Cam River, but then claimed the land at Lyttelton for himself by laying down his rāpaki/ waist mat after defeating the Ngāti Mamoe inhabitants there. He is the primary ancestor of the people of Rāpaki.

Te Ruahikihiki

Te Ruahikihiki was a Ngāti Kurī rangatira, whose daughter was married to Tūāhuriri. Te Ruahikihiki was part of the combined Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Kuri conquest of Ngāti Mamoe and he settled at Taumutu, on the banks of Waihora/ Lake Ellsemere. His son, Taoka, led successful campaigns in Otakou (Otago) so both the Taumutu hapū and those around Dunedin and Invercargill are known as Ngāti Te Ruahikihiki.

Te Maiharanui

Te Maiharanui was a rangatira who descended from all the major ancestral lines of Ngāi Tahu and thus was acknowledged as the ūpoko ariki/ highest ranking chief of Ngāi Tahu in his time (the early 1800s). He is known for a destructive internal conflict in Ngāi Tahu, which began when a woman wore his kahukurī/ cloak, a violation of his tapū status. He was also targetted by the Ngāti Toa chief, Te Rauparaha, during the wars between Ngāti Toa and Ngāi Tahu. In 1830, Te Rauparaha captured Te Maiharanui by stealth at his kāinga in Akaroa harbour (Takapūneke). Te Rauparaha was hidden aboard a British vessel called the Brig Elizabeth, and when Te Maiharanui boarded he was captured and later taken up to Kāpiti and killed. In the meantime, his kāinga was attacked and destroyed by Ngāti Toa. Te Maiharanui was an important ancestor of the people at Ōnuku.

Piuraki/ Hōne Tikao/ John Love

Piuraki/ Hone Tikao/ John Love was one of only two rangatira to sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi near Ōnuku in Akaroa Harbour. Te Tiriti was only signed by Kāi Tahu rangatira in three locations around Te Wai Pounamu and only seven Kāi Tahu signatures were gathered in total, which would later bring into question the credibility of Britain's sovereignty over Te Waipounamu. 

Hone Tikao, a rangatira of Ngāti Irareku descent, who had survived being captured during Te Rauparaha's attack on Takapūneke in 1830. He may have been chosen to go out to the Herald (the ship that arrived in Akaroa in 1840, carrying a copy of Te Tiriti) because he spoke English fluently, as well as a range of other European languages, including French - he had travelled extensively on whaling ships and had acquired extensive knowledge of European languages and cultures. Therefore, he was an ideal person to negotiate with European ships. However, Tikao never saw a copy of the English text of Te Tiriti so never had a chance to observe the differences between the two versions. The version he signed (just like the other seven copies in Te Reo Māori) guaranteed that he and other rangatira would retain tino rangatiratanga over their lands, villages and treasures - a far better deal than the one English copy offered. 

Tikao would later be vocal in his opposition to Kemp's Purchase as he had a very good understanding of what land was worth at the time - he argued five million pounds would be a fairer price than two thousand.  Tikao is one of the few rangatira who we have an accurate portrait of - he allowed a bust to be made of himself. For a discussion of how exceptional both the man and the bust are, see here. See Page 11 of this Te Karaka issue for a discussion of both Piuraki and Iwikau. 

Iwikau

Iwikau was the other rangatira who signed Te Tiriti at Ōnuku, in Akaroa Harbour. Like Piuraki, he was a survivor of the wars with Ngāti Toa. His family would go on to play a major role in the history of the peninsula. His daughter married a whaler named James Robinson Clough, who took part in the raising of the British flag to signal British sovereignty on 11 August, 1840 - a result of Iwikau and Piuraki's decision to sign Te Tiriti earlier that year, on 30 May. See Page 11 of this Te Karaka issue for a discussion of both Piuraki and Iwikau. 

Reverend James West Stack

Reverend Stack was a Anglican missionary who did much to raise the prestige of the anglican faith among Māori. Stack was appointed to lead a new Māori mission in Christchurch in1859,. For many years, Stack worked at the mission house, church and school at Tuahiwi Marae, although later he would move to aparish in Christchurch and another in Duvauchelle. He was very passionate about his mission and travelled all over Te Wai Pounamu, even as far afield as Rakiura/ Stewart Island. In his travels he spoke to many kaumatua about their history. He interviewed Ngāi Tahu about the wars with Te Rauparaha and eventually wrote a book about the sacking of Kaiapoi Pā, although unfortunately he used an incorrect name for the pā. Stack at least ensured a memorial was erected on the site of the pā so that it would be respected. Stack was a major proponent of education for Māori, seeking to establish schools wherever he could, and served for a time as a superintendent of the native schools in the region. When the people at Little River refused to let Māori children from nearby Wairewa Pā attend their school, Stack raised funds to get a native school built on the pā site.  Stack also noticed the completely unfair nature of the reserves set aside by Kemp and Mantell and the poverty that Kemp's Purchase had led to among Kāi Tahu, and he campaigned (unsuccessfully) to get these issues addressed. He also sought to raise awareness of Māori culture among Europeans at the time, giving public lectures, and he and his wife collected taonga and knowledge that are now immensely valuable. His detailed maps of Māori place names around Banks peninsula and Canterbury have been invaluable in the movement to restore original place names.

Amiria Puhirere

A famed matriarch of the community at Ōnuku, Amiria was an incredibly talented weaver and a wahine toa who served as a midwife for communities around Akaroa Harbour. When a woman went into labour, a signal fire would be lit. Amiria would strap her supplies to her back and swim across the harbour to deliver the baby. Amiria was born in around 1855 so she saw the aftermath of Kemp's Purchase and the wars with Ngāti Toa. In recognition of her strength of character, the whare kai at Ōnuku was named after her. There is a chapter on Amiria in Tāngata Ngāi Tahu, Volume 1.

Sir John Cracroft Wilson

The English names for the suburbs of Cashmere and Cracroft come from an early Pākehā settler, John Cracroft Wilson, who was an Englishman born in India in 1808.  Wilson arrived in Christchurch in 1854 and bought a large tract of land from the Crown at the foot of the Port Hills, which he named after his favourite province in India - Kashmir.  His estate ("Cashmere Farm") was huge, and stretched as far as Governors Bay. He would later become an MP. Cracroft built his labourers a large accommodation barracks in 1870. Now known as the Old Stone House, it remains a significant landmark. 

Harry Ell

Harry Ell was born on the Port Hills in 1862. He grew up passionate about our native plants and animals and went on to become an MP. Harry Ell had a vision to preserve our native bush and managed to get New Zealand's first ever scenic reserve established, Kennedy's Bush. He had a vision for a series of reserves with interconnected guest houses reaching as far as Akaroa so that people could explore the natural world. He wanted to establish 14 rest houses, although in the end, only four were built - The Sign of the Bellbird, The Sign of the Takahē, The Sign of the Packhorse and The Sign of the Kiwi. 

Dame Ngaio Marsh

Another significant figure in our area was Dame Ngaio Marsh. She remains one of NZ's best selling authors, having published 33 books and sold over 1 million copies. Dame Ngaio was born in 1895, only two years after women gained the vote, at a time when the expectations on women were very strict. She regularly defied social expectations, travelling unchaperoned, living independently, wearing unconventional clothing including at times men's suits and being heavily involved in theatre and the arts.  Dame Ngaio's house remains an important taonga/ treasure in our area, siting just up the hill from Zero's Cafe. 

Margaret Mahy

Acclaimed children's author, Margaret Mahy, is important to our Kāhui Ako as she once lived in Governor's Bay.  She wrote over 120 books and has had her work published in 15 languages. Mahy published her first children's book in 1969 and eventually resigned her job as a librarian in 1980 to become a full-time writer. Her picture books and young adult novels have brought joy to many generations of tamariki and rangatahi, which is why her work is remembered in the Margaret Mahy Playground in town.

For more on Margaret Mahy, see here and here and an awesome extract from the book Te Kupenga here.

Cath Brown

An acclaimed weaver/ tohunga raranga, sculptor and mixed media artist from Taumutu, Cath Brown's skill at weaving was so widely renowned that her work was exhibited all over the globe. She was awarded the Sir Kingi Ihaka Award for her contribution to Māori arts.  She was also a teacher-educator at the Christchurch College of Education and ran workshops at marae and in the community to help pass on the knowledge of the art of raranga. Read a tribute to Cath here. Listen to a recording of Cath talking about her life at Taumutu here. Watch Cath talking about one of her exhibitions honouring Tā Apirana Ngata here (about 50 seconds in). See an exampler of one of her ceramic/ mixed media works here. 

Dr. Irihapeti Ramsden

Dr Irihapeti Ramsden, from Koukourārata, was a nurse, a nursing educator, a researcher, a philosopher and a writer and was awarded a New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to health.  She transformed how the medical profession viewed the treatment of indigenous peoples and campaigned for culture to be taken into account when patients were being treated.  Dr Ramsden also published other Māori authors who struggled to be accepted by mainstream publishers, such as Keri Hulme with her novel The Bone People, which went on to be a best seller. Her passing away due to cancer at only 57 years old, in 2003, was a profound loss to Aotearoa. 

Ōpāwaho - the pā site. 

The pā that gave our river its name was located on the riverbank, just where Judge Street and Vincent Place once intersected. To access the site today, drive along Richardson Terrace to where it passes under State Highway 76 and you will be able to walk along and see a sign on the riverbank. The name of this pā means an outpost (pā waho - outside the main pā) as it was an outpost/ rest stop for people travelling to and from Kaiapoi Pā, the main trading centre. However, it was a valuable mahinga kai in its own right, where ika/ fish and manu/ birds were gathered, as well as edible plants such as bracken fern/ aruhe. Tuere (blind eel) and kanakana (lamprey) were two key foods gathered here. Plus, it had plentiful materials to make mōkihi and other important tools for gathering kai. Search for Ōpāwaho on Kā Huru Manu for a detailed account of this site and the foods it provided. Pohoarere was one of the earlier rangatira of this pā and gave his name to one of the nearby pathways.  A later rangatira was Turakipō, who came to an early end due to his jealousy over Hineao - see the Kōrero Tuku Iho section.

Pohoareare

This path once led from Ōpāwaho to South New Brighton (Te Kai a Te Karoro) so that people from the pā could harvest kaimoana/ seafood from Te Ihutai/ the estuary. It is named for an early rangatira of the pā, whose name meant 'pigeon-breasted'. According to one Ngāi Tahu report, the people of the pa were known as Ngāti Pohoareare after this tīpuna/ ancestor. 

Te Kuru

This swamp helped drain the Ōpāwaho when its levels rose and was an important natural feature. It once dominated most of our area and had numerous tributaries of the Ōpāwaho feeding into it, including the Wai Mōkihi. Pākehā initially knew it as "the Cashmere Swamp". However, it was drained by Europeans for farming and now only a few remnant pools remain in Beckenham Park (the Beckenham Ponds). See a plan of some of the 1800s drains that still sit underneath us here. The swamp was crucial to Kāi Tahu not only as a source for kai but as a source for other materials, such as raupō for canoe making and particular muds used to die weaving materials, so the draining of it was a huge loss.

Wai Mōkihi

This stream, near the upper reaches of the Sreydon River, was once a series of streams feeding into Te Kuru. When the swamp was drained, the waters were channeled into narrow streams to suit the European farmers. Before that, they provided a network of routes to travel via mōkihi (raupō rafts), hence the name, which means 'waters of rafts/ waters filled with rafts'.  The stream at the rear of Te Iringa o Kahukura/ Cashmere High also bears the name Wai Mōkihi.

Ō Mokihi

This was a pā site on the upper banks of the Spreydon River called "Ō Mōkihi"/ the place of the rafts, which would have once been part of the extensive trading network around the rivers and swamps. Te Kura o Mōkihi/Spreydon School's name is linked to this site.

Te Iringa o Kahukura

According to some kōrero, this site is where Kahukura, a grandson of Rakinui (Ranginui) laid down his cloak to claim the Port Hills for himself (to 'iri' is to drape). According to other kōrero, it is where a statue of Kahukura was once lifted up and returned to its rightful spot after it was stolen, and a third version is that tōhunga used to lift up a small wooden statue of Kahukura here when reciting karakia.  This location (near St Augustine's Church in Cracroft Terrace), which you can find the exact location of by searching in Kā Huru Manu, is where the name for Cashmere High School/ Te Iringa o Kahukura is drawn from. According to pūrākau, Kahukura and his brothers, Tūterakiwhanoa and Marokura, shaped much of our landscape and made it fit for people to live here. Kahukura in particular clothed the land with tees and filled those trees with birds as a food source. 

Te Tihi o Kahukura 

The Citadel of Kahukura, named Castle Rock by Europeans, is an unusually shaped piece of volcanic rock on the Summit Road, looking out over Ferrymead. Kahukura is linked both to Uenuku, the atua/ god of the rainbow in the North Island, and to the grandson of Rakinui who created our forests. The name Kahukura itself means 'red cloak' or 'cloak of treasures', referring pehaps to the many, rainbow hues of the feathers in his cloak. This place name was one of those recently restored to the area, thanks to the persistence of Te Rūnaka o Ngāti Wheke in particular.

Te Heru o Kahukura

The Headcomb of Kahukura, named Sugarloaf by Europeans, is another of the names recently restored to our area. It is a high point on the Port Hills that overlooks our whole city. Heru are beautiful, carved adornments for the hair, usually made of bone, with comb teeth at the bottom so they can be inserted into a top knot and stay upright. For a virtual field trip to Te Heru, you could watch this video. 

Te Poho o Tamatea

This mauka (mountain) overlooking Rāpaki Marae is named for Tamatea Pōkai Whenua, an explorer and tīpuna who arrived in the Takitimu waka. At one point when exploring Horomaka, he became dangerously cold and called out for help to Ngātoroirangi in the North Island. Ngātoroirangi sent volcanic fire through the air to warm his friend. Tamatea is referenced in many places around the Port Hills. Te Poho o Tamatea means the chest of Tamatea. See Kā Huru Manu for more.

Te Ihutai

Te Ihutai, meaning "the nose of the tides", the estuary of both the Ōtākaro and Ōpāwaho, was a key part of the trading network all over our area and is where the Pohoareare track led to. Mōkihi would travel down the awa/ rivers to the estuary to gather kai, as it was an essential mahinga kai, but also to trade with waka that had been travelling along the coat. Rapanui/ Shag Rock stood sentinel at the entrance to the estuary, showing waka out at sea where to safely enter. According to Waitaha tradition, Rapanui (the great sternpost) represents where their tipuna Rākaihautū first anchored his waka, the Uruao, making this a hugely significant site. One area in the estuary is known as Waipātiki/ Flounder Waters, as it had such an ample supply of fish.  This was one of very few mahinga kai that were actually left to Kāi Tahu under Kemp's Deed. Unfortunately, it was compulsorily 'purchased' under the Public Works Act in 1956 despite multiple protests by Kāi Tahu, so that sewage could be discharged into the estuary. Today, there are ongoing projects to restore it to what it once was.

Ōhinetahi

Although not connected to the Ōpāwaho, Ōhinetahi is important to our kāhui as it is where Te Kura o Ōhinetahi/ Governors Bay School draws its name from. Ōhinetahi was a Kāti Mamoe pā located on a ridge just south of what is now known as Governor's Bay. However, it had a different name at that time. After Ngāi Tahu defeated Kāti Mamoe under the leadership of Te Rakiwhakaputa, Te Rakiwhakaputa's son, Manuhiri, occupied this pā site. He had many sons but only one daughter, so renamed the pā Ōhinetahi/ "of the one daughter". This site is also the area that gave Lyttelton Harbour its te reo name, Whakaraupō - harbour of reeds, as there was a huge bed of raupō covering a swamp at the foot of the pā. An early settler, Christopher Alderson Calvert, built a cottage on the site in the 1850s and after consulting with local Māori retained the name Ōhinetahi for his estate. The house and heritage gardens remain and can be visited. 

The Old Stone House 

Former servant's quarters for Sir John Cracroft Wilson's huge estate (for more on Cracroft Wilson, see the Tāngata Rongonui section). This building is significant for what it shows about the migration history of our area, as Cracroft imported labourers from India, including the first Muslim migrant to Waitaha/ Canterbury, and this was their accommodation. It is a beautiful heritage buikdibg with an interesting history in its own right, having been requisitioned by the army in WWII. For more on the Old Stone house see  these two short videos.

We think of the debate about restoring Māori names for our wāhi as a relatively new thing, but many individuals have been campaigning for this for decades now. Here's an argument by Harry Ell and Reverend Stack in the 1890s for the restoration of Ōtautahi, and many of the names that make up our cultural narrative, including Te Heru o Kahukura and Wai Mōkihi. 

Thomas Eustace Green, he uri nō Ngāi tahu, gave a detailed description of many of these place names in 1898, in an effort to get Pākehā to use them accurately. 

More recently, a number of original Māori place names in Te Pātaka-a-Rākaihautū/ Banks Peninsula were restored when Rāpaki Marae presented an argument for their reinstatement to the NZ Geographic Board. Restoring and understanding these names offers a glimpse into our region's history.

Knowing the correct names is not enough, it is also important to pronounce them correctly so that they can be understood.

Testimony given by Wiremu Te Uki to the Smith-Nairn Commission in 1879 stated that “We used to get food from all over our Island; it was all mahinga kai. And we considered our island as in a far superior position to any other, because it is called Waipounamu, the greenstone island; the fame thereof reaches all lands”. His pride in this island reminds us of the importance of mahinga kai to Kāi Tahu as a people, and his definition reminds us how widely mahinga kai were once spread.

Mahinga kai were places where food was gathered, or also where resources were sourced that could be used to gather food, store food, travel or trade.  Think about the meaning of the word:

Mahi = to work (verb)

Mahinga = a verbal noun - a place where work is done

Kai = food (noun)

Mahinga kai = a place where work is done to gather food.

Mahinga kai could be roto/ lakes where tuna/ eels were plentiful, but they were also places where materials could be gathered to make the nets that would catch the tuna.

Mahinga kai could be awa/ rivers where kōkopu/ native trout were plentiful, but they were also the raupō/ bullrush beds that allowed people to make mōkihi to go out and fish for them.

Sourcing, gathering and preserving food required a lot of work and careful preparation.

Mahinga kai were carefully monitored and protected, and if supplies became low, rāhui were put in place to allow them to replenish, Rāhui could also be used if sites became contaminated. Rāhui are still used today for the same purpose.

Being able to gather kai was essential for tikanga/ customs to be followed. For example, manuhiri/ visitors need to be welcomed with plentiful kai. So losing mahinga kai disrupts traditional hospitality.

Gathering kai was also essential for the whole trading system of Kāi Tahu to work - for example, tītī/ mutton birds would be gathered and preserved in their fat from the Tītī Islands down near Rakiura/ Stewart Island. These would be brought all the way to Kaiapoi Pā to trade for pounamu. So mahinga kai were crucial to Kāi Tahu's economy.

Ngāi Tahu has an excellent web series on mahinga kai. 

Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) was such a valuable mahinga kai it was known as Te Kete a Rākaihautū/ The Food Basket of Rākaihautū. This is a reminder of the cultural importance of mahinga kai. Listen to Cath Brown from Taumutu describing the lake as a mahika kai here.

Under Kemp's Deed in 1848, the Māori language version which was signed on the day promised that Kāi Tahu would keep their mahinga kai ("Ko ō mātou kāinga nohonga, ko ā mātou mahinga kai, me waiho mārie mō mātou tamariki, mo muri ihi ia mātou, ā mā te kāwana e whakarite mai hoki tētahi wāhi mō mātou a mua ake nei..."). But Kemp later translated that as only "cultivations" (e.g. kumara planting areas), which meant that Kāi Tahu lost access to hugely important areas that they had been told they would keep. 

This is not an exhaustive list of the native plants in our area, but rather a profile of a few key plants that are highlighted in the cultural narrative for our cluster.

Harakeke

Harakeke is often called NZ flax, but it is actually a type of lily. The two main species are common flax (found in a huge range of environments at low altitudes) and mountain flax (found at higher altitudes and exposed coastlines). The common flax is important for us, as it thrives in wetlands - as this area once was. Stalks from its flowers were often used inside bundles of raupō for making mōkihi. 

Harakeke is crucial to natural ecosystems as a number of birds, and even our native short-tailed bat, feed on its nectar. It was also crucial to Māori economic activities, as stripped flax fibre (muka) and goods made of flax were essential trade items. There was a thriving trade in muka through Sydney in the 1820s-30s, and New Zealand muka fetched high prices at auction in London, to be made mainly into rope for rigging ships. The harakeke plant symbolises a whānau in Te Ao Māori and it is present in many whakataukī, such as "unuhia te rito o te harakeke, kei hea te kōmako e kō?"/ If we take the central shoot of the flax bush, where shall the bellbird rest?

Raupō

Raupō was once a crucial part of ecosystems in our area. It is a marginal plant that grows in shallow water in marshes, around the edges of rivers and lakes and also around estuaries if the water is not too salty, and is very recognisable by its long, brown, tube-shaped seed heads - sometimes known to tamariki as the 'sausage plant' or 'hotdog plant' (for more images, see here). It is an essential part of many aspects of Māori life - its leaves were used to help waterproof the rooves of whare, its pollen can be gathered and baked into a cake, its seed heads were used to fill poi and its dried leaves were used to cover them, its stalks were used to make mōkihi and there were many other uses for this plant as well. This superb video goes though many ways about how raupō was used. For more on its uses, see here and for extra sources covering how it was used see here. An article summarising the various ways it appears in early written sources is here. It is a true taonga species and the loss of the wetlands where it used to grow extensively had a huge impact on traditional ways of life. It is also integral to native ecosystems, and has a massive benefit today of cleaning waterways it grows around by absorbing large quantities of nitrogen from fertiliser run-off and effluent, although care needs to be taken that it does not crowd out other native species that do not thrive as well on high levels of nitrates.   

Tutu

Tutu is actually a highly poisonous plant and many have died from eating its black berries. Stock often die from eating the plant shoots and it can even create residual toxins in bush honey in some situations. However, it is a taonga species for Kāi Tahu. The only part of the plant that is not toxic is the petals that enclose the berries and these can be boiled to make a sweet drink (wai puhou). This liquid was also added to other foods such as cooked fern root (aruhe) to sweeten it. The plant was valuable also for making rongoa/ medicines. See here for images and help identifying the leaves/ berries. 

Toetoe

This taonga species with its distinctive, fluffy plumed flower stems was used for a range of purposes. The stalks provided the vertical stakes of tukutuku panels (the woven decoration used in the interior of wharenui/ meeting houses). They could be dyed to create contrasting patterns. Toetoe could also be used for thatching to keep whare insulated and warm.  They also featured in a range of rongoa/ medicines, from using the sharp leaves to cut skin to using the flower stems as a wound dressing to soak up blood. Today, we need to be aware of a pest plant called pampas, which looks very similar to toetoe but can spread rapidly and take over - although it is more of a problem in Te Ika a Māui/ the North Island. For more detail on how to differentiate between toetoe and pampas, see here. 

Tī Kōuka

The tī kōuka/ cabbage tree is very important in Te Ao Māori. Individual trees could be important landmarks, such as Te Herenga Ora, the stand of cabbage trees on the Burnside High School site, which was once an important landmark on the journey from Kaiapoi Pā to Rāpaki and Te Waihora. Tī Kōuka grow all over Aotearoa but thrive in wet, open areas such as swamplands.  They once provided food, fibres, medicines and weaving materials.  Snares for catching birds, backpacks and sandals were once woven from their durable leaves. They produce a small, white berry that is an important food for tūī. korimako and kererū. Part of the tree could be cut, the 'heart' dried out for a few months and later cooked in a hangi to produce a sweet meal. A video by Kāi Tahu showcases this plant's importance to the iwi.

Aruhe

Aruhe is the edible root of the bracken fern (the rauaruhe), which used to be harvested, soaked, then mashed up with a fern-root pounder, cooked and eaten. It could also be used as a medicine for a range of conditions, particularly stomach troubles. Aruhe was known as "te tūtanga tē unuhia"/ the food that can always be eaten, as despite the hard labour needed to dig and prepare it, it was always available all year around. For an image of the root, see here. For the process of harvesting it, see here. This site gives a catalogue of all the recorded uses of aruhe. Aruhe was such an important part of Kāi Tahu mahika kai it was chosen to feature on the design of our new bus exteriors. 

Kōwhai

The kōwhai is a key part of native ecosystems and many of our birds depend on its seeds for sustenance, including the tūī, the korimako and the kererū.  It was once prevalent on the higher terraces of the Canterbury Plains. It was used for medicinal purposes by Māori, including treating pain and skin disease, and its petals were used by some hapū to create a yellow dye. 

Mānuka 

It is easy to confuse mānuka with its very similar cousin, the kānuka. Mānuka are smaller plants with a spikier leaf.  It was used for many medicinal purposes. The leaves of both plants were boiled and the liquid was used to improve liver and kidney function, and they were also used to treat seasonal allergies such as hay-fever and congestion from colds. The green berries were chewed to relieve stomach aches. Wood from mānuka in particular was used to make hunting tool such as spears, and other tools such as paddles. Mānuka was the main building material for the eel weirs used to trap tuna at Ihutai when they were migrating out to sea. It could also be used in building whare. Early Europeans called mānuka 'tea tree' as they would boil its leaves to make a hot drink. Today, it is important in restoration projects as cows and sheep do not like to eat it, so regenerating areas of mānuka and kānuka provide shelter for other plants that might otherwise be eaten by stock from nearby farms. 

Wiwi

The wiwi, or rush, is a hardy, grass-like plant that thrives in coastal areas and also on the edges of wetlands. It produces clumps of dark green stems with small seed-heads. It is valued today as part of many restoration projects as its rhizomes help hold soil in place and prevent erosion. It was used in thatching and also in nets to catch inanga/ whitebait. 

Image above from the National Library, by Richard Taylor, 1840-1850 

Mōkihi were vessels made of raupō (bulrush), which grew readily on river banks. Gathered raupō would be bound together with strips of harakeke (flax) to form a small canoe. Mōkihi can also be a verb, to travel by raft.

See an illustration of a mōkihi from the 1840s here. A modern reconstruction, using rope instead of harakeke, can be viewed here. Kāi Tahu have also produced a video on the construction and use of mōkihi and here's an interview from a Kāi Tahu weaver on how raupō was used to make these crafts. This slideshow shows mōkihi being made and used. The importance of mōkihi shows in the fact that they feature in rock art from Waiataha/ Ngāti Mamoe times.

A mōkihi had benefits over conventional waka - it only took a few hours to make, but not months or years. So if people came across a waterway they needed to cross, they could construct a mōkihi for that journey and then leave it on a riverbank when it was no longer needed. Whereas waka made of hardwoods such as tōtara were time-consuming to make and also large and heavy. They were excellent for coastal voyages but difficult to manoevre through shallow swamps.

However, smaller mōkihi could only hold one or two people - as Walter Mantell found out to his detriment when he and two companions tried to all fit into a mōkihi and ended up sinking. 

An illustration by Charles Heaphy in 1839 shows a mōkihi alongside a larger waka, and makes it clear how well these lightweight vessels could navigate rapids.

William Colenso, the missionary who documented the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi,  described the construction of mōkihi in the 1830s: 

"Besides their canoes, they sometimes made use of rafts for crossing streams and inlets when the water was deep; such, however, were only made for the occasion, of dry bulrushes, or the dry flowering-stems of the flax (Phormium) plant, tied together in bundles with green flax" (as cited in Best, 1925).

Bishop Selwyn (as cited in Best, 1925) described a journey via mōkihi in 1844: 

"The mokihi is formed of bundles of rushes bound tightly together in the form of a boat. No kind of boat could be better suited to the river, which is a deep and rapid torrent… To cross it is necessary to start at some point where the main stream touches the bank, and to keep the same channel till it winds its way to the opposite bank; in order to do which it is sometimes necessary to go down the stream several miles. The mokihi are first built twenty or thirty miles from the mouth, and perform the zigzag course till they reach the sea, where they are turned adrift, it being impossible to work them up against the stream. Te Huruhuru himself took me under his care, with the whole of the baggage…. We launched off and made a rapid and prosperous passage to the opposite bank, going down about two miles of the river before we could reach it." 

A newspaper reprinted an 1863 article, describing in detail the sturdy construction of mōkihi. You can read this article here (scroll down to 'Mr Drake'). 

Over time, Ngāi Tahu and other groups have regularly expressed concerns that knowledge of how to construct mōkihi is being lost. This is an example of how mātauranga Māori needs to be upheld and maintained so it can be passed on to future generations. For over a century, that process of intergenerational knowledge transmission has been disrupted. 

One preschool in Arrowtown went so far as to make their own mōkihi and sailed it down the river, to build knowledge of how they were made. 

The Māori name for the Anglican Church means the "Missionary Church', which reminds us of how this faith first reached Aotearoa.  The very first missionary to arrive in Aotearoa, Samuel Marsden in 1814, was an Anglican chaplain based in New South Wales. He had met Ngā Puhi rangatira who traveled to Australia to trade and they suggested he set up a mission station in the Bay of Islands. The main motive of the rangatira may have been to improve trade with the British rather than take up Christianity, as it would be a long time before Marsden acquired any converts. However, Marsden's work in setting up the first mission school here was crucial as Māori already had a huge desire to learn to read and write. The work of Anglican missionaries was a major factor in the establishment of a written form of the Māori language. 

After Marsden, there would be a steady flow of Anglican missionaries in Aotearoa, and they would play an integral part in establishing Te Tiriti o Waitangi. However, it was not until 1850 that there was a large Anglican presence in Canterbury. The first missionaries here, in the 1830s, were actually Methodists. 

After the signing of Kemp's Deed in 1848, the planning of the Canterbury settlement really got underway. Christchurch was always planned by the New Zealand Company to be an Anglican city with a cathedral at its centre, and key figures planning the settlement, such as Godfrey, were committed Anglicans.  Therefore the majority of settlers that arrived in Lyttelton Harbour in 1850 were Anglican.  The first Anglican services in our area were held in 1853, in a small cob cottage in St Martins, in the home of Reverend Willock. 

Originally Aotearoa was one diocese and Bishop Selwyn (George Augustus Selwyn) was appointed Bishop of New Zealand, arriving here in 1842. However, with the settlement of Christchurch the church grew too large to manage in this way and in 1856 Christchurch became its own diocese. Other dioceses were created in the following years. 

Initially the Anglican Church was heavily involved with the education of Māori, although this reduced with the Native Schools Acts in the 1860s. Individual clergy still actively campaigned for Māori education, such as Reverend Stack in Lyttleton. 

The Anglican faith in Aotearoa has changed over time, for example with the first female clergy being ordained in 1977, and with efforts tp create a more bicultural system.