Te Kereme:
This page features extracts from a recorded interview with George Tikao speaking about Ōnuku Marae.
George
W. Tikao is the Chairman of Ōnuku Rūnanga. Ōnuku
is the birthplace of his mother. His whānau later lived
at the kainga opposite Akaroa called Opukutahi. He grew up
at Lyttelton and spent time at Ōnuku as a child and
teenager.Whānau asked him to return to Ōnuku
to help support the development of the marae especially
the building of the wharenui, Karaweko. He is the Ōnuku
Rūnanga representative on the Te Rūnanga o Ngāi
Tahu table and has sat there since its inception.
Ōnuku Marae
Ōnuku
Marae is a five kilometre meandering drive from the Akaroa
township towards the heads of Akaroa Harbour. The marae emerges
suddenly at the roadside, glimpsed through a fringe of harakeke.
The craggy peak Oteauheke rises up behind the marae that sits
at an angle to the lapping shoreline of the harbour. Ōnuku
Marae is home to the hapū of Ngāi Tarewa and Ngāti
Irakēhu. Irakēhu was the mother of many of the hapū and
pā in the Horomaka (Banks Peninsula) area.
Akaroa harbour is of great significance as a mahinga kai - its waters traditionally provided the primary sustenance for the people of Ōnuku. The rim of hills and peaks that look down upon Akaroa’s waters evoke many important histories. Directly across the harbour from Ōnuku Marae stands the distinctive Tuhiraki (Mt Bossu). This peak is said to have been formed when the Ngāi Tahu explorer Rākaihautū thrust his kō (digging stick) into Horomaka after using it to dig out all the principal lakes of Te Wai Pounamu including nearby Te Roto o Wairewa and Te Waihora.
At
the shallow head of the harbour between Barry’s Bay and
Duvauchelle lies the once fortified Ngāi Tahu pā, Ōnawe.
The distinctive whale-shaped peninsula that juts out into the
water was the site of a bloody massacre when it was invaded
by the Ngāti Toa chief, Te Rauparaha in 1832. The Ngāi
Tahu fighting chief Tāngatahara led the unsuccessful defence
of Ōnawe but later helped to drive Te Rauparaha from the
South Island.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Ōnuku is a place of historical significance as the first of the three locations (the others being Ōtakou and Ruapuke) in the South Island where Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed. Two local chiefs, Iwikau and John Love Tikao signed the Treaty at Ōnuku. Ōnuku Marae was fittingly, the site where in 1998, the then Prime Minister Jenny Shipley presented the Crown Apology to Ngāi Tahu - the final stage in the settlement of Te Kerēme (the Ngāi Tahu Claim). Takapuneke (Red House Bay) that lies between Akaroa and Ōnuku is also a place of immense significance in the story of Te Tiriti.
Takapuneke was the home of the Ngāi Tahu Upoko Ariki (Paramount Chief) Te Maiharanui. On 6 November 1830, Te Rauparaha captured Te Maiharanui by deception and then raided and destroyed his kainga at Takapuneke. Te Rauparaha was aided by a British ship’s captain, Captain Stewart of the Brig Elizabeth. Many people were slaughtered and enslaved. Te Maiharanui and his daughter Roimata were among those taken prisoner onboard the Brig Elizabeth that then returned to Kapiti. Te Maiharanui killed Roimata to prevent her from torture and enslavement. He was later killed by his captors.
When British authorities learned of Stewart’s involvement in the massacre at Takapuneke they were appalled at the anarchic state of affairs in New Zealand. As a direct result of British concern at the Takapuneke incident, James Busby was sent to New Zealand as ‘British Resident’ in 1833. Thus began the British intervention that would culminate in the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi seven years later.
Despite the historic, cultural and spiritual significance of Takapuneke it has been used for a rubbish dump, sewage treatment plant and potential subdivision. In 2002 the Historic Places Trust registered the entire area as wahi tapu. Discussion between the Ōnuku Rūnanga, the district council and the government about the future of Takapuneke is ongoing.
Māori and Pākeha at Ōnuku
Takapuneke was a centre for trade between Māori and visiting Europeans in the earliest days of European contact. In the 1800s, whalers and other traders visited Akaroa to replenish necessary supplies, especially food. Much of the land was cultivated in farmland and there was trade in timber, food and flax. Following Te Rauparaha’s attacks on Takapuneke and later Ōnawe, survivors sought refuge at Ōnuku and cultivated the land there.
French
settlement of the Akaroa area and the later claiming of the
land by the English had devastating consequences for local
Māori. Confiscation of their lands removed their ability
to cultivate food and thus to trade. Māori had no option
but to take jobs working for the newly arrived European settlers
who were establishing farms on what had been Māori land.
Some Ōnuku Māori still do not believe that they have been duly compensated for the mass appropriation of their lands. Court action in the mid 1800s led to a Native Reserve being set aside at Ōnuku in 1856. Lands were also returned at Opukutahi on the opposite side of the harbour near Wainui. The returning of lands at locations some distance from the Akaroa centre seemed a deliberate act to keep Māori away from the primary area of European settlement this, despite the fact that the entire Akaroa area had once belonged to Māori. European farmers owned the other adjacent lands at Ōnuku and by the late 19th century, over 100 people Māori and Pākeha lived there. At this time, Ōnuku had become the most important Māori kāinga on the Akaroa side of the harbour. Māori and Pākeha have lived alongside each other in the Ōnuku area for over 150 years.
Amiria
Puhirere and Karaweko
A wharekai was built at Ōnuku and officially opened in 1990 during Centenary celebrations of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. For Henare Robinson (who was then the head of Ōnuku Rūnanga) and many others, the opening of the wharekai was the beginning of the fulfilment of a dream to build a whare tūpuna at Ōnuku. Robinson named the wharekai after the inspirational Taua, Amiria Puhirere who was loved and admired by generations of Ōnuku whanau. Amiria Puhirere was the daughter of Mere Whariu and Karaweko. She was over 100 years old when she died in 1944.
The wharekai provided a place for whānau visiting Ōnuku to come together but the empty space adjacent to it beckoned to be filled - soon plans were underway for the building of the wharenui…
A
Carving Committee led by Pere Tainui was set up to research
the whakapapa and history which would be represented in the
whakairo of the house. Master carver Eric Korewha of Ngā Puhi
was commissioned by Ōnuku Rūnanga to carve the wharenui.
Carvers Simon Rogers, Hono Fleming, Hone Taiapa and Carl Wards
worked with Korewha to craft whakairo out of West Coast tōtara.
Four years were spent on the project and every Māori of
Ngāi Tahu descent can trace their ancestry to the tūpuna
represented in the carvings. The Ngāi Tahu paramount chief
Te Maiharanui is the tekoteko standing atop the house with
shining eyes. His wife Te Whe and daughter Roimata form the
pare at the entrance to the house, a traditional site for leading
women of the tribe.
Ngāi Tahu weaver Cath Brown of Taumutu led a core group of weavers from Ōnuku and many other Marae in making the tukutuku panels for the interior of the house. The Ōnuku landscape is mirrored in the hues of the tukutuku olive green, black and gold. The pātiki (flounder) shape was chosen as the principal design for the work because it is the major sustainable ika of the peninsula area. Ōnuku Ngāi Tahu worked with the support of whānau from other hapū to complete panels which feature the distinct colours and symbols of each contributing marae.
The
whare tūpuna was blessed and opened at dawn on February
5 1997. A Treaty Festival took place over the following days
in commemoration of 157 years passing since the signing of
Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The whare tūpuna was named Karaweko
after the Ngāi Tarewa chief. As a youth, Karaweko was
among those taken prisoner by Te Rauparaha at Takapuneke.
Karaweko later returned to the peninsula to take up his role
as chief of Ōnuku. ‘Big William’ as he was known
became well known as a builder of waka.
Etchings by Meryon, the French artist illustrate a wharenui and pātaka (storehouse) that once existed in the Akaroa area but Karaweko is the only fully carved whare tūpuna on Horomaka today. It is the first carved house to be built in the area for over a hundred years.
Te Whare Karakia o Ōnuku
Across
the road from the marae, the red and white historic Whare Karakia
o Ōnuku gleams against the green hillside and harbour.
The foundation stone for the whare karakia was laid in 1876
and the building officially opened in 1878 as the first non-denominational
church in New Zealand. The opening was attended by many including
Māori from iwi all over New Zealand. Intended as a place
of worship for Māori and Pākeha, the church drew
the two communities together. In 1939 the whare karakia was
restored to its original state in time for an Akaroa Centenary
Service in 1940 that was attended by over 1000 people. A new
fence was erected in 1976, and in 1997 the poupou Tumuki was
placed at the side of the church. Tumuki was a koha from Te
Wai Pounamu Old Girls Association and was carved by Pere Tainui.
A Native School was also built at Ōnuku in 1880 that was the place of learning for successive generations of Ōnuku whānau. The school house survives today and is privately owned.
Ōnuku Marae Today
Ōnuku
Marae is the marae of Ōnuku Rūnanga, one of the five
Papatipu Rūnanga of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu located
on Horomaka. The takiwā of Ōnuku Rūnanga centres
on Ōnuku and the hills and coasts of Akaroa it adjoins
Te Rūnanga o Koukourarata and Wairewa Rūnanga.
Today the marae is booked for use for eight to nine months of the year. Its peaceful location and idyllic surroundings away from the city make it ideal for meetings and conferences. Every second weekend the marae is reserved for the use of Ōnuku whānau.
Links:
Sources:
- Brown, Cath. Interview by Helen Brown. Ellesmere Hospital, Ellesmere. Minidisc recording, 14 April 2004.
- Crean, M. "Race Against Time to Raise Tribal Ancestors" The Press, Christchurch, 1995 Feb. 25, Weekend, p. 6
- Tainui, Ernest. "Te Whare Karakia o Ōnuku." (Framed historical information mounted on the wall inside Te Whare Karakia o Ōnuku, Ōnuku, Banks Peninsula, cited 23 July 2004.)
- Tikao, George. Interview by Helen Brown. Ōnuku Rūnanga Administration Office, 127 Armagh Street, Christchurch. Minidisc recording, 14 July 2004.
- Wilson, J. A. Place as Important as Waitangi? PHANZA: E-Journal (Accessed 20 July 2004)
- Wilson, J. "Onuku: A Place to Come Together" New Zealand Historic Places May 2000 77:6-8
- "Waitangi Day Celebrations with Whare Tupuna Opening" Te Maori News v2 No.3, 1997.
- "Onuku Marae" Te Karaka Summer 1996
- "Let the House Speak" Te Karaka Spring 1997
