A piece of a 300-year-old waka has been publicly unveiled after spending over a decade in the care of Manatu Taonga, the Ministry of Culture and Heritage.
The 3.5-metre long portion of the tōtara waka was blessed with the name Te Awakairangi at the ceremony in Wellington yesterday morning. It's a name Te Ati Awa chair Kura Moeahu says is fitting, considering the location it was found in 2006.
“At the time of discovery, there was no name so it was appropriate that the name bestowed upon it was Te Awa Kairangi, given that it was discovered close by to Te Awakairangi river,” says Moeahu says.
It was discovered during the construction of a sewer pumping station and was immediately taken by the ministry to be dried and stored. But even after 16 years, the question of who it belongs to is still unanswered.
“We actually can't tell which iwi might be able to claim it,” Manatū Taonga acting deputy chief executiveBasil Keane says.
“So the decision was made with the iwi to all work together on this kaupapa so we have Te Ati Awa and Taranaki Whānaui welcome all the other iwi who brought it from its storage place in Wellington.”
Te Atiawa holds mana whenua over Te Awakairangi but the Hutt has an extensive Māori history, and the original waka could have belonged to several iwi, including Muaūpoko, Rangitāne, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Hahungunu, and Ngāti Toa.
As the search for its origins continues, the ancient taonga will remain in a warehouse in Te Awakairangi.