Building the first marae in Ngāmotu New Plymouth for 194 years has begun with a dawn turning-of-whenua by Ngāti Te Whiti.
Since colonisation Ngāti Te Whiti has had no place to stand in their rohe, which closely matches the city of New Plymouth.
But after years of heartache the hapū of Te Ātiawa is ready to build its marae, overlooking Ngāmotu beach and Port Taranaki and out to sea.
Another $5 million is needed to complete the marae complex, on top of $9 million already secured from private donors, philanthropic partners, the council and contributed by hapū and iwi.
Ngāti Te Whiti is confident the money will come so has started building a multi-purpose wharekai.
The planned wharenui has been paused until full funding is secured.
At Tuesday’s dawn soil-turning ceremony Shelton Healey, the chair of Ngāti Te Whiti Hapū Society, said there was also work to do “rebuilding our whānau, rebuilding our hapū.”
“I can’t wait till the day that we’re all standing on this whenua as a whanau, as a hapū, as an iwi.
“We’ll all get to understand and learn about Ngāti Te Whiti in one place, where we can come and kōrero, sing, argue, fight – do all things.”
Healy’s deputy Linda McCulloch said current trustees were following instructions laid down by their parents’ generation.
“I particularly think about Wiki [Wikitoria] Keenan.”
Twelve years ago Keenan died aged 67 after playing a key negotiating role in Te Atiawa’s settlement with the Crown under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“She not only did the mahi here for the hapū, but she did the mahi for the iwi.
“Actually, she gave her life for that,” said Mccullogh.
“I think of her often and the sacrifices we all make.”
Damon Ritai – a trustee of the iwi’s Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa – said there’d be a lot more mahi over the next couple of years.
“It’s been 194 years since Ngāti Te Whiti have had a place to call home and the history and the kōrero talks all about that.”
“To now have a place to call home is fantastic.”
The hapū overcame many obstacles to begin building, including a decade ago the theft of half a million dollars by the then-chief executive of Ngāti Te Whiti Whenua Topū Trust.
The former police officer was jailed on six counts of forgery, 36 counts of theft by a person in a special relationship and four counts of obtaining by deception.
Although not from Ngāti Te Whiti, Pauline Lockett is an advisory trustee and general manager of the asset-holding Whenua Topū Trust and of the Ngāmotu Marae Reservation.
“We’ve raised $9.2 million and so we’re confident we can build the wharekai and obviously do the infrastructure, civil works, the ablutions.
“People will be able to see this is actually happening,” Lockett said.
“If we can’t raise the balance of the funds – which is roughly $5 million – between now and when the wharekai is finished it’ll become a wharekai/wharenui on a temporary basis, until the funds are raised.”
Donations to Ngāmotu Marae can be made through the charitable Taranaki Foundation.
The completed marae has been planned space for tourism and cultural events, school visits, community gatherings, hui, workshops and conferences.
The marae isn’t the only impact Ngāti Te Whiti is having on the city – McCulloch has worked for the hapū on New Plymouth District Council’s 30-year central city plan which includes a stronger presence of mana whenua.
Ngāti Te Whiti pou tikanga Shane Cassidy said the marae would realise the dreams of their parents and grandparents distanced from their culture through urbanisation.
“We never had a marae, and we didn’t have the tikanga with us.
“But we learned … we continue to strive, and we come together as one.”
Cassidy and others emphasised Ngāmotu Marae would be a place for Ngāti Te Whiti not only to stand, but to embrace all of New Plymouth.
“This marae is for the community, not for just one, but for all.”
LDR is local body reporting funded by RNZ and NZ on Air
