Maori Place Names - 65

At Pakanae Marae

Near Opononi

Far North

May 2009 Ajr

Maori Place Names - 63

Kahukuraariki Marae

North of Kaeo

Far North

April 2009 Ajr

Crossing the Hokianga

It was a perfect, still, blue-skied, Far North day when I crossed the Hokianga Harbour from Kohukohu to Rawene on May 2 last year. (Approaching Rawene Wharf above).
I caught the ferry in the knick of time - I had been dawdling outside Tauteihiihi Marae at Kohukohu, taking photographs - and as I leapt aboard, I couldn't help noticing the eerie tumble of clouds perfectly reflected in the millpond waters of the harbour.

My experience of Hokianga Harbour and the surrounding landscapes is limited - basically just two trips across on the ferry. But the area is riddled with Maori history and interesting Maori settlements and one day, I hope to spend several weeks in the area, following remote side roads to discover the inner workings of the place. On last year's trip (while researching the 6th edition of Frommers New Zealand), I did manage to see a lot more but I seldom had the time to linger long, or to go too far off the main highway. Like Eastland's Tuhoe country, it's one of the few areas of New Zealand I don't know like the back of my hand and I hanker after the time to them both justice.

A Look at the Details

As someone a little obsessed with the small details of life, this image should not come as any surprise. It's a close-up view of the carving detail on a beautiful piece at Waitangi's Te Tii Marae in the Far North's Bay of Islands.

Maori Place Names - 54

Parapara, Near Taipa

Far North, North Island

April 2009. Ajr

Northland Adventures

The day I drove into Pakiri Beach north of Leigh in the sunny north of the North Island, the sun was not long up, it was already warm and I had the beach entirely to myself - except for a rather nasty bull terrior that decided I looked like a juicy snack!

It's one of those places I now have on my list of 'Places I Must Return To.' The whole area has a rich Maori history and not far away, Te Kiri Marae at Leigh is also worth a visit. As I've mentioned many times, I love driving down side roads but as I was just setting out and had a long journey ahead of me (all the way out to the tip of Karikari Peninsula with at least a dozen side trips along the way), I decided against turning down the road that led to Laly and Sharley Haddon's Pakiri Beach Horse Rides. Descended from Te Kiri of Ngati Wai, an ancient Maori chief and his daughter, Rahui, they would have been the perfect people to give me all the details about the area. They live on the land that has been handed down through generations and with a wealth of experience in farming and horses, they've branched out into tourism with their riding venture. The family farm, Taurere covers 2,000 acres of east coast Northland and includes a private beach and around 130 horses. They offer a number of multi-day horse riding options, most of which include an introduction to the Maori history of the area. I can't think of a better way to get to know this isolated and otherwise private stretch of lower Northland. www.horseride-nz.co.nz

Maori Place Names - 50

Karikari Peninsula, Far North

North Island

April 2009 Ajr.

Church on a Hill

I turned into Wairahoraho Road on Karikari Peninsular in the Far North to see if I could get to this gorgeous little Maori church that sat high on a hill overlooking the peninsular. Unfortunately, the way up to the church was a heavily rutted clay track that would have ruined my car, so I had to content myself with this long view with a telephoto lens. I adore Northland's red-roofed Maori churches and I photographed dozens of them on last year's trip. Well-known New Zealand photographer, Laurence Aberhart made a comprehensive photographic study of them - usually in black and white - and many of his images are in major New Zealand art collections. When I lived in Wanganui many years ago (back in the mid-eighties), Laurence Aberhart was the artist-in-residence at Sarjeant Gallery's Tylee Cottage and he was often seen wandering about the town, wheeling his photographic gear in a wheelbarrow.

A Muriwhenua Marae

I was on my way to Karikari Peninsular in the Far North of the North Island when I veered off State Highway One and went down a side road, taking my lead from a sign that pointed the way to Parapara Marae. Like so many of these random diversions that I took on my North island trip, it turned out to be much further than I expected.

I followed the road down into a pretty, quiet valley, passing an occasional farmer, until I came to a sign pointing into Parapara Road. Not far down that gravel road, I found Parapara Marae – an unassuming cluster of little buildings with a large green lawn in front. The place was deserted. Cicadas chirped, kingfishers swooped across the lawn and not a single curtain rustled in the old houses nearby.

I loved the old church, the bell and the weathered corrugated iron structures. A lush pa harakeke and wharenui (meeting house) sat to one side. The wharenui – Te Manawa of Ngati Tara – indicating that the marae is home to the Ngati Kahu hapu, Ngati Tara, one of the northern Muriwhenua tribes. Muriwhenua means ‘this end of the land’ and is the collective name given to 6 northern tribes: Ngati Kuri, Ngai Takoto, Te Patu, Ngati Kahu, Te Aupouri and Te Rarawa. www.ngatikahu.iwi.nz

Among the Mangroves

In April-May 2009 I spent about a week working in the Far North. I made sure I programmed in enough time to go exploring – veering down side roads whenever the urge took me, delighting in unexpected finds. It was just 8am on April 30th when I pulled off State Highway One into the tiny enclave that is Kahukuraariki Marae, the Hato Hohepa Catholic School, a handful of houses and a few residential flats that I think may have been retirement homes. There was no one about – just a few cows bellowing in a nearby field.

The whole community – part of the Ngati Kahu iwi (I think!) - is just across the road from a huge mangrove swamp at the southern end of Whangaroa Harbour, with two small hills directly behind the marae. One had the look of an old terraced pa site. The simple marae building sat to one side of a pretty memorial and I sat awhile waiting to see if my arrival would stir any of the local residents. No one came out so after taking a few photographs, I moved on. It was the same throughout my two month-trip – I was always on the road so early (because of the distances I had to travel), that I often missed those special little interactions with local people. I guess that’s all the excuse I need to make a return visit this year. www.ngatikahu.iwi.nz

Maori Place Names - 43

Waiwhatawhata Stream

Hokainga, The Far North

April 2009 Ajr

A Ngati Whatua Marae

It was pouring with rain the day I arrived in Dargaville in May this year. I was on the road, researching the 6th edition of the international travel guide Frommers New Zealand and always alert to spotting marae as I went. The Far North is well known for its rain and that day I had driven through torrential downpours all the way from Waipoua Forest. When I arrived in Dargaville itself, I hunted out the information centre and they very kindly gave me a list of all marae in the area – 20 of them in total; but all I had time for was this one.

Located just out of town, Te Houhanga Marae looked somewhat forlorn in the murky weather, its carvings covered in lichen, its lawns wet and soggy. The main wharenui (meeting house) is named Rahiri and it was built in 1914, Most of the carvings were completed by members of Ngati Porou on the North Island’s East Coast. There are waka (canoes) above each window – these in recognition of the two original canoes, Mataatua and Matawhaorua – that have a special significance to the local people. There was no chance of me getting inside the wharenui but I have since read that it is the oldest Ngati Whatua carved meeting house in North Auckland and its interior (and the whare kai) features some very good examples of early Maori figurative painting from the time of its construction. www.ngatiwhatua.iwi.nz www.ngatiwhatuaorakei.com

A Northern Stop.

It was a quiet Saturday morning in May when I happened upon a sunny valley at Oue, on State Highway 12 between Waimamaku and Omapere in the Southern Hokianga in the Far North of the North Island. I was on my way to Herekino when I spied this small marae on the side of the road.

It’s Whakamaharatanga Marae, home to the Ngati Hine, Patu Pinake, Kainga Mataa, Parewhero hapu of the Te Rarawa iwi. I sat on the grassy verge for some time, soaking up the sun and listening to sounds and voices coming from the cluster of little houses that snuggle up beside the marae. I was hoping someone would come out for a chat but in the end, I never saw a soul. That was so often the case on my travels around New Zealand in April and May. I guess I was always on the road too early for most people; but I always enjoyed my stops nonetheless – brief glimpses into little communities that in many cases, seemed forgotten by time. www.terarawa.co.nz

Maori Place Names - 35

Hokianga Hills, Hokianga

Northland

May 2009 Ajr

Maori Place Names - 33

Hokianga Hills, Hokianga

Northland, North Island.

May 2009. Ajr

From the Kete Files

Small Red Beads

Decorate a Northland Kete

Maori Place Names - 32

Whakapara, Northland

"A Clearing in a Bush"
May 2009 Ajr

Maori Place Names - 31

Near Dargaville

Far North, North Island
May 2009 Ajr

A Northern Discovery

My time in the Far North (April-May this year) was a busy blur of hotel and travel guide business, photographs and unscheduled side-tracks down dusty, gravel roads leading to who-knows-where. I discovered all sorts of things that way - places I'd never been to before, places I knew nothing about. Sometimes I didn't even have to veer off the main roads; I just came upon new surprises quite by chance.

This was one of them - the delightful Te Kaiwaha Marae at Waiwhatawhata. I would have whizzed right by it had my attention not been caught by the yellow roadsign marking the Waiwhatawhata Stream. That was a lovely long name I HAD to have for my Maori Place Names Series, so I pulled up in a hurry - and found myself right outside the gates to pretty Te Kaiwaha Marae, tucked away, hidden from road view by thickets of harakeke (flax) and native trees. All I have been able to establish about the marae is that it is home to the Ngapuhi hapu (sub-tribe) Ngati Korokoro/Ngati Wharara of the Hokianga. www.ngapuhi.iwi.nz

Of Film and Marae

It was a pleasant afternoon back in early May when I arrived in the small Hokianga settlement of Whirinaki in the Far North. The first thing that caught my eye were the two cute red-roofed churches – they stand like little beacons all over rural Northland and I love them. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to stop and visit them but I did drive down the road that lead to Whirinaki School, the local kohanga reo (Maori pre-school) and Moria Marae. I didn’t venture anywhere near the marae as the flag was flying and there were people all about. The flag is usually the sign of a tangi (funeral) in progress and I think people deserve privacy at times like that.

I have since discovered that Moria Marae recently hosted the 3rd Hokianga Film Festival, which acknowledged the feature films of the late Barry Barclay, an influential New Zealand filmmaker, theorist and writer, who took part in the 2007 festival.
Barclay was and still is highly regarded within the New Zealand film industry. His television series Tangata Whenua and his feature films The Neglected Miracle, Te Rua, The Feathers of Peace and The Kaipara Affair all cemented him as someone with a unique ability to understand - and capture on film – the essence of Maori community and bicultural New Zealand. I would have enjoyed seeing the 2009 festival with its emphasis on locally-produced material telling local stories. Not only is it a wonderful opportunity for established and aspiring filmmakers to come together to learn and share their skills and knowledge, it also provides an insight into the often unsung heroes of local communities – and within Maori communities there is a richness of story-telling that to my mind, is frequently overlooked. It’s good to see that this festival is well supported by Creative New Zealand, The Film Archive, the New Zealand Film Commission and the Hokianga Community Educational Trust.