Administering Maori Land

When I travelled around New Zealand last year updating Frommers New Zealand 6th Edition, I spent a couple of hours driving and walking around the small eastern Bay of Plenty town, Opotiki, which I always see as the start of one of my favourite driving adventures - the magnificent East Cape road. The town may be small but it is richly decorated with traditional and contempoary Maori art - everything from colourful street murals to school gateways embellished with amazing traditional carvings, modern Maori carvings and Maori-owned buildings like this one - home to Te Whakatohea Maori Trust Board.

The Trust was established in 1952 and now administers the properties of Te Whakatohea iwi (tribe) - buildings and farms - and also provides school and health services and training across a wide range of occupations and trades.

As I roamed the streets, I also came upon this Maori Arts Gallery - closed unfortunately, and a little hard to tell in fact, if it was even currently operating - also established by Te Whakatohea.

www.whakatohea.co.nz

Overlooking an East Coast Bay

Today I thought I'd bring you a small photo parade from Omarumutu Marae on the North Island's sunny East Coast. I arrived there at 11.30am almost exactly a year ago, at the beginning of my journey around East Cape. I saw the sign on the main road, just 10 kilometres north of Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty and decided to make a short detour.

The marae has a perfect location, sitting a top of small hill overlooking a pretty sand-swept bay (see below). It is home to the Ngati Ruatakena Hapu (Ngati Rua) of the Te Whakatohea iwi (tribe).

Te Whakatohea territory runs along a 35-km stretch of coastline from Ohiwa Harbour, near Ohope, to Opape just further along the cape road from Omarumutu; and inland through remote, mountainous country to Matawai

And this the Urupa (cemetery) down by the sea below the marae.

The memorial monument within the marae grounds.

Te Whakatohea is made up of six hapu (sub-tribes): Ngati Ruatakena, Ngati Patumoana, Ngari Ngahere, Ngati Tamahaua, Ngati Ira and Te Upokorehe.

www.whakatohea.co.nz

The Pathway to the Sunrise

It was a sunny morning at 10.30am when I finally pulled into this rest area overlooking spectacular Waiotahi Beach not far from Opotiki. I had set off that morning from Rotorua and was heading for Te Kaha at the top of East Cape for my first overnight cape stay. It was a 4-5 hour journey that ended up taking me nine hours, due to the fact that I kept stopping to photograph marae, churches and the stunning beaches that make up this beautiful coastline. On that note, may I add that if you haven’t been around East Cape, you really must – especially if you’re interested in Maori culture. You’ll see dozens of marae and some of the most spectacular Maori carving in all of New Zealand.

But back to these beautiful powhenua, also called pou, or poupou (carved poles), which I didn’t photograph all that well thanks to the bright morning sun in my eyes. Standing side by side on the rise above the beach at Paerata and called Te Ara kit e Rawhiti – The Pathway to the Sunrise, they tell the story of both the Pakeha and Te Whakatohea histories of the area. They were carved by local Master Carver, Heke Collier of Opotiki and were originally unveiled in 1991 near the Waiotahi River Mouth. They were moved to this location, just off State Highway 2, in 1996.
I spent some time here. There was no one else about but for a few passing cars and the lone seagull that looked down on me from the top of one of the pou. Waves were crashing onto the beach and I had plenty of time to think about the Te Whakatohea iwi (tribe), its six hapu (sub-tribes) and the rich bounty – fish, birds, shellfish, forest, eels – that have sustained its people over generations. Like much of the East Cape region, there’s a lovely sense of ‘paradise lost’ about the place and it’s always a wonder to me that more people haven’t discovered it. www.whakatohea.co.nz

Bay of Plenty Building Designs

Opotiki. May 2009. Ajr

One of the things I loved best about travelling from Rotorua to Opotiki and on, right around East Cape to Gisborne, was the proliferation of Maori pattern and design that you rarely see now anywhere else in country - apart from on marae of course. It's everywhere and Opotiki was especially colourful. Take these traditional patterns that decorate the Whakatohea Health Centre for instance - a small, otherwise insignificant little 1920s stucco building made handsome and distinctive in the town's main street. Te Whakatohea is the main iwi of the Bay of Plenty region and the lands of the six hapu (sub-tribes) stretch from Ohiwa Harbour in the west to Opape in the east and inland to Matawai. I'd love to make a return trip here to explore some of those much-less-travelled inland areas - one day soon I hope. www.whakatohea.co.nz

A Bay of Plenty Marae

All photos May 2009. Ajr
The tiny settlement of Kutarere sits in the eastern Bay of Plenty, 30 kilometres from Whakatane and 20 kilometres from Opotiki. Once the port town of Ohiwa Harbour, servicing the hinterland, today it is little more than a cluster of houses that line the main road. In 2005 the population was just 15. When I past through recently, I never even saw that many people.

All photos May 2009. Ajr

But I did stop at the cute wee Kutarere Church (which I’ll show another time), and, just a few metres down the road, the Kutarere Marae, pictured here, which has recently undergone major renovations. The area is steeped in Maori history and it’s home to the people of Te Upokorehe, one of the six sub-tribes of Te Whakatohea and the beautiful wharenui is called Te Poho o Tamaterangi. There also appear to be tribal links to Tuhoe via the hapu Turanga Pikitoa of the Maungapohatu tribal group – but just a little complex for me to work out for sure. If I’m wrong in that, I’m happy to be corrected via a comment left below.

Colourful Opotiki

Opotiki. May 2009 Ajr

My time in Opotiki was all too short – a drive through basically; a few loops around the main streets; a few stops for the all-important photographs – and then onward around East Cape. This small Bay or Plenty town, sitting on the banks of the Otara and Waioeka Rivers, is the gateway to East Cape and it has a rich Maori history. Long before European settlement it was a bustling Maori community and Pa Kowhai extended all along the river banks. It was home – and still is of course – to the people of Te Whakatohea and evidence of early Maori settlement has been found in ancient pa sites at Tirohanga, Makeo, Paerata and Tawhitirahi – all close to Opotiki. Today the Whakatohea Trust Board manages the iwi assets including dairy farms, buildings, mussel farms and educational programmes.

Opotiki. May 2009 Ajr

Opotiki itself is rich in colour, texture and pattern. I particularly liked this enormous carved pou (post) that stands at one end of the main street. It depicts the area’s history from the arrival of pakeha to the development of trading, agriculture and horticulture. Unfortunately I haven’t had time to find out who the carvers were but maybe we can just enjoy it for the bulk and heft it adds to this quiet little town’s streetscape. www.opotikinz.com