Ten years ago, when Grant Ranui returned home from the eastern Bay of Plenty to live on the family block in Pyes Pa, he became aware that much of his family history was muted. His ancestors had not spoken about what was also an important part of Tauranga history.
“It was all hush-hush and wasn’t taught in our schools,” says Grant.
Grant’s predecessors had lived in a peaceful established village near Taumata Road. Surrounded by their plantations and gardens, this wasn’t a fighting fortified pa.
Taumata Marae chair Grant Ranui. Photo: Tracy Hardy.
It was 1867, and his forebears had been growing their whole year’s food supply through the late summer. Fields of maize, kumara, marrows, pumpkins, melons, tobacco and potatoes surrounded the village. It was considered some of the best agricultural land in the district with 80 acres of potatoes producing 12 tons to the acre.
On February 3, 1867, the whole of Te Taumata was destroyed. The militia spent three days demolishing the thatched houses and cultivations. It was reported at the time that 60 men set fire to the crops.
In August 1864, Governor Grey had promised three-quarters of the land marked for confiscation in Tauranga would be returned to Māori. About the same time a few ‘Ngaiterangi chiefs’ were persuaded to ‘sell’ the Katikati and Te Puna lands. In actuality, the resident hapū of those areas were not privy to the sales and vigorously protested.
In 1867 disputes over additional lands being surveyed for confiscation by the Government led to further military action and the destruction of forest villages, crops and plantations on the edge of the bush inland from Tauranga. This ‘Bush Campaign’ followed a scorched earth policy of the Government, designed to drive Ngāti Ranginui from their homes and devastate their livelihoods.
The Wairere Track: Te Tirohanga, an old Pirirākau settlement above Whakamarama and Omokoroa
Since January 2017, to mark 150 years since the attacks on their ancestor’s villages, local hapū have been holding commemorative events which include the erection of memorial pou at Taumata, Te Irihanga and Whakamarama.
The 150 year commemoration of the invasion of Te Irihanga by troops and kupapa was held on January 18, 2017. A dawn powhiri took place at Te Irihanga followed by a further commemoration at Wairoa Marae.
Two weeks later on February 4, buses left Judea at 4am for the predawn commemorative celebration and unveiling of Pou Whenua at Taumata. Ngāti Ruahine & Ngāi Tamarāwho came together to commemorate 150 years since Government forces attacked their kāinga – homes.
James Muir, Western Bay of Plenty Mayor Garry Webber, and Tauranga City Councillors Larry Baldock and Terry Molloy attended both Te Weranga events.
“The thing we got to learn from this is that the pen or the word, the reo is mightier than the patu,” says Garry. “We have got to understand that we can work things out without fighting and I think that is the critical thing we have to learn from the past.”
A memorial pou now stands at the beginning of Taumata Rd to acknowledge their tūpuna who resisted the invasion & confiscation of their lands and were punished for it by the Crown. Akeake Marae at Taumata hosted the people who gathered with a pōhiri & delicious breakfast to celebrate the newly reopened wharenui Te Reinui Ao.
“We don’t forget what happened in the past nor hold animosity about what happened,” says Grant. “The following year after the crops were destroyed at Taumata was hard. We pride ourselves on being able to provide for our families. The ability to be resilient is an important message that we try pass on down to our kids. We want them to grow up knowing about the bush campaigns.”
Starting at 7am on Saturday April 8, the public are invited to attend a ceremony and dedication of a memorial pou at Puketoki Reserve, Whakamārama followed at 9am by a whakanoa and breakfast at Tawhitinui Marae, then at 11am the telling of the story of Te Weranga, and finishing with a Hākari at noon.
Car Parking on Saturday April 8:
There will be signs to guide you. The Māori Wardens will also be there to help.
Puketoki 7am:
– for manuhiri and kuia/koroua, a field is available for your parking on Leyland Rd, directly before Puketoki Reserve on the right
– Tauranga Moana whānau, please park at Tāwhitinui Marae and use the three provided shuttles. They will be going back and forth between the marae and reserve from 6:30am.
Tawhitinui 9am:
– please follow the instructions of the Māori Wardens for appropriate parking.
If you’ve been to Bondi Beach and seen the impressive Sculpture by the Sea public art fest each year, then you start to think it’s only a matter of time before the stretch between Mount Maunganui to Omanu and beyond to Papamoa could start to become an outdoor gallery of public art.
Launched in Perth on Australia’s Indian Ocean coastal in 2005 by David Handley, Sculpture by the Sea has a captivating vast backdrop of long horizons and sunsets and has become a powerful majestic sculpture-packed coastal walk.
Koichi Ishino, wind blowing, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2015. Photo Gareth Carr
Barbara Licha, listen time passes, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2015. Photo Clyde Yee
Deirdre Mair, mirage, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2015. Photo Clyde Yee
I totally get it when David writes “I have always loved large community arts events like ‘Opera in the Park’ and ‘Symphony Under the Stars’, especially the way total strangers sit next to each other listening to music while enjoying a picnic dinner.” This sense of community happens too when we have Night Owl Theatre at Mount Drury, or sit and watch Jamie Harkins create his 3D Sand Art drawings, or on the evenings when people wander along the Pilot Bay boardwalk to bring their dinner and listen to my piano playing while watching the sun set. We pause in these moments and experience something powerful, participating and immersing ourselves in a human expression of art which has in turn immersed itself into the natural beauty around it. The next day the tide has come in and washed the sand art away, or the sun has set, taking those moments into yesterday, not to be experienced just the same again. Or the piano has been wheeled home. We don’t need to ask what it was for, or what does it mean. It just is. We were in the moment where it happened, the stars sang, and we knew who we were. People ask me ‘why are you playing piano on the boardwalk?’ I say ‘why are you smiling?’ They grin and say ‘because you’re playing piano’, to which I reply ‘that’s why’.
The piano in Pilot Bay, Jamie Harkins 3D Sand Art, Night Owl Cinema
There are few opportunities to enjoy cultural activities that are free. Recently I was asked by various members and representatives of our Tauranga community whether I thought the council should accept Gareth Morgan’s offer to pay for a 9.9m high million-dollar sculpture, made by New Zealand artist Phil Price, to be located on the corner of Pacific Ave and Marine Parade. I happened to meet Gareth at the dairy so asked him what he thought about talking to mobile video camera so we could present that to the Mount community to hear from him direct what his proposal was about. He was willing so we had a chat about it.
Peter Kageyama writes in his book For the Love of Cities – “Arts and culture are what make a city fall in love with itself.” It’s not just about having good roading, infrastructure and waste management. If you want to fall in love with a city because of its great sewage treatment facilities good on you. But let’s also accept Gareth’s offer. Let’s create sculpture by the sea. We need to ask ourselves who are our champions in our midst, how do we increase their numbers, and most important, how do we keep them engaged in our city. So let’s also create opportunities to have environmental and public sculpture through the green belts of Bethlehem and the dunes of Papamoa, and then get out there on our bikes, skateboards and feet and enjoy it, fall in love with it, be in it. Our city isn’t just downtown Tauranga, it’s communities in Greerton Village, Bethlehem, Otumoetai, Pyes Pa and from Matua to Papamoa. Let’s create art all over.
On Friday 2 May, 2014 I was feeling quite sad about something and remembered what my friend Chris Wilton-Jones always encourages “if you feel low go do something for someone else”. I had just seen come up on Facebook a short clip of Pharrell Williams being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey about his song ‘Happy’ being used by cities all over the world to record their own version of people clapping, dancing and being happy. How inspirational it was for thousands of people! Checking online, I saw that no city had recorded their own version, using the yellow opening sequence (Taranaki and Dunedin had versions), and thought ‘we could do this for Tauranga, it’s a happy place!’
I posted onto Facebook before heading off to go play at the Pizza Library and within half an hour had a weekend plan mapped out of locations and times around Tauranga for people to come to and be part of our own video.
It went a little crazy with so many people keen to be part and local newspapers wanting to find out about it. We filmed in Greerton, Bethlehem, Mount, Papamoa, Otumoetai, downtown Tauranga, Yatton Park, Memorial Park and Mitchell Park. We covered the Hercules Morse statue, Creative Tauranga, the Elms, Tauranga Art Gallery, Bayfair, four painted pianos (had to put them in of course!) , Pilot Bay (trying to catch a shot of the port in the background), Mount Mainstreet, Greerton Mainstreet, Downtown Tauranga. Bethlehem Town Centre. We needed to ask permission for the private places – the Elms and Bayfair, plus the police had to be authorised before being able to appear. Anyone under 14 had to have parental approval. There is a pregnant lady, a woman who is on 3x per week dialysis treatment and needs a kidney transplant, a boy with downs syndrome, people from Chile, Germany, and Korea. Filming happened mostly on the Saturday and Sunday, with some more on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Editing happened Thursday and Friday and the clip went live on Youtube at 12.30pm on Saturday 10th May. It was filmed on a Samsung Galaxy III mobile phone (it has a cracked screen), with downloaded free video editing software off the net (Videopad).
Soon after the first earthquake hit Christchurch in September 2010, University student Sam Johnson hit Facebook, and went on to create and lead the now internationally acclaimed Student Volunteer Army. Here’s the story of this remarkable and inspiring grassroots community leader who understands the ‘we’ of leadership, inspiring others around him to work as a team and together achieve huge outcomes for the community, changing culture while doing it.
During 2011 we saw the massive result of many people each doing ‘their bit’ to help each other, not just in Canterbury but across New Zealand. Kiwis from every part of the community each contributed their ideas, time and resources to enable others to reclaim and go forward with their lives whether damaged or ‘munted’ from natural disaster or otherwise.
There are many inspiring stories that we plan to share here.
There are also future stories that we would like you to be a part of. All it takes is for you to “Rise Up” and encourage someone else by contributing your talent, ability or gift. You are a unique individual able to make a difference to the lives of those around you.
To be a part of Rise Up New Zealand, ‘like’ our Facebook page, join a Facebook group and get connected with others in your own community and across the country. Look for an opportunity where you can help bring hope and resilience to the people around you. Nothing is impossible!
