Te Puke artist Robyn Williams in front of the mural in Commerce Lane.
Te Puke artist Robyn Williams in front of the mural in Commerce Lane.
There is a depth that is not only in the vibrant colours of the new mural in Commerce Lane that was blessed last week.
The mural, created by local artist Robyn Williams, is a tribute to legendary Tapuika and Ngāti Rangiwewehi wāhine toa Te Ao-kapurangi and her deep care for her community.
Completed using only brushes, Robyn said the mural had also been a celebration of her own journey as a contemporary Māori artist.
She said she was “gifted with the beautiful whakapapa of tūpuna (ancestor) Te Ao-kapurangi who is from Te Arawa, from Te Puke”.
Throughout her life, Te Ao-kapurangi displayed immense bravery and worked tirelessly to protect her people.
During a time of conflict, her extraordinary leadership and empathy shone through.
She advocated for the safety of her own people and successfully convinced warring factions to spare them, and those outside her own iwi, from harm by securing them sanctuary in a wharenui on Mokoia Island. Robyn came to a realisation as she worked on the mural.
“The epiphany for me was that she didn’t just call her own direct descendants, she called everybody. Anybody who was in that house was saved that day. She had an unwavering passion for life and for people to live in harmony and that is my connection to Te Ao-kapurangi.
“She is a symbol of unbiased love and unconditional love for everybody.”
The mural is on the outside wall of a building owned by the Marmatsar Trust, the Hickson family trust.
Paul Hickson said the blessing was a moving ceremony and thanked Robyn and Marama Rice, who served as project manager.
Paul can trace his own ancestry back to an arrival at Maketū, in much the same way, about 700 years earlier; the Te Arawa people trace their whakapapa back to the arrival of Te Arawa canoe.
The plaque marking the blessing of the new mural.
He recalled his grandmother telling him stories about the arrival of the Benner family in Maketū after his great-uncle Albert, who was already in New Zealand and was Maketū postmaster at the time of the Tarawera eruption, suggested his older brother John join him.
“We were always brought up with the memory of Te Arawa arriving in Maketū.
“We came, many years later than Te Arawa, but I feel a great connection to the heritage of New Zealand and our family has great knowledge of the history of the area.”
He had always harboured the idea of a mural, but the seeds were sown when he was at a meeting, sitting next to Marama.
“We started talking about the idea of a mural in Te Puke and she said ‘Paul, I’ve got this idea’, and that’s when the journey started.”
She suggested Robyn who, as it happened, was already known to Paul and his family as a neighbour.
“Robyn has done wonderful work with the art and Marama has done the same behind the scenes,” he said.
Marama thanked Paul and his wife, Natalie, for getting behind the vision.
“I think, to recognise such a strong wāhine and to uplift her and bring honour to what she did for our people is a huge gift,” she said.
“She is special to our people but she is also special to Ngā Puhi, so they have her above the door of their museum at Waitangi, and everyone has to pass beneath her.
“She was respected by everybody, so she must have been an incredible speaker and must have had a lot of love for people.”
Marama said the mural was more than just a visual spectacle, it was a heartfelt acknowledgment of a true local hero.
Te Ao-kapurangi was born into Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Tapuika lineage. When she was just a girl, she was captured by Hauraki, a Ngā Puhi leader, forced to marry him and taken to the Bay of Islands.
Years later Ngā Puhi returned to the Bay of Plenty and found themselves at war with the people of Tūhourangi and Ngāti Whakaue.
Knowing her own people, who had fled to Mokoia Island, were likely to be caught in the battle, she begged to join the war party.
She reminded Ngā Puhi the people they were now at war with were not Ngāti Rangiwewehi or Tapuika people (Te Ao-kapurangi’s relatives), but they, too, lived in the area and would probably be caught up in the battle.
Te Ao-kapurangi asked Ngā Puhi leader Hongi Hika to show them mercy. He said he would save only the people who could pass between Te Ao-kapurangi’s thighs at the time of the battle.
When the time came for the battle to begin, she jumped ashore and ran to Tamatekapua, the whare of her whānau. She climbed up onto the roof of the building and sat with her legs on either side of the ridge pole. She shouted for everyone to run inside the building so that they might be saved.
Many people flocked inside, not all her own people. Ngā Puhi had to let them enter because of the agreement Te Ao-kapurangi had made with Hongi Hika.
Te Ao-kapurangi saved many lives that day and she is remembered for her courage and resourcefulness.
