Learning about the region’s rich history

BAY-BOUND: Gisborne Intermediate and Tolaga Bay Area School students travelled around the region yesterday learning about its early history. The trip kicked off a week-long history pilot programme. The programme is in preparation for the 250-year commemorations in 2019 of the arrival of Cook’s ship Endeavour. Gisborne Intermediate students (at back) Karunikah Pere-Walker, 12, Rossleigh Wharehinga, 11, and Charlie Faulks, 11, with (in front) Maia Lee-McGill, 11, Lilyann Anderson, 12, and Peton Riri, 12, had a great time aboard the MV Takitimu. Picture by Liam Clayton

THIS region’s history is coming to life for a group of students this week.

Twelve students from Gisborne Intermediate and Tolaga Bay Area School yesterday started a week-long exploration of stories about the first meetings between Maori and European in October 1769.

The programme is a pilot organised by the Te Ha 1769 Sestercentennial Trust, in the lead-up to the 250-year commemorations in 2019 of the first meetings when Captain Cook’s Endeavour arrived.

The students were guided by trustees Anne McGuire and Te Aturangi Nepia-Clamp around sites of historical significance, including those on and around Titirangi and the Turanganui River.

The tour culminated in a trip into the bay on the MV Takitimu, for a small taste of what it might have been like on the sea in voyaging waka or the Endeavour.

Anne McGuire said they wanted students to understand that history was about more than just names and dates.

“The stories behind what happened here are rich in character, and accounts differ depending on who you talk to and what you read.

“One way to learn about our history is to learn about it in a modern and interactive way.”

Gisborne Intermediate student Charlie Faulks, 11, was interested in Maori history.

“We learned that they used sap from breadfruit trees as glue when they were making waka”.

Fellow Gisborne Intermediate student Karunikah Pere-Walker, 12, said she learned about animals European settlers introduced and history about Cook.

”We did not have any four-legged animals until Europeans came and Captain Cook was not actually a captain, he was a lieutenant.”

Visits to Uawa and Anaura BayToday the same group of 12 will visit important locations in Uawa and Anaura Bay accompanied by historians Te Rau Ngata-Kutia and Victor Walker.

From Wednesday to Friday the children will create art works that reflect what amazed and inspired them during the tour.

Trustee Dr Jennie Harre Hindmarsh says the programme has been supported with a grant from Creative New Zealand and the artwork that will be created will serve as community conversation starters.

“We are expecting tens of thousands of people here in 2019. It will be a national historic event.

“We want the community to be well-informed, and students talking about the experiences with their friends and family will stimulate conversations with the wider community.”

Artworks the students create will be displayed at a pre-opening exhibition at Lawson Field Theatre on October 10.

Formal exhibitions are planned for next term in Tolaga Bay and Gisborne.

Te Ha is leading and supporting the district’s commemorative activities for the next four years, with a focus on the first formal meetings between Maori and European.

More programmes involving other schools are planned for the future.