The pou in Mahia at Opoutama after swells eroded the bank it stood on.
The pou in Mahia at Opoutama after swells eroded the bank it stood on.
A pou that once stood strong against the elements was saved after being swallowed by the sea after strong swells battered the bank in Mahia where it rests.
Locals retrieved the carved post on Thursday evening after asking for support to get the pou from the shoreline at Blue Bay Beach in Opoutama.
A post on social media showed four people with a vehicle and a winch appearing to secure the pou before the sea dragged the carving away for good.
Ngaromoana Raureti was one of the drivers behind the pou’s installation about four years ago said the harsh southerly swell brought intense and fast-moving water that had eroded the bank it was standing in.
When Hawke’s Bay Today spoke to Raureti on Wednesday afternoon the pou was close to being washed into the water.
She said big weather events meant that change to the landscape was unavoidable.
“We have a few kaumatua in the village and they have seen the changes and it’s quite difficult because you are holding space for your family who come and go, but this place does not look like it did when they grew up.”
Raureti said the pou represented the lifecycle of mankind and the earth, and was carved using kahikatea driftwood that had once blocked a nearby bridge.
“At the time it was pulled up we had the military at the school and they towed it across - that pou is a quarter of the log that arrived.”
She said other parts of the log were used to make smaller pou and another section was placed on the reserve.
“The pou tells the story of this whenua - Poutama - and it means stairway to heaven.”
The pou was washed from its place on the shore by intense swells. Photo / Ngaromoana Raureti
She said it was shaped to look like a taurapa (canoe sternpost), which looked like a sharkfin, on a waka and represented travel across the sea.
“The attachment is huge for us with whakapapa here.”
The pou represents the "stairway to heaven". Photo / Ngaromoana Raureti
Raureti said it was important for people to “measure and monitor” the environment and “feel the changes and be responsive”.
“The pou is well loved and speaks about environmental change and these weather events are significant.”
For Raureti losing the pou “is not a big deal”, rather she said it was more important to teach children about the importance of what it symbolised rather than its materialistic value.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay newsrooms. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
