True-life Maori legends on screen in new drama

Miriama McDowell and Taungaroa Emile tell the love story of Albie and Ohaki Bennett in 'Til Death Do Us Part.'

The story of Te Rangi Topeora is a romantic and bloody one. And although hers is not a household name, you might know of her uncle, Te Rauparaha.

During the mid-1800s, Topeora fought alongside the great chief.

But it's the way this warrior priestess dealt with her unfaithful husband that makes the juiciest story. She killed and ate his mistress.

Then, the story goes, she said to him, "Well, no one's going to want to be with you any more". That fixed him.

Topeora's story is just one of the historical yarns told in Taonga: Treasures Of Our Past, a new 10-part series starting on TV One this Saturday.

"It seems bizarre, but really, that's the thinking of a clever woman," says producer Robin Shingleton. "It's not Desperate Housewives, but I'll tell you what, just quietly, she probably was a desperate housewife," he laughs.

Taonga is the Maori word for treasured heirloom, which includes manuscripts, diaries, photos, artefacts, and any number of precious items from the past. Taonga such as Topeora's cloak and huia feathers provide the starting point for each episode.

The series is from Greenstone Pictures, the same company which made Epitaph.

It stars Whale Rider's Rawiri Paratene in A Soldier's Story; Taungaroa Emile (Whale Rider, The Market) in 'Til Death Do Us Part; and Ian Mune (Sleeping Dogs, World's Fastest Indian) in To Hang Or Not To Hang?

These stories are not solely about famous Maori - only Sir Maui Pomare is widely known. Taonga is also about lesser known figures like Te Rangi Topeora, or Ngataua Omahuru, who grew up as the adopted son of the prime minister, or Ohaki and Albie Bennett, whose love story is set around World War II.

"The stories are important because they are part of New Zealand history. While it's the story of an individual, and yes, there's a Maori perspective to it, we put it in a historical context within New Zealand history," says Shingleton.

"Take the story of Te Rangi Topeora. Through her being Te Rauparaha's niece, we learn the story of him, and we learn about the roots of our Maori All Black haka.

"It also tells us a lot about Maoridom in the 1800s which was believed to be a time of cannibalism. But really, there are not a lot of examples of Maori eating flesh purely for sustenance. It was a spiritual act, consuming the enemies' spirit."

And Shingleton says you don't have to be Maori to watch and uses himself as an example. His iwi is Ngati Raukawa, but he was brought up in a European way and his great great grandfather was a Black American.

"So for me, sitting in the producer's seat my [own heritage] gave me the perspective of not just making this for a Maori audience. You know, if they're not stories that I'd get engaged in, and they're not characters that I'm going to get excited about, then I'm not interested.

"It's about getting caught up with a character. It's irrelevant whether you are Maori, Pakeha, South American, or Aboriginal, you will get caught up in the people and the decisions they make and what they go through."

It was the love story of Albie and Ohaki Bennett that attracted actress Miriama McDowell, who plays Ohaki in first episode, 'Til Death Do Us Part.

"It's such a beautiful love story because of the connection they have with each other. Their connection, through their hearts, was so strong," she says.

McDowell met Ohaki, and the kuia, who is in her 80s, was sometimes wary of her and her husband's story being told.

"But other times she was okay with it. And I think that went for the whole family because to put something so personal on TV is a big thing. But in the end, they wanted to tell that story, kind of as a gift to her."

* Taonga, Saturdays, TV One, 9.20pm

The series

June 10
'Til Death Do Us Part
The story of Ohaki and Albie Bennett is a tale of love during the time of World War II.

June 17
The Warrior Priestess
Te Rangitopeora was a fearsome warrior who fought alongside her famous uncle, Te Rauparaha. Her story offers an insight into the old world of Maori.

June 24
A Soldier's Story
Arapeta Awatere (played by Rawiri Paratene) was commander of the Maori Battalion but he spent his last years in Mt Eden Prison convicted of murder.

July 1
Lucy Lord
Lucy Lord was a Maori scout for the British during the vicious Taranaki land wars of the 1860s. Her journal tells her story of survival.

July 8
Piracy In The Pacific
Hetty Idiens and her whanau boarded a ship in 1940 at the Chatham Islands bound for Lyttelton. On the way they were captured by German forces becoming the first prisoners of war in the Pacific.

July 15
Sir Maui Pomare
Sir Maui Pomare was the first Maori doctor and he fought for the survival of his people.

July 22
To Hang or Not To Hang?
In the late 1860s, Penetito Hawea was dubiously implicated in the killing of Anglican minister, Karl Volkner. The case still haunts his family and they speak about his legacy.

July 29
The Sorcerer And the Saint
Te Paea Hinerangi was known as Guide Sophia. In 1886, her actions to save her people invoke the true spirit of heroism.

August 5
Lost Child
This is the story of Ngataua Omahuru, a Maori boy from a village in Taranaki, who would grow up as the adopted son of a New Zealand Prime Minister.

August 12
The Bone Collector
Austrian-born Andreas Reischek left behind a journal that reveals his obsession to preserve the remains of a dying Maori race. But, while he gained the trust of Maori he would go on to betray a nation.