Northland Age
  • Northland Age home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
  • Opinion
  • Kaitaia weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northland Age

The pou stand again on the Tauroa Peninsula

By Peter Jackson
Northland Age·
16 Dec, 2019 08:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Te Aho marks the rahui's southern boundary. Picture / Supplied.

Te Aho marks the rahui's southern boundary. Picture / Supplied.

Te Rarawa has made good on its promise to restore two carved pou, marking the boundaries of the rāhui on the Tauroa Peninsula, west of Ahipara, which were cut down and sawn into pieces in July. They had been erected about 10 years ago in a bid to preserve marine life, particularly pāua, and on Saturday they were reinstated.

The ceremony began before dawn with the unveiling of the repaired, recarved and repainted pou at Otia, Te Rarawa members, guests and representatives from Ahipara Takiwā, the collective of marae with mana whenua in the area, making the journey along the rugged coastline from Ahipara to witness the occasion.

Getting there wasn't easy, even in four-wheel-drive vehicles, navigating rocky headlands and sand soft enough to bury wheels in a flash, even more challenging in pitch dark and with a rapidly rising tide.

The pou, Te Aho and Te Omu, once again mark the rāhui, prohibiting all fishing and gathering of seafood along 1.34 kilometres of coastline and one nautical mile out to sea, to preserve and replenish seafood stocks; 20,000 juvenile pāua were 'planted' there in 2011, in a bid to halt a decline widely regarded as destined to end in extinction.

Te Rarawa chairman Haami Piripi, who led Saturday's ceremony, reiterated that the felling of the original pou had only strengthened the resolve of the iwi and hapū.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We don't look at it as a setback. Rather it's an opportunity to develop resilience and reaffirm our protocols and position," he said. "We will continue to exercise kaitiakitanga and tino rangatiratanga over our taonga. It's our role and responsibility as ahi kā, as tangata whenua, as Māori."

Shortly after the pou were felled Mr Piripi said monitoring by the iwi had revealed that 3500 permits had been issued for the taking of pāua in one month, so the ancient custom of tapu was instituted to protect what remained.

"It [the rāhui] has lasted well for 10 years. I think it will continue to last well, and we'll have to just replace the pou. But it's not the pou that have been damaged, it's the heart of the people and the relationships that arise from it," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The iwi had been working for a long time to establish its own tikanga in terms of conservation and marine conservation management. The pou had been part of that, and had been observed, their importance recognised, not only by Māori and locals, but even by foreign tourists.

"So it's particularly painful to have such a thing happen," he added.

Local kaitiaki and artist Te Aroha Te Paa had worked with whānau and hapū for several months to restore the pou, which had now been coated in reflective paint for visibility at night.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northland Age

Northland Age

School lunch programme saves $130m, student satisfaction rises, Govt says

10 Jul 02:00 AM
Northland Age

Changing times: Kiwibank's new model prompts mixed reactions

10 Jul 02:00 AM
Northland Age

Far North approves 10.95% rates rise, slightly lower than forecast

09 Jul 06:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northland Age

School lunch programme saves $130m, student satisfaction rises, Govt says

School lunch programme saves $130m, student satisfaction rises, Govt says

10 Jul 02:00 AM

Associate Education Minister David Seymour says complaints have fallen by 92%.

Changing times: Kiwibank's new model prompts mixed reactions

Changing times: Kiwibank's new model prompts mixed reactions

10 Jul 02:00 AM
Far North approves 10.95% rates rise, slightly lower than forecast

Far North approves 10.95% rates rise, slightly lower than forecast

09 Jul 06:00 PM
Far North news in brief: FNDC reviews rates policy, Toastie Takeover

Far North news in brief: FNDC reviews rates policy, Toastie Takeover

09 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northland Age e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to The Northland Age
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northland Age
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP