Jerry Hapuku, Ngati Kahungunu kaumatua, chats to Hawke's Bay Today reporter Shea Jefferson about the treasured rock that sits on State Highway 2 near the Pekapeka wetlands South of Hastings.
*This story was first published in October 2021*
Wave to the rock beside State Highway 2 as you pass - it’s a long-standing tradition for those travelling to and from Hawke’s Bay. But why? Shea Jefferson reports.
Nestled into the Pekapeka roadside sits a rock adorned in Kahungunu history, which has watched over people passing to and from the region for more than 500 years.
The local legend Te Ana o te Ao Mutua is opposite the Pekapeka Regional Park carpark on State Highway 2.
Some of you may have tooted, others of you may have waved or even stopped and placed a koha on the rock, which has earned a place in Te Matau-a-Māui folklore.
Kahuranaki marae and Ngāti Kahungungu kaumātua Jerry Hapuku grew up hearing stories about Te Ana o te Ao Mutua - from the rock's mysterious escapades under the cover of darkness, to its important role as a temporary resting site for the deceased.
Kahuranaki marae and Ngāti Kahungungu kaumātua Jerry Hapuku grew up hearing stories about Te Ana o te Ao Mutua. Photo / Paul Taylor
Hapuku said his most prominent memory with the rock involved his grandmother, who would often tell him to bow his head before the mana of Te Ana o te Ao Mutua.
"She would say 'whakanuia tō māhunga ki te kōhatu', whenever we passed the rock, because of its significance as a taonga."
Hapuku now tells these same stories to his mokopuna about the kōhatu.
"When my kids ask about what I know about this kōhatu I tell them what my grandmother told me, that it was where the dead were rested on their journey back to their marae or urupā, before they continued on with their journey.
"We still stop and acknowledge the rock when carrying our dead back to their marae, it's part of the kawa that we continue to practice," Hapuku said.
The kōhatu has a number of other kōrero relating to it; some state it was the place where peace was signed between two local hapū, or that the rock found its resting place after being scorched by the angry sun Tamanuiterā.
All the stories are valid to kaumātua Hapuku, as he believes they add to a greater body of mātauranga Māori and Kahungunu identity.
"I'm not saying that they're wrong and I'm right. We acknowledge all stories, we're all part and parcel of them.
"Even when we are just driving past we still toot or stop to adorn the rock with koha for good luck. The histories and taonga of the kōhatu have been embraced into Māoritanga."
Te Ana o te Ao Mutua is located opposite the car park for the Pekapeka Regional Park on State Highway 2. Photo / Warren Buckland
These stories also add to the history of the surrounding area, which was initially under the reign of local chief, the "number one man of the hills", Te Whatuiāpiti.
"Te Whatuiāpiti had the guardianship of all of these taonga, of all of Pekapeka, then the land passed down through our lineage to Tamanohorākau, who last had control of the future of the whenua.
"The descendants of Tamanohorākau are the Timu whānau, who are still the custodians of the Pekapeka land," Hapuku said.
The Pekapeka Wetland is a gateway between the Ruataniwha and Heretaunga plains and once served as the ultimate supermarket for Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga hapū, supplying eels, īnanga, kōura, mussels, fish, ducks, and swans.
"There used to be a tradition amongst our people where we would have a competitive hākari, where individuals would compete to see who could eat the most during a feast," Hapuku said.
Not only did the wetland provide an abundance of kai for local hapū, but it was also renowned for the healing properties of its dirt.
As part of their function, wetlands filter sediment and nutrients from surface waters as they travel to the sea, and because of this, they are often referred to as the kidneys of the earth.
According to Hapuku, ill people would travel all the way from Mohaka to bathe in the wetland's pango paru/black earth.
"Through our network of whanaungatanga, word reached others about the healing powers of the paru of Pekapeka and sick people would travel here to bathe in the black dirt," Hapuku said.
The wetland also grew raupō (bulrush), a material used to build whare, marae, and when bundled tightly, it could also be used for waka that navigated the wetland's waterways.
Pekapeka Regional Park is a place of restored prestige. Photo / Paul Taylor
However, with the advent of colonisation, the swamps were later used as rubbish dumps by Europeans. The wetlands suffered the abuse and neglect of uncontrolled grazing, draining, drought, flooding, pests, weeds and as Hapuku recalls, pollution.
"When I was a boy I used to think that the smell from Pekapeka swamp was of dead bodies rotting in it, but then I later learned that it was actually the effluent from a nearby piggery entering the waterway," Hapuku said.
In 1991 the Resource Management Act changed Pākehā's perspective of the wetlands. In 1997 the site was marked by the Māori Heritage Council as wāhi tapu on behalf of Ngāti Ngare Ngare hapū.
"Since then there's been a beautification of some of the wetland by the Regional Council, returning it to its former prestige.
"But this is only one small part of a larger area that deserves the same treatment by the council," Hapuku said.
The Pekapeka mosaic of swamp, scrub, and trees is about 4.5km long and 0.8km across at its widest.
The area continues to be part of a community biodiversity enhancement programme that is overseen by the regional council. Planting is undertaken by school children, duck shooters and volunteers.
