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See below for English translation
Ko te āmiotanga o Ngāti Whakaue me te Kawanatanga
Nā aku mahi tuhituhi nei mō Kahu ki Rotorua i kore ai ahau e tae ki te hui nui mō ngā take o Te Tiriti o Waitangi i tū i te wiki ko pahemo.
Ka nui te pouritia o taku ngākau.Ehara i te hui anahe. He titiro kē i ngā wāhi nui, wāhi mana o te hau kāinga. He wānanga whakapapa, he wānanga kōrero hoki. Nā te nui o ngā kaupapa i pau katoa te rā i tēnei haerenga rangatira.
Nō reira e hoa mā, kai kōnei ahau e kimikimi ana, e rapurapu kōrero ana i te pae tukutuku e hāngai pū ana ki te whakaaetanga a Fenton me te Central North Island Iwi collective (CNI) kia mātau iho nei ahau ki te mana o te haerenga nui i whakaritea e Te Kōmiti Nui o Ngāti Whakaue te mana whakarite mō te Tiriti o Waitangi.
E titiro pātiki kau noa ahau ki ngā pepa a te pae tukutuku, engari me pakeke kē aku whakaaro ki te kaupapa. Ko te āta titiro me te āta tātari i ngā pepa nei, he mahi nui. Te maroke hoki, he mahi takeo engari me he tangata rata ana ki ngā hītoria o Rotorua, anei kē tō kapu tī. Kai te kohamo aku whakaaro onamata, tāku e kī ai ki ngā tauira hou o te ao rīpoata, me noho nā e kotou ki ngā hui nui o te kawanatanga o te kaunihera rānei.
Ko te take, kai reira te mana o te hāpori. Kai te rite tahi tēnei whakaaro ki a tātau te Māori me ā tātau hui whenua.Kua nanakia te roa taku whānau e mahi nui ana ki te ao tūruhi. He iwi manaaki tangata tātau nō mai anō. Nō mua mai i te hū o Rotomahana, ā, moroki noa nei.
E hoki ana ngā mahara nōku e itiiti ai ko ngā wāhi porohīanga, ko ngā pāka me ngā wāhi whakangāhau mō ngā tamariki e tū tata iti nei ki te puku o te tāone me ngā tūnga waka. Kai runga o Te Pukeroa ko te hohipera me te Gardenholme, he wāhi motuhake anahe mō ngā kaumatua tāne ki Kouramāwhitiwhiti tēnei whare e tū ana.
Wheoi anō kia hoki mai ahau ki tā tātau kaupapa. Puta mai a Chris Finlayson me ngā tangata mahi o Te Arawhiti, ko te tari Māori whakawhitiwhiti take mā te karauna tēnei kāhui, huihuia katoatia ēnei rangatira me te hau kāinga ki runga pahi.
He mema rangatira nō te pāti o Nahinara a Chris. Mai i te tau e rua mano mā rima tae ki te tau e rua mano kotahi tekau mā whitu.Nō enei tau ka noho ko ia te Rōia-Matua me te Minita mō Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ka heke tēnei kāhui ki te Municipal State hai wāhi i tā tātau kaupapa.
He kotahi tekau eka te rahi o tēnei whenua i whakatahangia i te taone o Rotorua. Mai i te tiriti o Hinemaru ahu atu ki te tiriti o Tūtānekai e takoto mai nā ki te taha uru haerengātahi ai me te tiriti o Arawa e takoto mai nā ki te tokerau me te tiriti o Haupapa ki te taitonga.
Ko te tiriti o Fenton te whenua rāhui.Hui katoa ngā rangatira ki te roro o te whare o Haupapa ka hipa atu ai ki Te Wharau-o-Tahora Whakarua ki te kura tuatahi o Rotorua me tōna āhua e toru eka te rāhi. I whakarāhui ai tēnei whenua e Rotohiko Haupapa hai kura mō ngā tamariki katoa o Ohinemutu nō te tau kotahi mano, e waru rau, e wha tekau mā whitu te tau.Nō te hū o Rotomahana nō te tau kotahi mano, e waru rau e waru tekau mā ono, ka kati te kura.
Ko Te Pukeroa te wāhi e tū ana te hohipera, wheoi anō āna kōrerotanga me he rau huia, ka nui te tohe a te karauna me Ngāti Whakaue.
Tour of the city this week.
Hai tā te pepa o te whakaaetanga a Fenton 1888, ka hua iho te wāhanga e kī nei ko ngā Māori e māuiui ana te hunga ka puta ki te hohipera kāua rātau e nama. Nō te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau kotahi tekau ka whakahuringia tēnei wāhanga.Ka tipakongia te kupu Māori ka whakaurua ko Ngāti Whakaue. Me noho nama kore ngā māuiui o Ngāti Whakaue.
Nō te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, kotahi tekau mā rima, ka whakaaraarangia he wāhi motuhake ki ngā hōia o te pakanga tuatahi, ā, ka whakahuringia hoki te ingoa o te hohipera ki te hohipera o Kīngi Hori te tuarima.
Nō te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e toru tekau mā wha ka whakahoungia te hohipera e te Kawanatanga, ā, ka tukuna te hohipera ki te poari hohipera o Waikato.Nō te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau e wha tekau mā wha ka whakaaengia e te kawanatanga ki te rīhitanga e iwa rau, e iwa tekau mā iwa o ngā tau te roa i Te Pukeroa ki te poari.
Nō te tau e rua mano mā tahi ka whakamoea te poari hohipera o Waikato ka ara ake ko DHB. Nō te tau e rua mano e rua tekau mā tahi ka whakamoea te waka o DHB,ka ara ake ko Te Whatu Ora e kīā nei ko Health NZ. Ko te taha ki te rīhi kai te pōuriuri tonu tēnei pātai engari e iwa rau, e ono tekau mā tahi o ngā tau e toe ana. Ki te tūnga motoka o Te Pukeroa ko te tuahu tapu o Ngāti Whakaue, ara, tō rātau atua ko Makawe.
Ka whakamanangia a Makawe hai wāhi tapu ka tiakina a Makawe e te Pouhere Taonga me Ngāti Whakaue. Engari ko te tino hiahia ki a noho mana rite a Ngāti Whakaue me te kanihera Māori taonga tuku iho.Kai te pera hoki te hiahia o Ngāti Whakaue mō te whenua tapu o Mahora e tu tata mai nā ki te whare katorika o Hato Mikaere.
Kua tukuna hoki e Ngāti Whakaue ā rātau pepa ki te taraipunara o Waitangi mō Te Kouramāwhitiwhiti me te whenua e tu ana te puna ngāwhā hou.Kīhai a Ngāti Whakaue i tuku tō rātau mana motuhake mō ngā waiariki me ngā waiariki i Rotorua.
Nō ngā tau kotahi rau ko pahemo kua kaha tukuna e rātau ā rātau tono ki te kaunihera me ngā mana nui o te kawanatanga, ā, nō te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e iwa tekau mā rua ka tū te iwi ki te aroaro o te taraipunara o Waitangi mō ngā waiariki i Ohinemutu.
Kua tukuna hoki e rātau he kereme mō Te Puia me te riu o Te Whakarewarewa me tētehi pīhi o Arikikapakapa. Kai te takiwā tonu te kupu mana whakatau i ēnei kaupapa nui.
Wheoi anō, ka takahia anōhia te huarahi e ngā waewae ka tae ki te hōtera o Sudima, ka heke ki Te Ngae ka hipa Pak’N’Save me te karapu o Hato Mikaere, te wāhi mahi i te tiriti o Sala, ka piki ake ki te rori matua o Mokoia me te rori o Taupō, ka heke mā te tiriti o Devon tae ki te tiriti o Fenton me te papa rēhī hoihō o Te Arawa.
Ka ngeri ngā waewae ka takahia anōhia te whenua ka hipa te tiriti o Wikitoria ka hipa te hokomaha, ara, ko te Mōro ka puta ki te maunga o Ngongotahā. Kai te keremengia hoki tēnei maunga whakahirahira.
Nō te tau e rua mano, kotahi tekau mā whā, ka puta te whakaaetanga mātāpono ā te karauna ki a tukuna ngā taitara anahe o Titokorangi me Puketawhero ki te iwi o Ngāti Whakaue.Ko te tiakitanga o enei maunga me whakamanahia, ka rua, me puare kau ēnei wāhi mana nui ki ngā tini tangata i ngā wā katoa.
Kai Maketu he ititi noa ngā wāhi karauna e tū ana. Ko te kura tuatahi o Maketu me te Pou tāepa tawhito o Maketu.Engari anō a Maketu te taurikura o Ngai Te Arawa katoa, te pātaka kai, te whenua tapu o Ngāti Ohomairangi.
Ko te wāhi tēnei i ū ai tō tātau waka me ngā tini rangatira.Ko te hunga tokorua nō rātau te mana nui a pouwhaipānga i Maketu me Waihī ko te kaunihera a rohe mai i Ngā kurī a Wharei ki Otamarakau ki te uru me Te taratī moana o Te Arawa. Tāria te roanga ake o ngā kōrero e hoa mā.
Kahu Ki Rotorua commitments meant I could not accompany Ngati Whakaue kaumatua, crown negotiators and parties interested in Treaty of Waitangi Settlement for the iwi on a familiarisation tour last week.
By all accounts I missed out on a beauty.
Instead of reading about places and land holdings and people from the past, participants on the hikoi were able to visit the sites and hear korero about them.
They had such a full schedule that instead of returning home at 3.30pm or so it was nearly 6pm.
So here I am this week, scrolling through screeds of documents online including the Fenton Agreement and the Central North Island Iwi collective (CNI) to gain some insight into the haerenga arranged by Te Komiti Nui o Ngāti Whakaue, the iwi’s treaty negotiation entity.
My eyes cross and I have to force myself to focus. Studying these papers is hard work. Dry and boring except to students of the history of Rotorua.
I used to tell young reporters that going to local government meetings was important because decisions made there would affect generations. And so, it is with iwi land administered or under the aegis of government agencies or territorial local authorities.
My family has been involved in tourism since year one in Aotearoa as guides at Tarawera and post-eruption at Whaka.
Our town has always been full of parks and reserves for sport and leisure and when I was a child they were close to the city centre and public transport.
The public hospital was up on Pukeroa hill and the Gardenholme, full of old men, was down in the Government Gardens.
But back to the haerenga.
Te haerenga ki te Kouramawhitiwhiti.
Crown negotiator Chris Finlayson and staff from Te Arawhiti — the Office for Maori Crown Negotiations — joined iwi members in their bus.
Chris was a National MP from 2005 to 2019. From 2008 to 2017 he was Attorney General and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations.
First place of interest was the Municipal Site, approximately 10 acres set aside in the Rotorua Township running from Hinemaru St next to the Sanatorium (Government Gardens) reserve to Tutanekai St to the west with Arawa St to the north and Haupapa St to the south. Fenton St intersection the reserve.
The haerenga started outside Haupapa House and moved on to Te Wharau-o-Tahora Whakarua Rotorua Primary School site of about three acres. This land was set aside in 1847 by Rotohiko Haupapa for a school for all Ohinemutu children.
The Tarawera eruption on June 10, 1886, disrupted schooling and the school closed by the end of the month.
The story of Pukeroa Hill, where Rotorua Hospital sits, is full of to-ing and fro-ing between the Crown and Ngati Whakaue.
Under the Fenton Agreement of 1880 the ‘natives’ were entitled to free medical care. In 1910 this was changed to mean only Ngati Whakaue.
In 1915 quarters were set up for soldiers returning from World War I and later renamed King George V Hospital.
In 1934 the Government upgraded the hospital and handed it to the Waikato Hospital Board.
The Government in 1940 approved a 999-year lease of the Pukeroa Reserve to the board.
The Waikato Hospital Board was replaced by the Lakes DHB in 2001 but DHBs were abolished in 2021 and replaced by a single agency, Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ).
At this stage it is not known who holds the lease which has 916 years to run.
Kingi Biddle at the commemorative stone outside the Sir Howard Morrison Centre. Photo / Supplied
In the staff carpark at Rotorua Hospital is a Tūahu Tapu, a sacred site dedicated to the Ngāti Whakaue atua Makawe.
It is to be designated a historic site under the Historic Places Act and Ngāti Whakaue want a co-governance role with the Māori Heritage Council in its protection and preservation.
Ngati Whakaue also want co-governance for the Mahora Redoubt site near St Michael’s Catholic Church in Lake Rd because it occupies part of the ancient urupa Tapuae-piri-kohatu.
The iwi have filed claims with the Waitangi Tribunal for Te Kouramawhitiwhiti the Rotorua Lakefront and the Polynesian Spa Complex site. Ngati Whakaue has never ceded ownership of the geothermal resource in Rotorua and over the past 100 years made a number of submissions to central government and local territorial authorities and in 1992 appeared before the Waitangi Tribunal Geothermal Enquiry at Ohinemutu.
It also has a claim for Te Puia and the Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley and part of Arikikapakapa. That matter went to arbitration and a decision is pending.
The hikoi wound its way past the Sudima Hotel, down Te Ngae Rd past Pak’N’Save, the St Michaels clubrooms, the industrial site on Sala St, up Mokoia Drive and Old Taupo Rd, down Devon St to Fenton St and the Arawa Park Racecourse.
Then it was through Victoria St past the Central Shopping Mall and out to Ngongotaha Maunga which is subject to a Waitangi Tribunal claim. In 2014 the Crown agreed in principle to vest the fee simple title of the tihi of the ancestral mountains Titokorangi and Puketawhero to Ngati Whakaue.
Conservation values and public access are to be preserved. Down to Maketu where there are only a couple of crown-owned properties, the Maketu Primary School site and Maketu Old Post Office. There was also a visit to Te Tumu.
It is a place of huge significance for all of Te Arawa as this is where our tupuna landed all those generations ago.
The two largest landowners in Maketu and Little Waihi are the Western Bay of Plenty District Council and the Te Arawa Lakes Trust.
