Kakepuku, where the maunga (mountain) that rises above the Waipa plains has great cultural, historical and ecological significance. Photo / Hamilton and Waikato Tourism
Kakepuku, where the maunga (mountain) that rises above the Waipa plains has great cultural, historical and ecological significance. Photo / Hamilton and Waikato Tourism
Mighty locals are being encouraged to grow their knowledge of the history of their own backyard through interactive digital journeys throughout the Waikato.
The stories of the Waipā, once known to only a few, are being heard and appreciated thanks to Te Ara Wai Journeys, the free self-guided tour of culturally significant sites throughout the district.
Central to Te Ara Wai Journeys is a website where users access the stories online and on their mobile phones as they visit six zones of historical and cultural significance. These include the key sites of the 1863-64 New Zealand Land Wars, in which the British Army invaded the region and confiscated 1.2 million acres of land.
At each stop along the way, users can watch a selection of short video and audio interviews with local experts giving different perspectives on what happened at each site.
The Te Ara Wai narratives include stories of the New Zealand Land Wars told by local iwi leaders with direct links to the battles. Other storytellers include historians, writers, military experts, archaeologists and more.
Te Ara Wai Journeys is featured at the Te Awamutu Museum. Photo / Hamilton and Waikato Tourism
With markers at each site, there is also signage providing information and there are brochures available from Te Awamutu i-SITE and Te Awamutu Museum where there is also a permanent Te Ara Wai Journeys exhibition featuring taonga relating to the sites.
Te Ara Wai Journeys was developed by Waipā District Council and Te Awamutu Museum in partnership with mana whenua to help locals and visitors alike experience places of local and national importance, and discover unique stories told by local experts.
Both mighty locals and visitors to the region comment Te Ara Wai has helped to bring the history of the Waipa and New Zealand to life for them personally, some saying that while the powerful stories are at times confronting, they greatly value the importance of understanding more about the past and how it has shaped the present day.
In total there are 169 stories covering the six Waipā sites told in English or te reo Māori; all are bite-sized and readily accessed on a mobile phone.
Image / Hamilton and Waikato Tourism
The sites include:
● Rangiaowhia – O – Rākau, a 10-minute drive from Te Awamutu. In the 1830s the local Māori and European settlers worked collaboratively to develop farming here, an area that is today one of New Zealand's most important agricultural regions. Some three decades later, the close relationships were destroyed by war with major battles being fought in the area, including in nearby Kihikihi.
● Kakepuku, again about 10 minutes from Te Awamutu, where the maunga (mountain) that rises above the Waipā plains has great cultural, historical and ecological significance. Here visitors can learn about conservation projects and climb through the native forest to the summit of Kakepuku, the site of an ancient pā.
● Karāpiro, the hydroelectric lake on the Waikato River which has continued to be a source of physical and spiritual sustenance from the time of the earliest tūpuna (Māori ancestors).
● Pirongia, 30 minutes drive from Hamilton, has a turbulent history. The township and the nearby waterways, Mount Pirongia and the forests have major connections to the Māori King and the Kīngitanga movement.
Alexandra Redoubt at Pirongia. The township and the nearby waterways, Mount Pirongia and the forests have major connections to Kingitanga movement. Photo / Hamilton and Waikato Tourism
● Ngā Roto, the lake just north of Te Awamutu, is important culturally and for the foreshore and wetland conservation work that is continuing. The Battle of Hingkākā took place here, involving warriors drawn from many tribes across the North Island.
● Cambridge, where Horotiu Pā, a huge Māori settlement, once occupied what is today the central business district of the town. Following the conflicts, the European township was established, initially as a British Army encampment, and later a busy market town and the base for the Native Land Court.
Te Ara Wai Journeys also provides a selection of user-friendly itinerary suggestions, each one with a different theme and including sites and other relevant destinations in the region. A three-day itinerary takes in all of the sites. Other itineraries are geared towards nature and ecology, war or agriculture.
