Ngai Tahu Settlement

ATTACHMENT 12.155

STATUTORY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR RAKIURA/TE ARA A KIWA
(RAKIURA/FOVEAUX STRAIT COASTAL MARINE AREA)

(Clause 12.16)

1

Statutory Area

Rakiura/Te Ara a Kiwa (Rakiura/Foveaux Strait Coastal Marine Area); the
Coastal Marine Area of the Hokonui and Awarua constituencies of the Southland
region, as shown on SO Plans 11505 and 11508, Southland Land District as shown
on Allocation Plan [ ] (SO Plan [ ]).

2

Preamble

Pursuant to section [ ] of the Settlement Legislation (clause 12.2.2 of the
Deed of Settlement), the Crown acknowledges Te Runanga's statements of Ngai
Tahu's cultural, spiritual, historic and/or traditional association to
Rakiura/Te Ara a Kiwa as set out below.

3

Cultural, spiritual, historic and/or traditional association of Ngai Tahu
with the Statutory Area

3.1

Generally the formation of the coastline of Te Wai Pounamu relates to the
tradition of Te Waka o Aoraki, which foundered on a submerged reef, leaving its
occupants, Aoraki and his brother to turn to stone. They are manifested now in
the highest peaks of the Ka Tititiri of Te Moana (the Southern Alps). The bays,
inlets, estuaries and fiords which stud the coast are all the creations of Tu Te
Rakiwhanoa, who took on the job of making the island suitable for human
habitation.

3.2

The naming of various features along the coastline reflects the succession
of explorers and iwi (tribes) who travelled around the coastline at various
times. The first of these was Maui, who fished up the North Island, and is said
to have circumnavigated Te Wai Pounamu. In some accounts the island is called Te
Waka o Maui in recognition of his discovery of the new lands. A number of
coastal place names are attributed to Maui, particularly on the southern coast.
Maui is said to have sojourned at Omaui (at the mouth of the New River estuary)
for a year, during which time he claimed the South Island for himself. It is
said that in order to keep his waka from drifting away he reached into the sea
and pulled up a stone to be used as an anchor, which he named Te Puka o Te Waka
o Maui (Rakiura or Stewart Island).

3.3

The great explorer Rakaihautu travelled overland along the coast,
identifying the key places and resources. He also left many place names on
prominent coastal features. When Rakaihautu's southward exploration of the
island reached Te Ara a Kiwa, he followed the coastline eastwards before heading
for the east coast of Otago.

3.4

Particular stretches of the coastline also have their own traditions.
Foveaux Strait is known as Te Ara a Kiwa (the pathway of Kiwa), the name
relating to the time when Kiwa became tired of having to cross the land isthmus
which then joined Murihiku (Southland) with Rakiura (Stewart Island). Kiwa
requested the obedient Kewa (whale) to chew through the isthmus and create a
waterway so Kiwa could cross to and fro by waka. This Kewa did, and the crumbs
that fell from his mouth are the islands in Foveaux Strait, Solander Island
being Te Niho a Kewa, a loose tooth that fell from the mouth of Kewa.

3.5

The waka Takitimu, captained by the northern rangatira (chief) Tamatea,
travelled around much of the Te Wai Pounamu coast, eventually breaking its back
at the mouth of the Waiau River in Murihiku. Many place names on the coast can
be traced back to this voyage, including Monkey Island near Orepuki which is
known as Te-Punga (or Puka)-a-Takitimu. While sailing past the cliffs at Omaui
it is said that Tamatea felt a desire to go ashore and inspect the inland, and
so he turned to the helmsman and gave the order "Tarere ki whenua uta" ("swing
towards the mainland"), but before they got to the shore he countermanded the
order and sailed on. Subsequently the whole area from Omaui to Bluff was given
the name of Te Takiwa o Tarere ki Whenua Uta. In olden days when people from the
Bluff went visiting they were customarily welcomed on to the hosts' marae with
the call, 'haera mai a koutou te iwi tarere ki whenua uta'. One of the whare at
Te Rau Aroha marae in Bluff if also named 'Tarere ki Whenua uta' in memory of
this event.

3.6

The Takitimu's voyage through the Strait came to an end and when the waka
was overcome by three huge waves, named O-te-wao, O-roko and O-kaka, finally
coming to rest on a reef near the mouth of the Waiau (Waimeha). According to
this tradition, the three waves continued on across the low lying lands of
Murihiku, ending up as permanent features of the landscape.

3.7

For Ngai Tahu, traditions such as these represent the links between the
cosmological world of the Gods and present generations. These histories
reinforce tribal identity and solidarity, and continuity between generations,
and documents the events which shaped the environment of Te Wai Pounamu and Ngai
Tahu as an iwi.

3.8

Because of its attractiveness as a place to establish permanent settlements,
including pa (fortified settlements), the coastal area was visited and occupied
by Waitaha, Ngati Mamoe and Ngai Tahu in succession, who through conflict and
alliance, have merged in the whakapapa (genealogy) of Ngai Tahu Whanui. Battle
sites, urupa and landscape features bearing the names of tupuna (ancestors)
record this history. Prominent headlands, in particular, were favoured for their
defensive qualities and became the headquarters for a succcession of rangatira
and their followers.

3.9

The results of the struggles, alliances and marriages arising out of these
migrations were the eventual emergence of a stable, organised and united series
of hapu located at permanent or semi-permanent settlements along the coast, with
an intricate network of mahinga kai (food gathering) rights and networks that
relied to a large extent on coastal resources.

3.10

Mokamoka (Mokomoko or Mokemoke) was one such settlement, in a shallow inlet
off the Invercargill estuary. It was here that Waitai was killed, the first Ngai
Tahu to venture this far south, well out of the range of his own people, then
resident at Taumutu. This settlement was sustained by mahinga kai taken from the
estuary and adjoining coastline, including shellfish and patiki (flounder).

3.11

Oue, at the mouth of the Oreti River (New River estuary), opposite Omaui,
was one of the principal settlements in Murihiku. Honekai who was a principal
chief of Murihiku in his time was resident at this settlement in the early
1820s, at the time of the sealers. In 1850 there were said to still be 40 people
living at the kaik at Omaui under the chief 'Mauhe'. Honekai's brother,
Pukarehu, was a man who led a very quiet life, and so was little known. He is
remembered, however, in the small knob in the hills above Omaui which bears his
name. When he passed away he was interred in the sandhills at the south end of
the Oreti Beach opposite Omaui. Oue is said to have got its name from a man Maui
left to look after his interests there until his return. It was also here that
the coastal track to Riverton began. From Oue to the beach the track was called
Te Ara Pakipaki, then, when it reached the beach, it was called Ma Te Aweawe,
finally, at the Riverton end, it was known as Mate a Waewae.

3.12

After the death of Honekai, and as a consequence of inter-hapu and
inter-tribal hostilities in the Canterbury region, many inhabitants of Oue and
other coastal villages on Foveaux Strait relocated to Ruapuke Island, which
became the Ngai Tahu stronghold in the south. The rangatira Pahi and Tupai were
among the first to settle on the island. Pahi had previously had one of the
larger and oldest pa in Murihiku at Pahi (Pahia), where 40 to 50 whare (houses)
were reported in 1828. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed at Ruapuke Island by
Tuhawaiki and others. No battles however occurred here, the pa Pa-raki-ao was
never fully completed, due to the realisation that Te Rauparaha could not reach
this far south.

3.13

Other important villages along the coast included: Te Wae Wae (Waiau),
Taunoa (Orepuki), Kawakaputaputa (Wakapatu), Oraka (Colac bay), Aparima
(Riverton named Aparima after the daughter of the noted southern rangatira
Hekeia, to whom he bequeathed all of the land which his eye could see as he
stood on a spot at Otaitai, just north of Riverton), Turangiteuaru, Awarua
(Bluff), Te Whera, Toe Toe (mouth of the Mataura River) and Waikawa.

3.14

Rarotoka (Centre Island) was a safe haven at times of strife for the
villages on the mainland opposite (Pahi, Oraka and Aparima). Numerous artefacts
and historical accounts attest to Rarotoka as having a significant place in the
Ngai Tahu history associated with Murihiku.

3.15

Rakiura also plays a prominent part in southern history, the 'Neck' being a
particularly favoured spot. Names associated with the area include:
Korako-wahine (on the western side of the peninsula), Whare-tatara (a rock),
Hu-pokeka (Bullers Point) and Pukuheke (the point on which the lighthouse
stands). Te Wera had two pa built in the area called Kaiarohaki, the one on the
mainland was called Tounoa, and across the tidal strip was Ka-Turi-o-Whako.

3.16

A permanent settlement was located at Port Pegasus, at the south-eastern end
of Rakiura, where numerous middens and cave dwellings remain. Permanent
settlement also occurred on the eastern side of Rakiura, from the Kaik near the
Neck, south to Tikotaitahi (or Tikotatahi) Bay. A pa was also established at
Port Adventure.

3.17

Mahinga kai was available through access from the coastal settlements to Te
Whaka-a-te-Wera (Paterson Inlet), Lords River and, particularly for waterfowl,
to Toi Toi wetland. In addition, the titi islands off the north-eastern coast of
the island, and at the mouth of Kopeka River and the sea fishery ensured a sound
base for permanent and semi-permanent settlement, from which nohoanga operated.

3.18

Te Ara a Kiwa, the estuaries, beaches and reefs off the mainland and islands
all offered a bounty of mahinga kai, with Rakiura and the titi islands being
renowned for their rich resources of bird life, shellfish and wet fish. The area
offered a wide range of kaimoana (sea food), including tuaki (cockles), paua,
mussels, toheroa, tio (oysters), pupu (mudsnails), cod, groper, barracuda,
octopus, patiki (flounders), seaweed, kina, koura (crayfish) and conger eel.
Estuarine areas provided freshwater fisheries, including tuna (eels), inaka
(whitebait), waikoura (freshwater crayfish), kokopu and kanakana (lamprey).
Marine mammals were harvested for whale meat and seal pups. Many reefs along the
coast are known by name and are customary fishing grounds, many sand banks,
channels, currents and depths are also known for their kaimoana.

3.19

A range of bird life in the coastal area also contributed to the diversity
of mahinga kai resources available, including titi, seabirds such as shags and
gulls, sea bird eggs, waterfowl, and forest birds such as kiwi, kaka, kakapo,
weka, kukupa and tieke. A variety of plant resources were also taken in the
coastal area, including raupo, fern root, ti kouka (cabbage tree), tutu juice
and korari juice. Harakeke (flax) was an important resource, required for the
everyday tasks of carrying and cooking kai. Black mud (paru) was gathered at
Ocean Beach for use as dye. Totara bark was important for wrapping poha in, to
allow safe transport of the titi harvest. Poha were made from bull kelp gathered
around the rocky coast.

3.20

The numerous titi islands are an important part of the Ngai Tahu southern
economy, with Taukihepa (Te Kanawera) being the largest. Titi were and are
traded as far north as the North Island. The 'Hakuai' is a bird with a fearsome
reputation associated with the islands. No one has ever seen this bird, which
appears at night, but it once regularly signalled the end to a birding season by
its appearance at night. Known for its distinctive spine-chilling call, the
hakuai ws a kaitiaki that could not be ignored. At the far western edge of
Foveaux Strait is Solander Island (Hau-tere), an impressive rock pinnacle rising
hundreds of feet out of the sea, on which fishing and titi gathering occurred.

3.21

The coast was also a major highway and trade route, particularly in areas
where travel by land was difficult. Foveaux Strait was a principal thoroughfare,
with travel to and from Rakiura a regular activity. There was also regular
travel between the islands Ruapuke, Rarotoka and other points.

3.22

The titi season still involves a large movement across the Strait to the
islands, in addition large flotillas of Ngai Tahu once came south from as far
afield as Kaikoura to exercise their mutton-birding rights. Whenua Hou (Codfish
Island) and the Ruggedy Islands were important staging posts for the movement of
birders to the titi islands off the south-west coast of Rakiura. Whenua Hou had
everything that the birders required: shelter, proximity to the titi islands,
kai moana, manu (birds) and ngahere (bush). From Whenua Hou, the birders would
camp at Miniti (Ernest Island), at the end of Mason Bay, where the waka-hunua
(double hulled canoes, or canoes with outriggers) were able to moor safely,
ready for the final movement to the various titi islands. Waka-hunua were an
important means of transport on the dangerous and treacherous waters of Foveaux
Strait and the Rakiura coast. After dropping birders and stores on the titi
islands the waka hunua generally returned immediately to Aparima and other
tauranga waka along the mainland of Foveaux Strait, due to the paucity of safe
anchorages among the titi islands.

3.23

Travel by sea between settlements and hapu was common, with a variety of
different forms of waka, including the southern waka hunua (double-hulled canoe)
and, post-contact, whale boats plying the waters continuously. Hence tauranga
waka occur up and down the coast, including spots at Pahi, Oraka and Aparima,
and wherever a tauranga waka is located there is also likely to be a nohoanga
(settlement), fishing ground, kaimoana resource, rimurapa (bull kelp used to
make the poha, in which titi were and still are preserved) and the sea trail
linked to a land trail or mahinga kai resource. Knowledge of these areas
continue to be held by whanau and hapu and is regarded as taonga. The
traditional mobile lifestyle of the people led to their dependence on the
resources of the coast.

3.24

The New River estuary contains wahi tapu, as do many of the coastal dunes
and estuarine complexes for the length of the Foveaux Strait. Many urupa are
located on islands and prominent headlands overlooking the Strait and the
surrounding lands and mountains. The rangatira Te Wera, of Huriawa fame, is
buried at Taramea (Howells point), near Riverton. There are two particularly
important urupa in Colac Bay, as well as an old quarry site (Tihaka). From Colac
Bay to Wakapatu, the coastal sandhills are full of middens and ovens, considered
to be linked to the significant mahinga kai gathering undertaken in Lake George
(Urewera). Urupa are the resting places of Ngai Tahu tupuna and, as such, are
the focus for whanau traditions. These are places holding the memories,
traditions, victories and defeats of Ngai Tahu tupuna, and are frequently
protected in secret locations.

3.25

The mauri of the coastal area represent the essence that binds the physical
and spirtual elements of all things together, generating and upholding all life.
All elements of the natural environment possess a life force, and all forms of
life are related. Mauri is a critical element of the spiritual relationship of
Ngai Tahu Whanui with the coastal area.

4.

Effect of Statutory Acknowledgement

4.1

Pursuant to section [ ] of the Settlement Legislation (clause 12.2.10 of the
Deed of Settlement), and without limiting clause 5, the only purposes of this
Statutory Acknowledgement are:

(a)

to require that relevant consent authorities forward summaries of relevant
resource consent applications to Te Runanga as provided in section [ ] of the
Settlement Legislation (clause 12.2.3 of the Deed of Settlement);

(b)

to require that relevant consent authorities, the Historic Places Trust or
the Environment Court as the case may be, have regard to this Statutory
Acknowledgement in relation to Rakiura/Te Ara a Kiwa, as provided in section [ ]
of the Settlement Legislation (clause 12.2.4 of the Deed of Settlement);

(c)

to enable Te Runanga and any member of Ngai Tahu Whanui to cite this
Statutory Acknowledgement as evidence of the association of Ngai Tahu to
Rakiura/Te Ara a Kiwa as provided in section [ ] of the Settlement Legislation
(clause 12.2.5 of the Deed of Settlement).

5.

Limitations on effect of Statutory Acknowledgement

5.1

Except as expressly provided in sections [ ], and [ ] of the Settlement
Legislation (clauses 12.2.4, 12.2.5 and 12.2.10 of the Deed of Settlement):

(a)

this Statutory Acknowledgement will not affect, or be taken into account in,
the exercise of any power, duty or function by any person or entity under any
statute, regulation, or bylaws; and

(b)

without limiting clause 5.1(a), no person or entity, in considering any
matter or making any decision or recommendation under statute, regulation or
bylaw shall give any greater or lesser weight to Ngai Tahu's association to
Rakiura/Te Ara a Kiwa than that person or entity would give under the relevant
statute, regulation or bylaw, as if this Statutory Acknowlegement did not exist
in respect of Rakiura/Te Ara a Kiwa.

5.2

Unless expressly provided in the Settlement Legislation, this Statutory
Acknowlegement will not affect the lawful rights or interests of any third party
from time to time.

5.3

Unless expressly provided in the Settlement Legislation, this Statutory
Acknowledgement will not of itself have the effect of granting, creating or
providing evidence of any estate or interest in, or any rights of any kind
whatsoever relating to, Rakiura/Te Ara a Kiwa.