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Te ipukarea – The maunga are here
Photo credit: Alden Williams from Mt Arthur/The Twins: A visual diary
Haere ki ngā maunga kia purea ai koe i ngā hau o Tawhirimātea
Return to your ancestral mountains so that you may be cleansed by the winds of Tāwhirimātea.
Haere ki ngā maunga kia purea ai koe i ngā hau o Tawhirimātea is a Māori proverb that reminds us that if we are seeking replenishment and rejuvenation, that we can return to the place where we come from to find it.
The mana whenua ki Motueka whānau and hapū are spread throughout Aotearoa, but at any time can come home to te ipukarea, to the places that connect us all, notably our awa, the Motueka River, and our mountains Pukeone and Tu Ao Wharepapa, for replenishment and revitalisation.
Our maunga Pukeone and Tu Ao Wharepapa replenish us when the rain falls, produce plants that kept us dry, send messages of great importance, and for some provide a historical and spiritual link to the natural world. Here’s a short kōreo about each of them.
Pukeone – Mount Campbell
Pukeone, the smaller of our two maunga stands at 1330m tall east of the Arthur Range. Its name, translated to mean Sand Hill, is related to the great effort of our tūpuna to transport river sand and gravel to the summit.
Signal fires would be lit across the summit, a smoke signal by day and bright fires by night, to communicate important news or events across vast distances. Before Europeans arrived this would often be a call to arms, or a signal of war or the threat of war. But after European settlement the fires often signalled important hui, for example fires were lit at the time of Wakefield’s acceptance of Nelson as a settlement ground. Charcoal remains of the fires can still be found along the summit of Pukeone today.
Pukeone continues to hold its place as a mountain for communication as seen by the radio tower that projects from the summit.
Tu Ao Wharepapa – Mount Arthur
At a higher altitude than Pukeone, our other maunga Tu Ao Wharepapa stands at nearly 1800m, making it the highest peak of the Wharepapa Range (Arthur Range), where it guards the Tablelands below.
Legend says that Tu Ao Wharepapa was named by a rangatira called Turakautaki, who fell in love with a beautiful wahine called Tuao Wharepapa. The story says Turakautaki was already married so had to leave the pā, and as he journeyed to Kawatiri where he eventually settled, he passed the mountain and named it after his lost love.
Ngāti Rārua history also talks of the plant Nei Nei, which our tūpuna used to make capes for when it rained. A number of tomo (sacred caves) are also found within Tu Ao Wharepapa.
Share your kōrero
If you have returned home for a visit, or you’ve always resided on the homelands, and explored Pukeone or Tu Ao Wharepapa, we’d love to hear your kōrero and see some photos to share with the whānau. To share just post to our Facebook page or email them to info@nrait.co.nz.
Our homelands are our strength and inspiration, our tūrangawaewae: they stand for the hopes and dreams of our people, and at their heart is Motueka. – An extract from the Ngāti Rārua Ātiawa Iwi Trust identity document
Sources: The Prow: Mt Arthur; and The Prow: Geographic Names in Te Tau Ihu