Services to Māori, conservation honoured

Thursday, 30 December 2021

Kaumatua John Ward-Holmes of Ngāti Tama ki Te Waipounamu Trust at Te Waikoropupū Springs in Golden Bay. Ward-Holmes was appointed to the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to conservation and to Māori.

John Ward-Holmes is humble about his order of merit – awarded for services to Māori and to conservation – which he says is the result of years of team work.

Ward-Holmes (Ngāti Tama, Te Ātiawa) was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in this year’s New Year Honours for his contributions to conservation in Mohua (Golden Bay), and to Ngāti Tama’s customary interests in the area (rohe).

Ward-Holmes said he and a team of others had been working together for years on behalf of three iwi, Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Rārua and Ngāti Tama with customary interest in Mohua, and he felt his nomination for the award was mostly due to his “spokesman” status for the team.

Through the years, Ward-Holmes has contributed to several projects for conservation and been involved in work to progress Māori interests.

John Ward-Holmes and John Clarke hongi at the Deed of Settlement signing between Ngāti Tama ki te Tauihu and the Crown, with then-Minister of Treaty Negotiations Chris Finlayson.

* Special Tribunal recommend Te Waikoropupū Springs be protected by order

* Ngati Tama will 'never stop fighting' until springs is safeguarded

* Protecting Te Waikoropupū Springs' purity holds deep spiritual significance to iwi

In 1985 he was involved in the establishment of Onetahua Marae at Pohara, and he became a trustee of the marae in 1992 and instigated the waharoa (gateway memorial) built for the RSA to recognise the 28th Māori Battalion.

He was also involved in the Tiriti settlement between Ngāti Tama ki te Tauihu and the Crown, and was a trustee and then kaumātua for the Ngāti Tama Ki Te Waipounamu Trust.

Ward-Holmes connected his work for mana whenua with the conservation work he was also involved in.

“We’re working on behalf of the whole group and especially the iwi … we whakapapa ahikā, we’re people from this area, and it's our responsibility to uphold the mana of our people, our tūpuna (ancestors). That is why we do it.”

That conservation work included the 2009 development of the management plan for wāhi tapu (sacred place) Te Waikoropupū Springs between the Department of Conservation and mana whenua, and he continues to advocate for the springs to this day.

He also worked on the establishment of the Mohua Ki Te Tai Tapu Mataitai marine reserve in 2011, to preserve pāua fisheries, something that Ward-Holmes listed as a particularly rewarding effort given the community backing it received.

“We felt it was getting depleted, fished out … the iwi, together with the general public, worked together to ensure that the fishery stays sustainable.

“What was really amazing was, we had to have a public meeting … about 80 to 90 people were there, there were a lot of people, we had to explain what we were trying to do, then we had to have a vote. There was 100 per cent support.”

He said this kind of collaboration and relationship-building was particularly rewarding.

“I’m really proud of the relationship we have with the people of the rohe, the people of Golden Bay. Even if they’re not Māori, they haven't got the same whakapapa as we have, they want change for the better, they realise things need to change … [they] really support what we’re doing.”