Unique view on a multi-million dollar astro-tourism attraction

Friday, 26 July 2019

Much like the constellations it explores, Tekapo's new Dark Sky Project is made up of many connected dots, drawing together Māori storytelling and scientific study, historical instruments and modern research, and different understandings of what the stars teach us.

The latest addition to Tekapo's astro-tourism offering is unique in its inclusion of Māori astronomy, which uses stars to tell stories of creation, predict the weather, navigate and foretell bad fortunes within their communities.

The 45-minute tour was developed with a working party made up of representatives from Arowhenua, Waihao and Moeraki, and starts with the guide saying a Karakia (blessing) for safe travel.

The first room plays a 3D film about the world's creation narrated by Hiwa-i-te-rangi, one of the nine stars of the Matariki star cluster.

* Lonely Planet's top trend for 2019: In pursuit of dark skies

* New star in Tekapo's astro-tourism business a step closer

Dark Sky Project tour guide Alex Solomon said the new experience is all about our connection to the stars.

* Tekapo's Earth & Sky star gazing strikes joint venture with Ngai Tahu**

'They use the theory of the big bang and combine it with our kōrero… it shows the similarity a scientific theory has to a kōrero of an indigenous people about their own creation,' Arowhenua Marae upoko (head) Te Wera King said.

'It's important for people to learn about Māori astronomy, especially the dark skies in this region, because it's reclaiming knowledge that has been lost for a long long time. It's important to tell our stories because they are basically telling the world 'this is us, this is me, these are the stars how I see them'.'

Dark Sky Project guide Alex Solomon said the stars, and the project, are all about our 'connection' to the stars and our past, between the traditional and the scientific.

'It's really interesting to see how similar they are in some aspects – Māori traditional and scientific astronomy – and how some of the ideas and theories compliment each other, but it's interesting to see how they are different,' he said.

'I think people can get an idea of the uniqueness of traditional astronomy and how that played a part in our past and also our present and future as well.'

Another room of the tour invites visitors to look down upon the stars reflected in a digital projected lake, representing one of the ways Māori had historically read the stars.

Traditionally, Māori would watch for the stars that rose just before the sun each morning and, because they would rise earlier as the year progressed, different stars would appear first in different seasons.

Visitors to the tour are invited to interact with to-scale stars.

Takurua appears first in winter and Rehua, the Dark Sky Project building's namesake, appears first in summer.

Rehua is particularly significant and known as the chief of stars who has the power to heal. He is the eldest son of Rangi (Sky father) and Papa (Earth mother) and husband of Matariki, who gave birth to the star cluster of the same name.

Visitors are told how the 'food stars' were used to inform seasonal hunting and fishing, such as a tuna (eel) constellation rising in the east signalling that species were in season in the lakes and seeing the weka constellation would predict a good hunt.

Te Rūnanga o Moeraki upoko (head) David Higgins said the experience was important for the 'growth in understanding of our people'.

'It's just another step in the evolution of our people. We've fought so hard for many generations to claim back our footprint in the high country… it's wonderful to be up here seeing this development happening.

The Victorian Brashear telescope has been fully restored and housed in the new building.

'These mountains behind us [in the Mackenzie Basin] are an indication of the importance of the star constellations – many of these mountains have star names so the importance is to share with the world our matauranga, our knowledge.'

The new experience, a collaboration between Ngāi Tahu Tourism and Earth and Sky co-founders Graeme Murray and Hide Ozawa, opened at the start of July, 50 years after the Mount John Observatory was established by the University of Canterbury.

One part of the new tour, a dark room filled with a glowing, to-scale star cluster, offers visitors a chance to interact with research into the sound of stars.

The nine metre telescope was first used to study Mars in the late 19th century.

Real recordings are played and visitors are invited to touch the installations, which vibrate at different frequencies depending on their size.

Director of Mt John Observatory and associate professor at the University of Canterbury Karen Pollard explained there is a cyclical relationship between the research carried out at the observatory and the tourism the region attracts.

'[Astro-tourism] is a very important part of developing the observatory because we've had light ordinances in effect in the Mackenzie Basin for a very long time, since the 70s and 80s, because of the research observatory,' she said.

'That's allowed the skies to remain dark and pristine so we can share that with people, we can show what a pristine night sky is like and we can show what research we can do if we have a dark night sky, but that also promotes astro-tourism, it allows people to experience that dark sky.'

The Dark Sky Project not only presents new research, it is also home to a historic piece of research equipment.

The Brashear Telescope is a nine metre Victorian instrument made of brass, iron, steel and wood which was used to study Mars in the late 19th century.

It was gifted to the University of Canterbury in the 1960s but, with nowhere to house it, had been stored for decades and had fallen into disrepair.

In 2016, work began to restore it to full working order and the new dome at the Dark Sky Project provided the perfect location to erect it.

For the year to May 2019, tourism contributed $298m to the Mackenzie District economy, but while many come to stargaze in the world-renowned Dark Sky Reserve, Dark Sky Project Business Manager Craig Jones said 'bad weather, primarily cloud and wind, means that there are times when visitors are unable to experience stargazing from Mt John or Cowan's observatories'.

However the indoor experience enables visitors to view and learn about the stars whatever the weather and, with interactive elements, offers a new way to connect with our skies.

South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce chief executive Wendy Smith said there is 'up to about a 50 per cent change in the number of visitors coming through' between peak (November to March) and off-peak periods so this new indoor experience is important for the growth of the shoulder and off-peak seasons.

She described the new venture as an enhancement of an 'iconic' business and 'a great example of how local organisations can lead the way in positioning the South Island on the international stage'.

'If you look at New Zealand Tourism's promotion, the pictures of the night sky are used as iconic images for the whole of New Zealand as a key attraction so that has a compounding effect for business and it's absolutely huge.'

Opening just ahead of the school holidays, the new experience welcomed 700 visitors in its first 10 days.