Our Kiwi Home: Takapūneke - a place of profound significance and reflection

Saturday, 26 October 2024

Former Cantabrian Mark Walton, an internationally-recognised clarinettist and saxophonist, has an enduring fascination with NZ history and writes regularly about his home country.

Do you have a suggestion for an Our Kiwi Home column? Email mark.walton@outreachmusic.com.au

This story encompasses the very worst and the very best in people. It’s an inspiring story of sympathetic listening, respectful co-operation, gritty determination and eventual healing.

To understand the background, we have to go back to the 1830s, and to ensure I get my facts absolutely correct I’m going to quote from an article written by the highly respected late historian Harry Evison that appeared in The Press on January 6, 1995.

It was titled ‘Outrage at Red House Bay’ and included the following lines:

“Te Maiharanui, paramount chief of the Ngāi Tahu became one of the first southern chiefs to promote trade with European shipping, for which Akaroa was a favourite port of call.

“He chose Takapūneke for his unfortified trading depot, encouraging ships to anchor there.

“At Cook Strait Te Maiharanui had a powerful rival also keen on European trade the famous Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha.

In 1828 Te Rauparaha attacked Ngāi Tahu, ostensibly to avenge an insult, but also with a view to securing the South Island trade and the famous greenstone for himself.

During a parley some of Te Rauparaha’s senior chiefs were suddenly attacked by Ngāi Tahu and killed. Te Rauparaha went back to Kapiti intent on revenge.

“[In 1830] at nightfall, Captain [John] Stewart and some crewmen took Te Rauparaha’s party ashore in the ship’s boats and set fire to the unsuspecting village. About 200 inhabitants were killed as they rushed from the flames. Eighty others were taken prisoner.

“Te Maiharanui was then taken ashore and tortured to death by his enemies at Waitohu, near Otaki, together with his wife and other leading Ngāi Tahu.

“After the massacre, Takapūneke remained highly tapu and was never reoccupied by Māoris.

“For Canterbury Māoris, Takapūneke is a most sacred site, stained with the blood of ancestors and relatives whose names are remembered and whose remains may lie there still.”

Just nine years after this horrendous massacre, Takapūneke gained a significant place in the European history of the South Island when in November 1839 Sydney-based whaler and trader William Rhodes landed 50 shorthorn cattle on shore there.

This was the first venture of running stock in any numbers on the South Island and marked the beginning of European pastoral farming on the South Island. A Mr William Green was in charge of these cattle and by 1840 he had built a farmhouse a short distance up the Takapūneke valley. Green’s Point is named in his honour.

The horrendous Brig Elizabeth affair led to James Busby being sent to the Bay of Islands as the official British Resident and was the first step towards the British annexation of New Zealand.

The events at Takapūneke in 1830 also contributed to the momentous incident 10 years later - the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on May 30, 1840 - when Captain Bunbury visited Ōnuku. This was one of three sites where Ngāi Tahu signed the treaty.

On August 10 the same year, Captain Stanley moored his sloop HM Britomart in the bay at Takapūneke and the next day raised the British flag, much to the chagrin of the French who arrived just three days later. By then Governor Hobson had already declared sovereignty over New Zealand on May 21, 1840.

In 1897, to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 60th year on the throne, the people of Akaroa decided to erect a monument on Green’s Point, commemorating British Sovereignty that had been formally demonstrated by Stanley. For the unveiling of the Britomart Monument the following year, close to 1000 people were present.

Jumping ahead to 1978, the former Akaroa County Council bought the land at Red House Bay (where a pioneer cattle station was established in 1839) with money from the sale of other endowment land given to local authorities when the country’s provincial government system was abolished in 1876. Under the legislation, the endowment of the land it sold was automatically transferred to the land at Red House Bay.

The original 1876 endowment was specifically for upgrading services to Akaroa township – especially its water supply. The council was legally obliged under the terms of the endowment to stick closely to the provision of upgrading service.

In 1992, the Banks Peninsula District Council granted itself a non-notified resource consent to subdivide a portion of the land into 47 sections. At the time it was felt the land was needed to construct dwellings for workers and their families. The small private Red House land holding was sold to a local resident.

Now I’m sure you are wondering how these diverse but crucially significant historical events all come together.

To try and put these pieces of this intriguing puzzle together I went to Akaroa on a drizzly Saturday morning to meet American-born Victoria Andrews at Akaroa Museum. Victoria’s comments reflect her viewpoint based on past experience and she emphasised the need for Ōnuku Rūnanga to tell the history of the site.

My first question for Victoria was how she had settled here in paradise, and she replied: “That’s a long story but I visited friends here for 10 years and then applied for residency, which was granted in 1995. I moved from Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I was the assistant museum director of the Museum of Fine Arts, and I guess I call myself an early political refugee - I was ahead of the curve.

“I’m very glad that I landed here when I did, and I value my New Zealand passport - I really do!”

Victoria acknowledged it was difficult to turn her back on a career she spent 25 years building.

“It’s a one-way ticket and at the point of 1995 I thought if I can survive in the art world, I can do anything. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to redirect my skill set into heritage conservation here in Akaroa and since 1995 I’ve been a volunteer.”

Victoria joined the Akaroa Civic Trust in 1996 and stood down from the board only last year. The trust was established in 1969 with guidance from architect Peter Beaven. Peter never lived in Akaroa but, like many people, he wanted to retain the area’s special character and history.

About 1999, when the proposal to build 47 houses on the Takapūneke site was released for consultation by the Banks Peninsula District Council, the Akaroa Civic Trust became very active, Victoria said. The proposed development was going to come hard up against the Britomart Monument, and the trust said they must show a bit of respect to the European history of this site.

“We argued that it’s a very important cultural landscape and it blends the Māori culture as the primary basis plus the overlay of European stories. The whole area is so very significant. Up until the mid to late 90s that Māori history was not really acknowledged, and through the long-term protection of this land it has now come to the forefront.”

Through the passionate commitment and hard work of many people, the Takapūneke Historic Reserve was finally registered in 2002 by the Historic Places Trust as wāhi tapu - land of special spiritual, cultural and historical significance. At that point the registration did not include the Red House property or the Britomart Monument.

The Department of Conservation approved the Christchurch City Council’s resolution to declare Takapūneke a historic reserve May 28, 2009. It was an important step in recognising the role the land played in the establishment of Aotearoa/New Zealand many years ago as a bicultural nation. The land is currently managed in a co-governance agreement between the city council and Ōnuku Rūnanga.

Evison’s 1995 article had noted that by 1978, some of Takapuneke’s historic features had been obliterated by sewage works.

“This, together with a nearby rubbish dump, must surely rank as the ultimate in modern cultural oppression. Imagine a Māori sewage treatment works being constructed on top of a European cemetery,” he wrote.

Victoria reflected that looking back now, Evison’s outrage was pivotal in the campaign to protect the land from inappropriate use.

“Harry came over and met with the trust in the late 90s. He wanted to be sure that we were on the level and confirm that we had no vested interests. Through Harry we had a meeting here at the Akaroa Museum where we hosted the board of Heritage NZ with Dame Anne Salmond. Harry, at that meeting, brought over George Tikao, who was the chairman of the Ōnuku Te Rūnanga and Pere Tainui.

“We started to form this relationship to protect the land, but it was all through Harry Evison, who was a European historian, but he also had a strong link to Ngāi Tahu through marriage.

“Harry won the day for Ngāi Tahu in terms of the settlement with the Crown because he had done such detailed research. You could put him in front of the Waitangi Tribunal, and he could relate every detail from memory.”

The trust and Ōnuku Rūnanga’s opposition to the proposed subdivision was happening at the same time Banks Peninsula was merged into the Christchurch City Council, something Victoria said she had mixed views on.

“Christchurch City Council understood in more detail and in greater depth the significance of the land. They weren’t so anxious to put profit over the heritage status of the wāhi tapu piece of land, so in that regard it has been beneficial.”

She noted Rik Tainui’s guidance as chairman of Ōnuku Rūnanga helped the city council acknowledge the importance of Takapūneke, “and they have swung in a pretty strong way behind it, with funding” for regeneration and landscaping - an “extensive” 10-year project.

“The most important factor is that it’s a history that’s vitally important and needs to be told through the voice of Ōnuku Te Rūnanga and Ngāi Tahu and that’s finally happening after more than 25 years.

“It’s been so rewarding to see that relationship build between Ōnuku Te Rūnanga and the local community. It’s been a painful and difficult journey for a number of individuals but it’s a story that has to be told.

The house at Red House Bay was privately owned, which Victoria said was “like this big gaping hole in the puzzle”. About four years ago, it was put up for sale and Victoria and others devised a plan for the public to acquire the land.

“We knew at the time that if the Red House parcel of land went back into private ownership, we would never unify the Takapūneke site. It really was the final piece of the puzzle.”

The council purchased the house for $2.55 million and it’s now in a “holding position” until Ōnuku decide what the best use for it is, Victoria said.

“It could be a place for their archives, or an area set aside for scholars and students. There is someone living in the house at the moment, which is good to have someone on site.”

Ōnuku are currently focused on getting the first two phases of the landscaping well under way. “There is a strong relationship to the land and its history through the landscaping – it’s story-telling in a different format,” Victoria said. “The land’s regeneration is the next phase of the story, which is looking forward to the healing of the site.”

She recalled visiting the site on Matariki this year, where up to 100 local children, families and representatives from Ōnuku were planting plants – “this was so rewarding to see”.

The first Matariki two years ago was a dawn ceremony, and Victoria was invited because of her involvement.

“It was freezing cold, and it was incredibly moving – it was the start of the next journey,” she said. “They unveiled the pou, which stands more than 8m tall and rises from the centre of a takarangi pathway that draws the visitors inwards, in ever decreasing circles.

“It’s incredibly important on a local, regional and national scale as it’s a history that’s vitally important and needs to be told through the voices of Ōnuku Te Rūnanga and Ngāi Tahu.”

I congratulated Victoria on the part she played to protect Takapūneke, and she replied: “Thank you, but it is not a one-person job - it’s taken many, many people over many years. It was a moral obligation – you couldn’t stand back and not do anything.”

When I walked out of the Akaroa Museum that morning my head was spinning with all the information Victoria had just shared with me. I felt as though I didn’t have the ability to do justice to Takapūneke and its troubled history.

With Rachael, my chauffeur for the day, we drove along Rue Jolie past the Gaiety Theatre and then onto Ōnuku Rd past the new Akaroa Medical Hub. We parked in the little car park just past Stanley Place and followed the well signed, winding attractive path to the takarangi pathway. Despite the inclement weather, visiting this sacred site with its commanding views over the Akaroa Harbour had a hugely profound impact on me. I knew then that I had no choice but to try and capture Takapūneke in my own words.

I urge you all to make the pilgrimage to this very special place.

To learn more, visit Akaroa Museum at 71 Rue Lavaud to view He Ara Roimata ki te Anamata - Takapūneke, our journey, our survivance.

It’s on view until Sunday, November 3, open 10.30am to 4.30pm seven days a week.