‘Rebuild the cathedral, or find a new name for our city’: A Ngāi Tahu view

Tuesday, 24 March 2026

Māori imagery is projected on to the cathedral during Matariki 2025. The significance of the building to the history of Christchurch, and to both Māori and Pākehā, should not be under-rated, argues Te Maire Tau.

Te Maire Tau is professor with the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre at the University of Canterbury, a historian and the ūpoko of Ngāi Tūāhuriri.

OPINION: Christchurch is a cathedral city in the English tradition. The cathedral is at the heart of its identity. It was deliberately founded by the Canterbury Association on this basis, drawing on customs that also underpin common law — yet the depth of this history and culture is not always fully recognised or valued.

There is a striking contrast between Ngāi Tahu and Pākehā in how heritage is valued. If Ngāi Tahu could identify with certainty the precise departure point of Paikea or the Uruao waka that brought us to this land, that place would be honoured with reverence. Yet Pākehā New Zealanders possess detailed historical knowledge — the founding of the Canterbury Association, its members, and its purpose — but often fail to value it. Never more so than at the current time as we face the dilemma of finding funds to rebuild the cathedral from which our city takes its name.

The name “Christchurch” itself derives from Christ Church College, Oxford, linking the city to a long intellectual tradition dating to Henry VIII. That institution produced figures who shaped the modern world. Even popular culture echoes this lineage—the Great Hall inspiring settings like Hogwarts.

Since the 1980s, however, the importance of the United Kingdom in New Zealand’s identity has diminished. Politicians who should know better question the relevance of British history.

Te Maire Tau outside Christchurch High Court during a break in Ngāi Tahu's freshwater lawsuit last year.

Our Parliament is derived from Westminster, and the constitutional monarchy exists in part to protect minorities against majoritarian excess. Common law, grounded in English custom since Henry II, remains a foundational element of our system. These constitutional roots should not be lightly dismissed.

In July 1984, the body of Ngāi Tahu rangatira Riki Te Mairaki Taiaroa Ellison lay in Christchurch Cathedral. The cathedral became, in effect, a marae, with over a thousand people attending before his return to Rehua Marae and Taumutu. The service, led by Manu Bennett and attended by civic and church leaders, reflected a time when Cathedral Square was the civic heart of Christchurch.

This period also marked a wider renewal of Ngāi Tahu identity. The Ngāi Tahu claim was filed in 1986, followed by the Te Māori exhibition and Waitangi Tribunal sittings at Tuahiwi.

Yet, the irony is that as Ngāi Tahu reasserted its identity, New Zealanders began questioning their own. That reflection descended into a desire by many to minimise their history and heritage. Ngāi Tahu have spent decades rebuilding our language and history, often facing criticism from those unfamiliar with their own.

The foremost Ngāi Tahu cultural leader of the early 20th century was Te Aritaua Pitama, adopted by the Rev Charles Fraer and educated at Christ’s College. Te Aritaua was renowned for mastery of both Māori and English. In his 1940 memoirs, he described learning tribal traditions from Taare Tikao and Hoani Matiu, while his elders were equally versed in Milton, Shakespeare, Donne, and Burns. His grounding in classical texts, including Horace, shaped his ability to translate old family texts.

His greatest influence was his mother. When he named the Ngāti Ōtautahi Club, she rebuked him: “Kua moumoutia e koe tō tīpuna” — how cheaply you treat your ancestor. The point endures. Ōtautahi was a specific mahinga kai site, not the city itself, which our ancestors also called Puari, Putaringa-motu, and Karaitiana (Christchurch).

Her warning remains relevant. Our heritage must be valued. Efforts to properly name and protect local history — from stadium naming to post-earthquake recovery — have too often been neglected. We named the Parakiore Sports and Recreation Centre after our first proposal, Queen Elizabeth II, was declined. This cultural amnesia must stop.

If Christchurch and its cathedral are not valued, then find a new name for our city – but our ancestors are not to be squandered. The cathedral needs to be rebuilt. It is the pūtake, the source, of Christchurch.