BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENT COURT

Transcription

1 BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENT COURT IN THE MATTER of a notice of motion under section 87G of the Resource Management Act 1991 (Act) requesting the granting of resource consents to Waiheke Marinas Limited to establish and operate a marina at Matiatia Bay, Waiheke Island, in the Hauraki Gulf ENV-2013-AKL (DRAFT) STATEMENT OF EVIDENCE OF PAORA TE OTI TAKARANGI JOSEPH (PIRITAHI MARAE) ON BEHALF OF DIRECTION MATIATIA INCORPORATED AND OTHERS 27 July 2014 Counsel Acting: K R M Littlejohn Quay Chambers littlejohn@quaychambers.co.nz PO Box AUCKLAND 1143

2 1 INTRODUCTION 1. My name is Paora Te Oti Takarangi Joseph. I am a committee member of Piritahi Marae and sit on the BOT for Waiheke Primary. I have been a resident on Waiheke Island since I became affiliated with the marae at this time. My Koro was Taku Tai Moana Turoa and I studied under him with regards to Whanganui and Hauraki Whakapapa and history. 2. My whakapapa from Toi is as follows: Turi=Rongorongo Taneroa Ruanui Whaeatokonui Wharerua Kaokao=Te Koutu(1) Te Kapunga Houtaepo Ruapuhatanga=Whatihua Uenuku Te Rangituwhatu Hotunui Marutuahu Tamatera Taharua Tukutuku=Paoa 3. I have been employed as a qualified clinical psychologist for 13 years in which time I have worked primarily with Maori and in accordance with a Maori world view of health and wellbeing as it pertains to the three dimensions of Atua, Whenua and Tangata. My work has been within the Department of Corrections, mental health authorities, the community and marae based organisations.

3 2 4. More recently, over the past 4 years I have produced and directed three major documentary films that have had a theatrical release. All three films have sought to communicate a Maori world view of health and wellbeing from a Maori indigenous perspective. Two of the films to date have been award winning films and have gathered both national and international critical acclaim. SCOPE OF EVIDENCE 5. I am giving evidence for Direction Matiatia Inc as part of the Piritahi Marae and Waiheke Maori hapori/community evidence on cultural matters. 6. My evidence on matters of fact, whakapapa and Tikanga comes from: Research notes from Paul Monin, using original photocopies of Maori land court and other records; Discussions with Paul Monin about Matiatia; Monin, P Matiatia Gateway to Waiheke, Bridget Williams Books. Wellington; Oral histories as passed down through my Koro Taku Tai Moana Turoa. 7. I will be giving evidence about 19 th Century historical Maori occupation of Matiatia Bay from the perspective of being uri from Rapata Te Rou, from Taranaki. I will describe how Rapata first came to Waiheke, how he came to hold land as a result of tuku whenua and how he came to be buried in the urupaa on the Matiatia foreshore. This is based on my relationship to Koro Rapata and my connection with Piritahi Marae. 8. I will then give evidence from that perspective regarding the Waiheke Marina s application to build a marina in Matiatia Bay. In doing so I would like to talk about manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga, tukuwhenua, whanaungatanga, waahi tapu and takahi i te tapu, and aramoana. My evidence seeks to reiterate from a Maori perspective and world view why the marina is unacceptable, including the fact that Matiatia Bay is considered to be waahi tapu.

4 3 HISTORY 9. Rapata Te Rou came to Waiheke with his father and his sister, as a slave from the Taranaki. This came about because Hera Hoete of Ngati Te Ata, (a Waikato tribe from Manukau) the wife of Te Wiremu Hoete Te Riri (eldest son to Te Hinaki Chief of Ngati Paoa), brought 12 slaves with her to Waiheke Island. They had been part of a group captured by her father when fighting Taranaki tribes during the late 1820s. 10. When he came to Waiheke, Rapata was 12 years of age. Because Hera was married to Te Wiremu Hoete Te Riri, he felt obliged in terms of manaakitanga to take the slaves under his care. Rapata proved willing in being a provider for the people. He made signicant mara (gardens) at Matiatia and worked hard. In acknowedgement of his hard work and efforts, Wiremu Hoete Te Riri made a tuku whenua, gifting land to Rapata Te Rou. 11. Rapata was one of 5 shareholders in what was known as Te Huruhi No.12 (Matiatia), a 2,100 acre block running from a north-east line from Hekerua through to the Burrell Road ridge back through western Waiheke. In 1869 title was formed (please refer to the attached appendix 1). On his portion of this block at Matiatia, Rapata gardened, cut firewood and ran sheep. 12. He also owned 5 schooners successively over a 30 year period, from , using them to supply Auckland with food, livestock and firewood. 13. The entire 2,100 acre block was protected under a reserve status for 21 years with a non-alienation restriction on its title there were 65 tenants in common and 5 shareholders. Disagreements came up and individuation of title was desired by some shareholders who wanted to sell their share. 14. In 1894 Rapata died of measles. His tangi at Te Huruhi was one of the largest ever attended. In 1897 a partition order was granted for Te Huruhi No 12 whereby it was divided into 13 blocks and the Matiatia Bay portion constituted 4 of these. Te Huruhi 12A 102 acres, Te Huruhi 12B Whetumatarau 9 acres, Te Huruhi 12C 7 acres on the flat, part of which went to Taranaki, Te Huruhi 12D 157 acres. By 1914 all

5 of the smaller Matiatia blocks had been sold except Whetumatarau which still remains in Maori ownership If you stand by Rapata s grave looking to the land, the land to the left as far as the wharf and back belonged to Rapata Te Rou and the land to the right to Wiremu Hoete Keepa. Part of the land to the right was also an urupaa. Records suggest that 12 koiwi were buried there from Taranaki, however, recent X-ray research of the area suggests there are perhaps 16 koiwi underground in the area investigated by Dr Bader in When the subdivision took place no separate title was issued for the urupaa. This was a significant oversight which needs to be remedied in accordance with article 2 and 4 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi which guarantees Maori the basic human rights implicit within their cultural and spiritual praxis to continue their relationship with the living and dead. TIKANGA AND WAAHI TAPU 16. The first point I would like to make is about manaakitanga and tuku whenua. 17. With regards to the tukuwhenua, when Wiremu Hoete gifted Koro Rapata the land, a renewed relationship was forged between Taranaki and Ngati Paoa and an older kinship was acnowledged. This relationship is implicit within the whakapapa I have provided on the first page of my evidence. This realtionship is based on the marriage between the Taranaki puhi Ruapuhatanga and Waikato Rangatira Whatihua. Whakawhanaungatanga occurred through Hera s manaaki of the slaves she gave them freedom and status and Wiremu Hoete gave them land so that they would have security and independence. 18. Whanaungatanga is the relationship and manaakitanga is the caring and nuturing aspect of the relationship. With whanaungatanga the relationship is not just a relationship with the people, it s a relationship with the land and the moana. Therefore Koro Rapata had a responsibility of kaitiakitanga guardianship of the land and the moana, as well as of his whanau. Guardianship, rather than ownership of a commodity. 19. When the land began to become individualised in the 1890s it became possible to alienate one another from the land and in the process no

6 5 provision was made for Kaitiakitanga - guardianship. When you sell land under the Westminster system of law it becomes a commodity. However, according to Maori lore the whenua and moana are at no time considered a mere physical commodity. Whenua and Moana are always imbued with their own intrinsic tapu, mana and mauri. Even though Koro Rapata has passed away and his land has been sold, he is still there in the urupaa and for his uri, his descendants, there is a right and responsibility of kaitiakitanga for the Bay and well as a continuing legacy of manaakitanga. 20. This right of Kaitiakitangi is acknowledged under article II of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the recent interim report on the MV Rena and Motiti Island Claims. In that particular case the Waitangi Tribunal found that the Treaty requires the Crown to provide for fuller expression of kaitiakitanga, so that Maori can meet the obligations that arise from the rights of rangatiratanga. Due to the cultural and historical significance of Matiatia Bay it is considred as taonga for successive generations and therefore falls under the Maori power of Rangatiratanga. 21. With respect to Waahi Tapu, once a place is known as a waahi tapu it will remain so according to Maori lore. In the case of an urupaa that is a waahi tapu, a tapu may be lifted but only with the consent of those living descedants associated with those buried in the urupaa. 22. The bay cannot be segregated when it comes to its status as waahi tapu. Under Maori lore you cannot separate the moana from the whenua. Matiatia is waahi tapu because people are buried there, and because the koiwi of people past lie throughout the bay and the foreshore. 23. With respect to the whole of Matiatia Bay, it is already impacted culturally. There are also koiwi in other parts of the bay including the northern side. The proposed marina development will degrade rather than revive and foster what can be considered a growing awareness and understanding of the historical and cultual significance of Matiatia. If a development with minor impact at Matiatia focused on preserving its cultural heriatage in the form of an educational and historical building/marae - then perhaps this would be more respectful, honouring and in accord with the aspirations of the descendants of

7 6 those families associated with the bay and Waiheke residents. As it is Matiatia is already significantly impacted with Fullers, car parks and traffic right next to the urupaa. 24. It is a violation of tapu to carry on with a significant development such as the proposed marina. Takahi i te tapu a violation, a desecration. It is the tapu of the Atua including the dimension of the spiritual guardians, the kaitiaki, of which there are many. Apart from the human realm kaitiaki can also come in the form of Taniwha or Tipua. These Tipua often act as guardians in their own right over the whenua and moana and whanau, hapu and iwi. There are many Hauraki kaitiaki. 25. In regards to Tikapa te moananui a Hauraki one such kaitiaki is the stingray. A whanau of stingray have inhabited Matiatia Bay as long as I can reall. These Kaitiaki will without doubt be disturbed as a direct result of the dredging that is necessary in the marina development. A violation of the relationship with these kaitiaki will ensue if the marina is built at Matiatia. 26. Takahi i te tapu of the whenua and the moana. Both aspects, whenua and moana, hold memory of those that have gone before, the beings which inhabit the whenua and the moana. This includes the elemental mauri of the land and the sea that elemental mauri holds the memory of those who ve lived there. Ngati Paoa, Ngati Hura, Ngati Maru and those lives lost by Ngapuhi in the Bay. There is a violation of relationship in that: 1. They are not acknowledged - they are disregarded and; 2. The memory is not preserved, not honoured. Takahi I te tapu o te tangata. There is a direct violation of not acknowledging the relationship of these people to the land, on the land, and in the moana. 27. Aramoana is about a pathway to the sea a highway for the transportation of people and kai. Historically that is what Rapata did with his schooners; early Maori would have done the same with their waka, Fullers do this now. The reason for this is because Matiatia is the safest harbour on Waiheke and the closest to downtown Auckland. In fact between the period of 1840 and 1860 Auckland was dependant upon the produce that came from Rapata Te Rou s gardens. A safe harbour is as important for us on Waiheke today as it was then. When

8 Koro Rapata transported people and produce to Auckland, they would anchor near Queens Wharf There is a precedent here historically, in Maori terms, for transporting people and kai. It is both useful, and a necessity in terms of survival for the residents of Waiheke as much now as it was in the time of Rapata Te Rou. In terms of the tukuwhenua which took place between Wiremu Hoete and Rapata Te Rou, Wiremu gave the land because he recognised Rapata s ability to produce food and work hard to feed the people. Wiremu gave the land because of manaaki caring for the people who resided there. This is a sign of a Rangatira - Chief. Making food and transporting the people is necessary. 29. Merely because the marina involves boats does not make its violation of tapu acceptable or Tika. The marina has no value of manaaki for the people, no sense of kaitiakitanga for the whenua, no sense of whanaungatanga. It will desecrate rather than act as a guardian of the whenua and moana. It will physically partition off the bay rather than leaving it for the needs of all. It has no respect for the waahi tapu status of Matiatia or for the koiwi that are there or for the memory of those who have gone before. 30. In recent history another example of tukuwhenua is the Delamore gifting of the historic Matietie track to DOC. In the same way, the planting of acres and acres of native trees in the Forest and Bird Reserve, Te Atawhai Whenua, by Don Chapple was an example of kaitiakitanga, atawhai to the land and manaakitanga for those of us who may now walk there and the initial gifting of the reserve by Nick and Nettie Johnson to Forest and Bird, was another act of tukuwhenua. The mana was in the giving not the taking. CONCLUSION 31. For the reasons outlined above the marina is a culturally inappropriate development for Matiatia Bay. It is culturally inappropriate in respect of the waahi tapu status of the bay and in the impact the construction of the marina will have on the moana and the whenua and the koiwi of those who have gone before.

9 8 32. The marina will also threaten the aramoana and thus the ability of the people of Waiheke and those who are visiting the island to have a safe harbour now and in the future. 33. As opposed to the generosity and gifting, the tukuwhenua that has gone on in this bay in the past, the Marina developers propose to take a good proportion of the bay (6 hectares) virtually for their own use. In a sense they are asking for Tukuwhenua from us the public who own it now: we are being asked to gift them the sole use of this area of the moana and whenua at Matiatia, to individuate and give title to the moana, and make of it a commodity to forsake our guardianship. 34. The wairua of those who have gone before, those who have shown kaitiakitanga, tukuwhenua, manaakitanga, atawhai is being asked for; the likes of Rapata Te Rou and Wiremu and Hera Hoete, of the late Don Chapple and the late Rob Delamore, his father Adrian and his mother Jo. The question is, are the marina developers deserving of this tukuwhenua? Is their enterprise deserving of this gift? Does their enterprise honour the whenua and the moana and the tangata and those who have gone before? Kaore. I believe not. 35. As a living descendant of Koro Rapapa Te Rou with the inherent responsibility of kaitiakitanga in regards to Matiatia I oppose the Marina proposal. Paora Te Oti Takarangi Joseph 27 July 2014