“Talk with your kaumātua — your nannies, toro, aunties, uncles, and cousins. Take the time to sit, listen, and listen some more, and kōrero when you can. Don’t take these moments for granted; in the blink of an eye, whānau can come and go, and with them, the stories and connections.”

 

What does whakapapa mean to you?

 

Whakapapa is both my identity and my connection to the whenua where I live, linking me to my tūpuna and the environment. For me, whakapapa is a treasured legacy that carries with it the responsibility to care for and pass on.

 

What is your advice for someone starting out on their whakapapa journey?

 

Talk with your kaumātua — your nannies, toro, aunties, uncles, and cousins. Take the time to sit, listen, and listen some more, and kōrero when you can. Don’t take these moments for granted; in the blink of an eye, whānau can come and go, and with them, the stories and connections. For those raised away from Whakatū or Te Tauihu, don’t hesitate to reach out to your local iwi or to Aunty Celia and her team at Wakatū.

 

Share an anecdote or a fact about your tūpuna on the 1892 list

 

I descend from Riria Pakake, a daughter or Harirota Pakake and Te Hura Pakake of Ngāti Koata.

Riria Pakake married Teone Hippolite of Ngāti Kuia and settled at a place called Te Matapihi ki te Rangi in the Croisilles Harbour.

 

Can you tell us about your own whakapapa journey?

 

I was fortunate to be raised around my kuia, Nellie Robb (née Manihera), a custodian of whakapapa, including charts, photos, and taonga. She lived in a kaumātua flat behind Whakatū Marae, so we often played in and around the whare and the kaumatua flats.

 

This environment provided countless opportunities to learn from the taonga and from the many aunties and uncles who lived around the marae.

 

More Faces of Whānau here

Expanded Te Here-ā-Nuku Working Group

 

Our commitment to hold the Crown to account to make good on the Nelson Tenths weaves together many strands of work.

 

Litigation, human rights, communication and engagement, tikanga and reconnection of whānau to whenua and identity – to name a few.

 

We have recently expanded the Working Group that supports kaumātua Rore Stafford to oversee this kaupapa.

 

You can read more about the Working Group here: https://tehereanuku.nz/our-people/working-group/

 

We thank them for their commitment to Uncle Rore and to this kaupapa.

 

“I strongly believe that whakapapa has a strong wairua element to it. Many of us may not know all our whakapapa, but our whakapapa knows us and will come to us in the right time.”

 

 

What does whakapapa mean to you?

Whakapapa is everything to me. It is our genetic makeup, our identity, it is the reason why each one of us are so unique. There is so much value in knowing more about ourselves. I’m so happy for my tamariki, because from a young age they will learn a wider view of who they are.

 

Whakapapa is the beginning, end and everything in between. It contributes to so many factors of our lives. But most of all it is our connector, it binds us to our living whānau and to the legacy of those who have gone before us, and it inspires me to add to their legacy in my own right and way.

 

It grounds me in this world that is constantly moving and allows me to stand firm knowing who I am.

 

 

What is your connection to the Nelson Tenths whenua?

My connection to the Nelson Tenths whenua is through my tūpuna Wauwau, Wikitoria Te Hau and Tiripa Wauwau of Ngāti Koata.

 

They were named as people who gave their whenua in Nelson to the New Zealand Company in 1841. I also connect to this whenua through my Ngāti Tama ancestor Te Rei Kauhoe, son of Arihia Kauhoe, a first cousin to Wi Katene Te Puoho and Te Wahapiro Paremata. Te Rei Kauhoe and his wife Tiripa raised my great great grandmother Ngatare Te Rei and her siblings at Wakapuaka.

 

Many of my ancestors are buried at the urupa Haua at Wakapuaka, which makes that area special to me and my whānau.

 

 

What is your advice for someone starting out on their whakapapa journey?

See what is available to you already. This can be as simple as asking whānau members what information they may have on hand. Also try to connect with people who are skilled in this area of expertise. There are many tools available to support the research and understanding of our individual whakapapa. (Genealogy apps, social media pages dedicated to supporting whānau and also whānau research departments like Te Tāhuhu at Wakatū Incorporation).

 

I strongly believe that whakapapa has a strong wairua element to it. Many of us may not know all our whakapapa, but our whakapapa knows us and will come to us in the right time. I have found that as you begin seeking it out, your tūpuna will create a way for each of us to find more and more.

 

Share an anecdote or a fact about your tūpuna on the 1892 list

One of my tūpuna Tiripa Wauwau, is represented on a kaho paetara (batten) in Whakatū marae – in my years of working for the marae, it was a daily reminder of my whakapapa.

 

When Tiripa was alive, she had plentiful gardens at Wakapuaka. Her Ngāti Koata whānau would stop in on their way to Nelson from Rangitoto ki te Tonga and exchange fish and titi for her vegetables and grain. She was a connector of people.

 

To me, this relationship seems to be why she was remembered and represented in our marae.

 

Can you tell us about your own whakapapa journey?

I grew up having a strong sense of identity in my whakapapa. I knew that I was a Solomon and what came with that surname attached. We grew up leaning more into our Kahungungu connection, but also knowing that we connected to Taranaki through my grandmother.

 

It wasn’t until my family and I moved to Nelson in 2020 that we learnt that my whakapapa connection ran deeper then I initially thought, with my Taranaki side being linked to Te Tauihu.

 

Aunty Bobbie Teariki and her whānau, and Aunty Celia Hippolite were the first people when we moved down to tell me that I was from here, so I am grateful for them and all the others who have helped me to feel at home.

 

I’m still on my journey but by doing the following things, it makes it easier to continue that journey – Having photos of our tūpuna in our kainga and teaching our tamariki about each of the tūpuna represented. Attending and engaging in iwi events. Taking all opportunities to connect with my marae and my whānau here. This helps grow a sense of belonging. Your actions today will make a big impact for those following tomorrow, so I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to reconnect my whānau to our tūrangawaewae.

Jasmine La’auli, Ngāti Tama

 

Jasmine descends from Rameka Te Ketu who is named on the Native Land Court List, 1892.

 

What does whakapapa mean to you?

Whakapapa is important to me and my whānau because it is our belonging and connection to our whenua and to our ancestors/tūpuna. It is our Māori heritage, our identity.

 

What is your connection to the Nelson Tenths whenua?

Our connection to Nelson Tenths whenua is through Rameka Te Ketu (Ngāti Tama ki Te Tauihu). He resided in Tākaka and lived there for many years before returning to Taranaki to help with the land wars.

 

What is your advice for someone starting out on their whakapapa journey?

My advice for someone starting on their whakapapa journey is to just start. If the information is not available or hasn’t been passed down to you there are some useful websites that may help you. Don’t let anyone’s thoughts or opinions stop you from finding out your whakapapa.

 

Can you share an anecdote about your tūpuna on the Native Land Court List, 1892

Rameka Te Ketu signed three major Ngāti Tama deeds of 1855 (Motupipi and Tākaka land) and 1856 (Separation Point) as well as the 1863 agreement with Ngāti Rarua over boundaries at Te Tai Tapu.

 

In 1863 he was falsely accused of killing a cow belonging to a settler. Constable Taylor’s investigations revealed that the cow actually belonged to Rameka Te Ketu himself and that it had poisoned itself by eating potato tops.

 

Can you tell us about your own whakapapa journey?

Our whānau weren’t lucky enough to have my koko Tiki Wharerangi Haare Hawe whakapapa passed down to us.

 

I started my whakapapa journey when I started working at the Māori Land Court. I started looking through old minutes, list of historic owners documents and started to find our tūpuna links to the blocks that were left in my whānau names through succession.

 

I first found our Ngāti Tama link through whenua we had remaining over in Tākaka.

 

Wakatū helped me with our Tama whakapapa as they showed me our link to Rameka Te Ketu. While on Te Rakau Pakiaka I researched and had help from colleagues to find out the bigger picture of when our whānau settled here, where they passed away, marriages and wives.

 

Although the way we have found our whakapapa is not the conventional way (I would have loved to have had it passed down to us), I had to start somewhere and was lucky enough to be able to trace and connect to our whakapapa we never had.

 

It is now our taonga that we can pass down for generations to come.

 

This is one of my biggest accomplishments and the journey is still going and will never end.

 

 

Ngā Uri – the beneficiaries of the Nelson Tenths claim – are the direct descendants of those tūpuna named on the Native Land Court List, 1892.

 

The 1892 Native Land Court list is the list that most accurately records those specific Tainui Taranaki tūpuna of Ngāti Rārua, Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tama and Ngāti Kōata who held customary title to the land at the time of the New Zealand Company purchase in 1841.

 

It identifies those tūpuna who were on the land when the New Zealand Company arrived in Nelson and who met with New Zealand Company officials to agree to the establishment of Nelson.

 

It is our most comprehensive and conclusive record, constructed by our whānau at the time and subsequently confirmed by the Native Land Court’s determination.

 

The validity of the list to determine the customary owners was recognised by the Waitangi Tribunal.

 

View the names on the Native Land Court List, 1892: https://tehereanuku.nz/our-people/nga-uri-native-land-court-list-1892/

What does whakapapa mean to you?

 

Whakapapa to me is our indigenous way to understand how the world is. It is inherent to who we are as Māori. It is our line we trace back that connects us to everything in the natural world. For me, whakapapa ties me to my hapū-based identity as Te Ātiawa and Ngāti Koata. It is a reciprocal relationship with all that is around us – we belong to the land, the river and the seas and it is our responsibility to protect and nurture it for mokopuna to come.

 

For those starting out on their whakapapa journey, I say learn it by making the connections. Bathe in your awa, climb your maunga, be with your people. They will teach you more than reading your whakapapa on a screen or piece of paper ever will.

 

 

What is your connection to the Nelson Tenths whenua?

 

My tūpuna Inia Te Hunahuna nō Te Ātiawa and Mohoao, Hariata Mohoao and Raima Mohoao nō Ngāti Koata were of the many enterprising rangatira that entered into the formal agreement with the Crown to establish the town now known as Nelson.

 

This is a history I learned during my time interning for Wakatū and also being a participant on the Taiohi Wānanga. I feel so privileged to have been able to wānanga, mahi and be sustained in our homelands. An experience that changed the trajectory of my life! Once you learn the atrocities our whānau endured, you can’t see life in the same way.

 

Learning our histories affirms to me that knowledge is power and ever since I was introduced to our rohe and pūrākau, I have maintained a burning feeling in my puku to fight for our whakapapa and our indigenous way of life.

 

Tell us about your tūpuna on the Native Land Court List, 1892

 

Inia Te Hunahuna come on the hekenga down from Waitara to Waikanae. He then went with the boatload of Kaitangata to live in Collingwood, in the Whakatū region.

 

Koro Inia is immortalised in the whare tūpuna Te Ao Mārama, at Onetahua marae in Mohua (Golden Bay).

 

 

Describe your own whakapapa journey

 

Being Māori is something I always knew I was. I think I am so privileged to have a family that valued going back to our homelands in Taranaki. It was in Taranaki that I was given an understanding of my whakapapa. That was because my aunties and uncles always told me who I was. They took me to my awa and my maunga. I had a strong foundation to be able to find out more for myself.

 

The generations and generations of strong foundations are what make us able to endure the effects of colonisation. Whakapapa is a reciprocal relationship, the gift of feeling a sense of belong and knowing who I am means that I need to always be in the pursuit of knowledge and kitiakitanga over our identity as Māori.

 

Reconnecting our whānau to each other and to their whenua is integral to Making the Tenths Whole. We are actively working to bring our whānau back together. If you believe that, like Sophie, you whakapapa to any of the tūpuna identified on the Native Land Court list, 1892, we warmly welcome you to complete this whakapapa form.

 

 

 

Johny O’Donnell has been a vocal supporter of Making the Tenths Whole – lending his voice and his platform to speak out on our behalf to media and hold politicians to account.   

 

 

 

Why was it important to be present at the hearing?

 

Turning up to court was important to show support for the whānau, especially those who have spent weeks in this courtroom having their identity and history cross-examined, to undermine them and their mana. I am absolutely in awe of those who have taken the stand and represented their community and their whakapapa so bravely. This is a deeply personal kaupapa and those on the frontline need to feel the aroha and tautoko that surrounds them and their quest for justice.

 

To me, this is not just a fight for the whānau, this is a blight on our whole region that needs resolving. Every single one of us has a responsibility to lend our voices to the injustice that has occurred and stand firmly behind calls for a resolution. I think we all want reconciliation and healing to occur.

 

What do you hope the outcome will be?

 

I do not doubt that the whānau will continue to succeed legally as the evidence is so clearly in their favour. It’s remarkably simple when you boil it down, an agreement was never honoured, and the entity that never honoured it has the means to resolve that. So they have no choice in my view, they’re just kicking the can down the road and disappointingly spending millions throwing good money after bad in an intergenerational battle that can be resolved.

 

I genuinely hope the Crown have a change of heart and realise their strategy of avoidance is deeply flawed. By not engaging in good faith and resolving this, they are continuing to diminish their mana. I want them to know that we are all watching.

 

What words would you have for Uncle Rore?

 

E mihi ana ki a koe e te rangatira. I commend your courage, resilience and determination. One of the things that will stick with me most strongly from witnessing the court is how you carry yourself with absolute dignity and never take your eyes off the proceedings. You are an absolute force, not only for your whānau but for the whole of te iwi Māori and indigenous peoples the world over.

 

What can you share about your personal connection to the whānau and whenua?

 

Our childhood home sat on Wakatū owned whenua and we lived through the changes to Māori leasehold law. It was a deeply divisive and difficult time that stirred my interest in this kaupapa from an early age. I always felt privileged to grow up under the mana and the manaaki of mana whenua in Motueka. It’s a very special part of the world and I consider myself lucky to have been fed and nourished by the waters, the whenua and the people of this place.

 

In recent years, I’ve had the honour of working alongside the whānau, which has taken many different forms but has always been driven from the same place – a desire to create better outcomes for Te Tauihu, the community and Te Taiao. To me, that is unwavering and that is what is so exciting about the potential for a settlement here – I just know the potential it will unlock for the whole region.

The sad story of Ramari Harepeka Poria Herewini is one of many to come out of the broken promise of the Nelson Tenths.

 

Ramari was the daughter of Hare Poria. She was the mother of Mere Rore [Mere Edwina Meades]. She married Hare Rore – for whom kaumātua Rore Stafford is named.

 

Most of the land owned by Ramari was in Motueka, and was taken by the Crown.  It is said that when the Crown sent representatives to survey her lands, she would pull out the survey pegs and throw them at the surveyors.

 

For this reason, Ramari was declared insane and was incarcerated in the Ngāwhatu Mental Asylum in Nelson.

 

She was visited at Ngāwhatu by Alfred Domett, an important provincial politician in Nelson. He determined there was nothing wrong with her. Despite this, when he returned two years later she was still incarcerated.

 

Ramari lost her home, her livelihood and her land and was ultimately held in the asylum for three years before being released.

 

In the 1892 hearings, Ramari was one of the most prominent evidence providers for Ngāti Rārua, naming the people who were original owners.

 

In 1893, the Native Land Court named her as one of the original owners of the Tenths Reserves.

 

Sadly, we are not sure where Ramari is buried.

 

This extract of her words comes from the Mackay Compendium, a two-volume compendium compiled by Alexander Mackay when he was the Native Commissioner in the South Island, and now held in the National Library.