Remembering Parihaka and the Pain Caused on Pukeahu

Te Maumahara ki Parihaka me te Mamae i Pāngia i Pukeahu 

Photos / Te Arahori Day

I te pito whakawaho o ngā whare akoranga i Pukeahu, i te taha o te tohu maumahara ki te pakanga, takoto ai tētahi tohu anō mō ngā mauhere i whānakohia i Parihaka, i puritia i ēnei whenua. I raro o te puku i te Huarahi o Tory, ka kitea e koe ngā pereki i mahia mai ā-ringa e ngā tāne Māori, me te moko o te mauhere, he pere, hei hāraunga ki te uku, hei hoa mō ngā makaurangi. 

He whakapapa tō Ahorangi Kura Puke ki Parihaka, me te aha, ānō he pukapuka hītori ia e hīkoikoi ana, tuari ana i ōna mātauranga i tukuna atu ai e tōna iwi. He kaiako ia i te kaupapa Mātauranga Toi Māori i te Kura Toi — he kaupapa hōu e aro nei ki ngā mahinga auaha ao hōu a te Māori. I te tau tuatahi o tēnei kaupapa, he rangi whakature tō te ākonga ki te marae, me tētahi tawhio ā-pahi mō ngā wāhi motuhake e taiāwhio nei i Pōneke, tae rā anō hoki ki ngā whenua o te whare wānanga. 

I tupu ake a Kira i te mātotorutanga o ngā kōrero mō Parihaka, me te mauheretia o ōna kaumātua e rua me tōna matua tupuna kotahi i haramai rā ngā whare herehere o Pukeahu i tō rātou haerenga atu ki Ōtepoti. Nā te tupu tahi ōna me ā rātou tamariki i tānekaha ai te taukaea e here nei ki te whenua. 

Hei tā Kura, i ōna wā he whenua taurikura mō te kai me te wai, ā, i tāmokohia e ngā mimi. Kua teitei ake hoki te puke i mua rā, me he koeko te āhua, ā, i mānawatia he pērā nō tōna āhua i tērā o Taranaki. Ko tētahi tupuna nō Kura te kaitiaki o ngā wai, me te aha anō, i manaakitia ngā tāngata whai tā te mea i paru ō rātou wai. I tūpato te Māori i te whakatō i ngā kai, arā, ka mahia mai tētahi wāhi, heoti ka whitu tau te noho māmore i mua i te mahinga mai anō. Ahakoa he whare pūrokuroku, ka noho anake te Māori i ngā whenua i te takiwā o Āperira e hauhake ai, i te Kōanga hoki e whakarite ai. I āta manaakitia te whenua e ngā tāngata, ka kōrero, ka whakahohe atu hoki ki ngā atua. He wāhi haumaru, ā, he teitei nō te whenua i oti ai i a rātou te kite i te katoa, pēnei i tā ngā ākonga e taea nei i āianei. 

I ēnei rangi, kitea ai tētahi mauhere e tupou ana, kua ūhia ki tētahi paraikete i te tohu maumaharatanga, arā, he pērā anō i te whakaahua rongonui e whakaaturia nei i ngā kupu whakamahuki o te tohu. Ko tā te whakaahua pango me te mā he whakaatu i ngā tāne i tētahi waka waikura i noho ai i te whanga. He tokomaha i mate i ngā waka, i te whare herehere hoki nā te horanga māuiuitanga. 

Ko te pōuri, kāore tonu ētahi i te kite i te kiko tūturu o te pakoko, nāwai nāwai, ka kitea tētahi hanga ure i te tirohanga tuatahitanga. Kei te mārama hoki a Kura ki ā ētahi whakapae kua rerekē te āhua, engari mēnā tātou i Te Moana Nui a Kiwa, i Āhia rānei, he māori ake nei tēnei āhuahanga. He tikanga hōhonu tō te kōhatu i ngā ahurea taketake, he mauri tōna. Kitea ai tēnei i ngā kōhatu mauri pēnei i te pounamu, “E tūhono pai nei i a tātou ki te orokohanga.” 

I kokorahongia a Pukeahu e te Karauna i te 1840 — arā, i whānakohia ngā whenua i ngā iwi o Taranaki, o Te Ātiawa, ā, ka whakahakahakangia te puke, ka whakatūria ngā whare hōia me ngā whare pirihimana, tae rā anō hoki ki tētahi whare herehere. I te 1881 ka urutomongia a Parihaka, tētahi wāhi waiwaiā i rongonui ai i te ātete mārie a te Māori, e ngā hōia Pākehā. I aua wā, kua hia tau mauherea ai ngā tāne, engari ko tēnei urutomonga te karamata o tā te kāwanatanga mahere e whānakohia ai ngā whenua o Taranaki. I mauherea ngā tūpuna o Kura he parau nā rātou, “I whakatau rātou kia kore e whai wāhi atu ki ngā whakawetiweti. Na, ka whakatau kia parau tonu i ō rātou whenua. Engari auare ake, ka mauherea tonutia. 

“Ka mauheretia rātou tē whakawāngia, i herea hoki rātou tē whakawāngia. Nā reira, kāore i tino kitea.” I waiho ngā wāhine o Parihaka i te ururuatanga o ngā whenua pīrere, karapotia ana e ngā hōia.  

Ahakoa ēnei hītori roroa, me he pourewa te tū o te Tohu Maumahara Pakanga o te Motu i Pukeahu, whakahōnore kē ana i ngā pakanga i tū i tāwāhi. He whakaataata tēnei o tō te Māori oranga i Aotearoa. Hei tā Kura, “Koia tēnā ko te whakatuanuitanga. Engari he pērā hoki te pūnaha tāmitanga. Ā, koia tō tātou ao.” 

E kitea tonutia nei te mamae i pāngia i ngā kongakonga kua hora ake i Pōneke, i ngā pereki i whakahaungia te mahinga mai e ngā mauherenga ki te uku i Pukeahu. E ai ki a Kura, “Koia anō i mahia mai ai te Aotearoa whakatāmi nei.” Ko ngā tūāpapa whare, ngā wāra, ko te Huarahi o Taranaki, o Tory, o Tinakori, o Shelley Bay hoki ētahi o ngā tūāhanga nā te ringa raupā o te taurekareka. 

Kua urutau ngā pere i ngā pereki ki tētahi tohu e rahi ake ana i te tohu noa a te mauhere. “Ko te nuinga o ngā pere he mahi nā te mauhere Māori. Nā reira, kua Māori i te meinga noatanga ki reira.” Tērā ētahi āhuahanga pere anō he pērā i te raukura — ngā huruhuru manu e toru e tohua nei te rangimārie. 

I te taenga atu o te 1886, kua hūnukutia te nuinga o ngā mauherenga ki Te Waka a Māui, ā, kua whakatūngia tō Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa whare Pae Māhutonga i Pukeahu. I waihape te whiore o ngā mauherenga ki te kāinga i te hiku o te rautau, i pōhiritia ia, i takatū kia whakatikaina ērā mea i poroa. 

He tokomana ngā ākonga i Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa ka hīkoi haere i te tohu maharatanga i ēnei whenua me te kore e mōhio ki tōna tikanga, engari i whakatau te ākonga Te Arahori Day kia whakaahua i tēnā hei mahinga akoranga. Hei tāna, ko tōna tikanga “ko te pāmamae i rangona i ēnei whenua, me te pānga ōna ki ngā hapori i ngā tini pito o Aotearoa.” 

Ko tana kōingo kia tokomaha ake te hunga ākonga e ako nei i ngā hītori mō ngā whenua e tū nei Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, pēnei i a ia i te ihu o tōna tohu paetahi Hoahoa, i te heria o rātou ko tōna akomanga e tōna pouako kia toroa te tohu maharatanga. Ahakoa he tini ngā ākonga kāore i mōhio ki ngā hītori, tērā tonu ētahi ākonga iwi taketake e taea te rongo i tēnā. “He pērā hoki te nui o te mamae ki konei, i taku kōrerotanga atu ki ētahi ākonga iwi taketake, kua taea e mātou te rongo.” Ina koa i tāna ako i te Whare Tominiana tawhito, “i ētahi wehenga i te whare, ka mōrihariha, ka taumaha hoki te rongo ā-puku.” 

Ahakoa te korenga o ō Te Arahori whakapapa ki Parihaka, i hiahia ia kia whakamahia āna whakaahuatanga hei whai wāhitanga e whakaute ai, e whakamana ai hoki i te whenua e ako nei ia. He whai wāhitanga hoki e uiui mai ai ōna hoa ako māhirahira, “E rahi ake nei i te whakaahuatanga noatanga. Ko te tukunga i te mātauranga.” 

I rongo ia i ngā kutukutu ahi mō te āhuahanga ure o te whakapakoko, me te aha anō, e mea ana ia ka pēnā hoki ia ki te kore ia e mōhio ki tōna tikanga tūturu. “Ā kāti, ka paruhi ki ahau te kōrerorero ki te tangata nāna i hoahoa, e toutou ai i ōna whakaaro.” 

Engari i kite ia i te pōhēhē i ngā whakapaenga, i ngā kōrero e mea nei he nui te tikanga o te whakapakoko. “Kāore e kore e pōuri nei tā te tangata tiro atu, me te korenga ōna e whai wā ki te āta hōmiromiro e kitea ai tōna kiko.” 

Ka titiro ia ki te whakapakoko, whakaturite atu ai ki te tohu pakanga ki muri atu: “Ka kite i te rahi o tēnei mea e whakatinana nei i ngā pakanga o tāwāhi i whawhai ai tātou, i hinga ai hoki te hōia, ā, ka kite i tēnei tohu pakupaku noa nei e whakatinana nei i tētahi mea i tū kē mai i konei.” 

E whakaaweawe ana te hītori i ngā akoranga a Te Arahori me ngā whakaakoranga a Kura. Kua whakatau a Kura kia whakaako anake mā te wānanga, e ōrite ai te tūnga me te āheinga kōrerotanga ki te katoa. Ā, e iri nei ngā whakaahua a Te Arahori ki ngā pakitara o tōna rūma moe ‘whare toi’, te noho ai āna mahinga katoa. Ki reira, whakamaharatia ai ia mō tōna anō tūnga i āna akoranga i Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa. 

Ka mutu, ina tau ngā ākonga ki te whai whakaaro atu ki te whenua, ki raro iho i te kōhatu o te tohu nei ka kitea ētahi kōhatu mā e āwhiowhio ana me he mōkehu, e wāwāhitia nei ki ngā rārangi. Ko tā ngā tohu āwhiowhio he whakakanohi i ngā reanga kua ngaro atu, i ngā mauherenga kīhai i hoki mai, ā, ko tā ngā rārangi he tohu i ngā poupou herehere i pēnā ai. Ko tā ēnei he whakaatu i te rahi ake te peinga o Parihaka, tērā i te upoko pōuri noa iho i tētahi puka hītori mō Aotearoa — e pāngia tonutia nei te mamae. 

On the edge of the Pukeahu campus by the war memorial, lies a monument for prisoners taken from Parihaka and held on the land. Down the hill on Tory Street, you’ll find bricks handmade by the Māori men, with the prisoner symbol of an arrow indented into the clay, along with their fingerprints.  

Professor Kura Puke has whakapapa to Parihaka, and is a walking history book, sharing the knowledge her iwi has passed down to her. She teaches for the Mātauranga Toi Māori major of Fine Arts — a new major that focuses on contemporary Māori creative practice. In the first year of this major, students have a compulsory day on the marae and a bus tour of historical sites around Wellington, including the campus land.  

Kura grew up learning about Parihaka, and the imprisonment of two of her great grandfathers and a great great grandfather who came through the Pukeahu prisons on their way to Dunedin. Growing up with their children, she has a strong connection to the land.  

Kura says the campus land used to be a rich area for crops and water, with streams running through it. Previously much higher in a cone shape, the hill was admired because it looked like Mount Taranaki. One of Kura’s ancestors was keeper of the waters, even looking after the settlers because their water was brackish. Māori were careful where they planted crops, using one site and then leaving it to rest for seven years before using it again. While there were some huts, the Māori would only really be on the land around April for harvest time and in Spring to prepare. The people took great care of the land, talking and engaging with the atua (gods). It was a safe spot as the high land let them see everything, as students still can now. 

Today, the stone monument shows the shape of a prisoner with a bowed head wrapped in a blanket, resembling a famous picture shown on a plaque. The black and white photo shows men in on a rusting boat that sat in the harbour. Many died on the boats and in prison from widespread illness.  

Unfortunately, some don’t see the statue for what it really represents, noticing a phallic shape upon first impression. Kura sees how some could find the statue odd-looking, but says if we were in the Pacific or Asia, this form is very ordinary. Stone has strong meaning in indigenous cultures, it has its own life force. Māori see this in mauri stones like pounamu, “It’s really putting us in connection to the beginning of life.”  

Pukeahu was claimed as the Crown’s in 1840 — taking the land from the people of iwi Taranaki Te Ātiawa, lowering the hill, and building army and police barracks and a prison. Parihaka, a beautiful place of peaceful Māori resistance, was invaded by imperial troops in 1881. Men had been taken for years, but this invasion was the climax to the government’s campaign to take Taranaki land. Kura’s ancestors were among the people jailed for ploughing, “They choose not to partake in the bullying. And they choose to continue to plough their land. But then they were getting arrested.”  

“They were arrested without trial, they were jailed without trial. So, they were kind of under the rader.” The women in Parihaka were left in an occupation, surrounded by troops.  

Despite this long history, the National war memorial towers over Pukeahu honouring wars that happened overseas. This is a reflection of how Māori live in Aotearoa. Kura says, “That’s dominating. But so is the colonial system. And that’s how we live.”  

Traces of the mamae (pain) caused lie across Wellington in the bricks prisoners were forced to make from the clay on the Pukeahu hill. Kura says, “It’s actually what built colonial New Zealand.” Building foundations, drains, Taranaki Street, Tory Street, Tinakori Road, and Shelley Bay Road are among some of the infrastructure created from the slave labour.  

The arrows on the bricks have adapted to something more than just a prisoner symbol. “Most of the arrows were put there by Māori prisoners. And so just the way they put them there makes them Māori.” More iterations of the arrows appear like the raukura – the three feathers of peace.  

By 1886, most of the prisoners had been moved to the South Island, and Massey’s Wellington School of Designed was established on Pukeahu. The last of the prisoners were returned home just before the turn of the century, welcomed with a pōwhiri, ready to rebuild what had been destroyed.  

Many Massey students walk past the monument on campus without knowing what it means, but student Te Arahori Day decided to photograph it for class. She says it represents “the trauma felt on this land and the impact that has had on communities in so many places around Aotearoa”.  

She wished more students were taught the history of the whenua Massey sits, as she was at the start of her Design degree when her teacher took the class to visit the monument. And while many students don’t know the history, some indigenous students can feel it. “There’s actually a lot of mamae here that when I talk to a lot of indigenous students, we can feel it.” Particularly when she studies in the old Dominion Building, “I leave sometimes feeling really icky and heavy”.  

While Te Arahori does not whakapapa to Parihaka, she wanted to use her photography as a chance to show respect and acknowledge the whenua she studies on. It was also a chance for her curious peers to ask questions, “It’s just more than just taking some pictures. It’s educating.”  

She’d heard the phallic rumours about the statue, and admits that she would have thought the same if she didn’t know its true meaning. “I mean, I’d love to talk the person who designed it and see if they thought about it.”  

But she saw ignorance in the assumptions, saying the statue holds so much meaning. “I think it definitely is unfortunate that people do look at it like that and that they don’t take the time to just have a closer look and see what it is about.”   

She looked at the statue compared to the war memorial behind it: “Seeing how large this thing is that represents wars overseas that we’ve fought in and the fallen soldiers over there, with this tiny memorial that represents something that happened here.”  

The history influences both how Te Arahori studies and how Kura teaches. Kura chooses to only teach in wānanga, where everyone has equal presence and everyone gets a say. And Te Arahori has her photos on the wall of her ‘art gallery’ like bedroom, where she keeps all her work. They are there to remind her where she stands when she studies at Massey.  

And if students take time to look down at the whenua, below the stone of the monument you’ll find white stones spiraling in circles like fern fronds, broken up by lines through them. The swirling symbols represent lost generations for the prisoners who never returned, and the lines show the prison bars that caused this. They show that the Parihaka displacement is more than just a dark chapter in Aotearoa history — the mamae lives on.