Naati News

Pa Tauremu

100 years ago in 1923, Te Rangihīroa along with Elsdon Best, Johannes Andersen and James McDonald, a photographer and cinematographer were hosted by Apirana Ngata and his whanau, they spent three weeks collecting Matauranga Māori for the Dominion Museum. As part of their mahi they built a Pa Tauremu, sadly it was to be the last ever recorded catch of Upokororo in the Waiapu. We were privileged to be there and see history recreated and to capture it for future generations.

A big mihi to AWA -Artists for Waiapu Action for allowing us to be a part of a truly special day ❤️‍

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Ngutukaka

Ngutukaka or the Kākābeak is named for its beautiful red flowers, which hang in clusters of 15-20 blooms and are shaped like a kaka's beak. There are two species, both seriously threatened with extinction in the wild: Clianthus puniceus and Clianthus maximus. Its conservation status is Nationally Critical and is found only in New Zealand, with its closet relative in Australia. A ngutukaka recovery group meeting was recently held at Pokai Marae, Tikapa. We sent Te Ata Tanirau-Wickliffe along to take a look at their mahi.

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‍Maori Battalion Next Generation

Hirini Reedy is walking 300km along East Coast State Highway 35 from Tarakeha (Ngai Tai) to Turanga (Gisborne)Honouring and remembering our 28 Maori Battalion legacy, the 75th anniversary of Moana Ngarimu's Victoria cross presentation as well as witnessing the state of the environment in C-Company Rohe. It’s the third time Hirini has retraced the footsteps of the 28 Battalion March, this time with looking closer at the state of the health of our land and waterways. He hopes his hikoi will inspire our next generation of Maori Battalion to look closely at what sacrifices our forefathers made, why they made them and how we can use those examples to help in the fight rectifying our land, waterways and kapata kai.

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‍Erosion Control Knowledge Sharing

Waiapu Land Owners, MPI representatives and Gisborne District Council Staff recently met to look at local solutions to the erosion problems happening along the banks of the Waiapu River. The group visited local sites to see the excellent results of the work achieved by locals in conjunction with GDC and MPI. Warwick Olsen and Pete Kahukaka from the Waiapu Work Trust guided the group to various sites along the Waiapu River starting from The Rotokautuku Bridge and progressing out to sea.The sites visited included areas greatly impacted by erosion as well as modern erosion control measures in place such as:Debris Dams, Concrete groins, Gabian Erosion Cages, Rock Walls as well as natural solutions using locally sourced natural materials such as Willow, Poplar and Manuka. Pete and Warwick explained the science behind the successful natural based option that they have been implementing for over 40years in the district that the group were able to view up close.Key outcomes of the programme are to protect and enhance the productivity of our lands.The support being sought will enable whanau and hapu, who retain mana over much of the multiple owned land blocks that have not yet been treated, to look at various treatments to the land.  The types of treatments could include:• debris dams supported by tree planting to hold sediment at source,• creating a riparian strip along the Waiapu to both stabilise land and to capture future runoff of sediment and other contaminants that might run into the Waiapu• Strategic training of the river flow • Establishing nurseries to provide the trees that will be needed for the riparian planting.• Teaching local whanau to build debris dams, fences and how to operate nurseries,• Co-ordination of other activities that impact on the waters that feed into the Waiapu to ensure existing efforts are leveraged. The program should see new employment opportunities for locals and greater support for local businesses.