Te Kākahu Huruhuru o te Tiriti was a presentation from Helen Brown, Co-Manager, Ngāi Tahu Archive, Katherine Peet, Network Waitangi Ōtautahi and Amelia Dalley, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
“Mā te kākahu huruhuru o te Tiriti tātau katoa e whakarākei, e whakamahana!
The feathered kākahu of the Treaty must adorn us and warm us all.”
Tā Tipene O’Regan, Kāi Tahu Waitangi Commemorations, Ōnuku, 2019
The day began with the sad news of the passing of Kīngi Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tuawhitu during the early hours of the morning. The relentlessness of Te Mauru – the Norwest wind the previous day had heralded the coming of such news. It therefore seemed almost befitting that I would spend the morning attending a presentation about a kaupapa | subject that Kiingi Tuheitia had championed this past year.
Not so long ago when many of us thought of Te Tiriti o Waitangi | the Treaty of Waitangi, we thought of a single handwritten document signed at a place called Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, Northland on 6 February 1840. Such belief came from years of being taught at school that the Treaty of Waitangi was put in place because the French were coming to claim the Country. There was no acknowledgement of a te reo Māori version much less Te Whakaputanga | Declaration of Independence. Neither was it mentioned handwritten copies were taken around the country to be signed by other Rangatira Māori | Māori Chiefs who were not present on February 6, 1840.
Over the next hour, Helen Brown, Co-Manager, Ngāi Tahu Archive took her audience on a journey through not only Kāi Tahu Tiriti history, but also Aotearoa New Zealand Tiriti history. Kāi Tahu pre-1840 were a grouping of autonomous hapū | clans with shared whakapapa | genealogy. They were trading with takata pora – the boat people (as they were known), such as whalers, sealers and of course among themselves. However, circa 1820s internal tribal politics and a serious breach of tikaka | protocol resulted in the Kai Huaka – Kāi Tahu civil war. Brown's recollection of these events eventually culminated at Takapūneke, an eastern bay in the Akaroa Harbour.
For many, Takapūneke is an insignificant bay which unless you’re heading to Ōnuku Marae, you probably wouldn’t know it was there. But the events that occurred at Takapuneke played an important part in our country’s history, eventually leading to the drafting of Te Tiriti o Waitangi 10 years later. The direct consequence of the complicity of Captain Stewart, the brig Elizabeth and her crew resulting in the capture of Kāi Tahu paramount chief Tamaiharanui and horrendous atrocities inflicted on the people of Takapūneke by Ngāti Toa. Horrified by Stewart's actions, the British government in response appointed James Busby to Aotearoa New Zealand as their representative. Brown noted his role was to be underpinned by the principles of humanity and his key purpose was to ensure there was no mistreatment of Māori by unruly Pākehā.
It was a timely reminder that Busby not only drafted but encouraged Māori chiefs to sign a Declaration of Independence now known as Te Whakaputanga; and it was Busby who created and gained recognition for a flag which local ships could use to sail to Australia which is now known as the flag of the confederation of chiefs. Brown recalled Busby’s role in the drafting of Te Tiriti that was later signed on the lawn of his house at Waitangi – now known as Treaty House. Her focus then returned to Te Waipounamu and to the draft that was brought south by Captain Bunbury on the Herald in May 1840 known as Te Tiriti ki te Manuao Herara.
She questioned Bunbury’s genuine commitment to securing signatures for this document given only gaining seven signatures at three kaika | settlements of the 20 settlements he sailed past without stopping. Brown continued her journey through Kāi Tahu history. Citing as she went the various events, deeds and promises made and then breached or broken. Such was the impact of these broken promises on Kāi Tahu that they are memorialised in the name of the wharetipuna at Arowhenua – Te Hapa o Niu Tireni.
The session concluded with a brief presentation from Katherine Peet, Organiser, Network Waitangi Ōtautahi. Supporting the development of a multicultural Treaty-based future since 1985, Network Waitangi Ōtautahi is a Tangata Tiriti organisation. It provides resources and workshops to help non-Māori understand and support the indigenous status of Tangata Whenua. I would recommend anyone interested in their kaupapa visiting their website for more information.
Both Brown and Peet provided the audience with a number of things to ponder as we dispersed into warm day that awaited us.
Photos
Photos from Te Kākahu Huruhuru o te Tiriti
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