1.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
2.
Marae
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A marae malaʻe, meʻae, malae and mālaʻe is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the word also means cleared, free of weeds, trees, in the Rapanui culture of Easter Island ahu has become a synonym for the whole marae complex). In some modern Polynesian societies, notably that of the Māori of New Zealand, however, in tropical Polynesia, most marae were destroyed or abandoned with the arrival of Christianity in the 19th century and some of them have become an attraction for tourists or archaeologists. Nevertheless, the place where the marae were built are still considered as tapu in most islands, the word has been reconstructed by linguists to Eastern Oceanic *malaqe with the meaning open, cleared space used as meeting-place or ceremonial place. Like the related institutions of old Polynesia, the marae is a wāhi tapu, in Māori usage, the marae atea is the open space in front of the wharenui or meeting house. However, the marae is generally used to refer to the whole complex, including the buildings. This area is used for pōwhiri – welcome ceremonies featuring oratory, some marae do not allow women to perform oratory there. The meeting house is the locale for important meetings, sleepovers, the wharekai is used primarily for communal meals, but other activities may be carried out there. Many of the associated with marae in tropical Polynesia are retained in the Māori context. For example, the word refers to the bench where the speakers sit. Marae occur in various sizes, with some wharenui being a bit bigger than a double garage, a marae is a meeting place registered as a reserve under the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993. Each marae has a group of trustees who are responsible for the operations of the marae, the Act governs the regulation of marae as reservations and sets out the responsibilities of the trustees in relation to the beneficiaries. Generally each marae has a charter which the trustees have negotiated with the beneficiaries of the marae, the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute Act,1963 was passed and the institute built to maintain the tradition of Whakairo. The NZMACI is responsible for the restoration and building of over 40 marae around New Zealand, like in pre-European times, marae continue to be the location of many ceremonial events, including birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries. The most important event located at marae is the tangihanga, tangihanga are the means by which the dead are farewelled and the surviving family members supported in Māori society. As indicated by Kaai and Higgins, the importance of the tangihanga, most iwi, hapū, and even many small settlements have their own marae. An example of such a settlement with its own marae is at Hongoeka Bay, Plimmerton. Since the second half of the 20th century, Māori in urban areas have been establishing intertribal marae such as Maraeroa in eastern Porirua, for many Māori, the marae is just as important to them as their own homes
3.
Whakatane
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Whakatāne is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand,90 km east of Tauranga and 89 km north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. Whakatāne District is the territorial authority, which covers an area to the south and west of the town. Whakatāne has an population of 19,600, making it New Zealands 24th largest urban area. Another 15,400 people living in the rest of the Whakatāne District, around 40% of the districts population have Māori ancestry. The District has an area of 4,442.07 km2. Whakatāne District was created in 1976, Whakatāne forms part of the parliamentary electorate of East Coast, represented by Anne Tolley of the New Zealand National Party. It is the seat of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Whakatāne was affected by the 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake. The site of the town has long been populated, Māori pā sites in the area date back to the first Polynesian settlements, estimated to have been around 1200 CE. According to Māori tradition Toi-te-huatahi, later known as Toi-kai-rakau, landed at Whakatāne about 1150 CE in search of his grandson Whatonga. Failing to find Whatonga, he settled in the locality and built a pa on the highest point of the now called Whakatāne Heads. Some 200 years later the Mataatua waka landed at Whakatāne, the name Whakatāne is reputed to commemorate an incident occurring after the arrival of the Mataatua. The men had gone ashore and the canoe began to drift, wairaka, a chieftainess, said “Kia Whakatāne au i ahau”, and commenced to paddle, and with the help of the other women saved the canoe. The region around Whakatāne was important during the New Zealand Wars of the mid 19th century, particularly the Volkner Incident. Its role culminated in 1869 with raids by Te Kootis forces, Whakatāne beach heralded an historic meeting on 23 March 1908 between Prime Minister Joseph Ward and the controversial Māori prophet and activist Rua Kenana Hepetipa. Kenana claimed to be Te Kootis successor, the town was a notable shipbuilding and trade centre from 1880 and with the draining of the Rangitikei swamp into productive farmland from 1904, Whakatāne grew considerably. In the early 1920s it was the fastest growing town in the country for a period of three years and this saw the introduction of electricity for the first time. The board mill at Whakatāne began as an operation in 1939 but has grown over the years. Remnants of the watercourse remain as Lake Sullivan and the Awatapu lagoon
4.
Treaty of Waitangi
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The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand. It resulted in the declaration of British sovereignty over New Zealand by Lieutenant Governor William Hobson in May 1840, the Treaty established a British Governor of New Zealand, recognised Māori ownership of their lands, forests and other properties, and gave the Māori the rights of British subjects. In return the Māori people ceded New Zealand to Queen Victoria, the English and Māori versions of the Treaty differed significantly, so there is no consensus as to exactly what was agreed. From the British point of view, the Treaty gave Britain sovereignty over New Zealand, Māori believed they ceded to the Crown a right of governance in return for protection, without giving up their authority to manage their own affairs. After the initial signing at Waitangi, copies of the Treaty were taken around New Zealand, in total there are nine copies of the Treaty of Waitangi including the original signed on 6 February 1840. Around 530 to 540 Māori, at least 13 of them women, in the 1970s the treaty gained prominence amid greater awareness of Maori issues and grievances, particularly with regard to land claims. Māori have looked to the Treaty for rights and remedies for land loss and unequal treatment by the state, from the late 1960s Māori began drawing attention to breaches of the Treaty, and subsequent histories have emphasised problems with its translation. In 1975, the Waitangi Tribunal was established as a permanent commission of inquiry tasked with researching breaches of the Treaty by the British Crown or its agents, the move showed that the original document was not a firm foundation for the construction of a State. Today the Treaty is generally considered the document of New Zealand as a nation. Despite this, it is often the subject of heated debate, many Māori feel that the Crown did not fulfil its obligations under the Treaty, and have presented evidence of this before sittings of the Waitangi Tribunal. Some non-Māori New Zealanders have suggested that Māori may be abusing the Treaty in order to claim special privileges. The Crown, in most cases, is not obliged to act on the recommendations of the Tribunal but nonetheless in many instances has accepted that it breached the Treaty and its principles. Settlements for Treaty breaches to date have consisted of hundreds of millions of dollars of reparations in cash and assets, the date of the signing has been a national holiday, now called Waitangi Day, since 1974. Between 1795 and 1830 a steady flow of sealing and then whaling ships visited New Zealand, mainly stopping at the Bay of Islands for food supplies, many of the ships came from Sydney. Trade between Sydney and New Zealand increased as traders sought kauri timber and flax and missionaries purchased large areas of land in the Bay of Islands. The purchase of muskets by Ngāpuhi in Sydney began a devastation of the Māori population in a series of as many as 3000 tribal battles known as the Musket Wars between 1807 and 1845. In 1831, thirteen chiefly rangatira from the far north of the country met at Kerikeri to compose a letter to King William IV asking for help to guard their lands. Specifically, the chiefs sought protection from the French, the tribe of Marion, in response, the British government sent James Busby in 1832 to be the British Resident in New Zealand
5.
Opotiki
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Opotiki /ɔːpɔːˈtɪki/ is a small town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. Its Māori population ranks 36th in size out of the 73 districts in New Zealand,0.9 percent of New Zealands Māori population usually live in Opotiki District. Iwi based within the district are, Te Whakatōhea from Ohiwa Harbour to Opape, ngāti Tai are based in Torere. Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and hapu Te Ehutu cover the area from Hawai to Potaka, the district is predominantly steep hills dissected by fast-flowing rivers, the largest being the Motu. The coastal riverine floodplains and terraces provide the only flat land, Opotiki township is situated on the largest flat at the conjunction of two of these, the Otara River and the Waioeka River. Current human population is concentrated in the coastal southwest. The district has an area of 3,104.54 km². The town of Opotiki is situated exactly on latitude 38° South, summer temperatures reach the mid-20s on the coast and encourage a continuation of the beach culture of the Bay of Plenty. Winter days are often cloudless, the temperature never drops below freezing. Winter snow falls along the crest of the ranges, and on the peaks may remain for a few weeks. Severe localised rainstorms may occur in the country and have caused flash flooding including past inundations of Opotiki township. The active volcano Whakaari/White Island lies offshore and represents a tsunami risk, earthquakes are also a risk, but the district lies just off to the east of major fault lines and the risk is less than in other nearby areas. There are no mineral resources, although the greywacke contains rare decapitated guyots which have been mined in the past for gold. Natural vegetation is preserved in parts of the district because of the unsuitability of steep land for cultivation. The district is at a geographic and climatic boundary. A remnant sea-level stand of an alpine southern beech exists at the head of Ohiwa Harbour, coastal forest consists of pōhutukawa trees, nikau palms, and many small shrubs belonging to genera such as Pseudopanax, Coprosma etc. Of particular note are a daisy-flowered shrub Olearia pachyphylla endemic to the district, the canopy is dominated by tall trees such as tawa, puriri and pukatea heavily populated by epiphytes and lianas which include a pandanaceous climber. The understory contains many ferns of various sizes including tree ferns up to 10 m high, the giant stinging nettle Urtica ferox, in mountainous areas the rainforest gives way to less dense Nothofagus beech forest
6.
Waka (canoe)
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Waka are Māori watercraft, usually canoes ranging in size from small, unornamented canoes used for fishing and river travel, to large decorated war canoes up to 40 metres long. The earliest archaeological find of a canoe in New Zealand was reported in 2014 and it was found near the Anaweka estuary in a remote part of Tasman and carbon dated to about 1400. The canoe was constructed in New Zealand, but was a sophisticated canoe, Waka taua are large canoes manned by up to 80 paddlers and are up to 40 metres in length. The gunwale is raised in some by a continuous plank which gives increased freeboard, the resurgence of Māori culture has seen an increase in the numbers of waka taua built, generally on behalf of a tribal group, for use on ceremonial occasions. Traditionally the war canoe was highly tapu, no cooked food was allowed in the craft and the waka had to be entered over the gunwales, not the bow or stern which were highly decorated with powerful symbols. Canoes were often painted black or white with black representing death. The main colour was red which stood for tapu, sometimes a waka would be placed upright as a marker for a dead chief with the curved bottom of the hull carved. Māori told missionaries during the Musket wars that battles between waka took place at sea with the aim being to ram an enemys waka amidships at high speed, the ramming vessel would ride up over the gunwale and either force it under water or cause it to roll over. The enemies were killed, left to drown or captured to be used in cannibal feasts or as slaves if they were female. This description matches the attack on the boat of Abel Tasman in Golden Bay in 1642 when a Māori catamaran rammed a cock boat and 4 Dutch sailors were killed. During the classic period a hapū would select a Totara tree, Totara is a lightweight wood with a high natural oil content that helps prevent rot. This would include the removal of bark from one side of the trunk and the clearing of the ground, after chants and prayers the tree would be felled by a combination of fires around the base and chopping with hand adzes. On an especially large tree with aerial roots a stage about 3m high was built of wood, on this was built a framework on which was suspended a giant upside down toki, about 2. 5m long. The long axis of the toki was tied to the member of the upper frame work so that it could pivot back and forwards. Heavy rocks were tied to each side of the axis at its lowest point to give momentum. The toki was pulled back and released so that the cutting edge bit into the wood that was weakened by fire and it could take two to three weeks to cut down a large tree in this manner. The head of the tree and branches were removed then the hull was roughly shaped in situ using fire and hand adzes, a stone adze was used by relatively gentle but regular and repeated blows. The head was soaked in water to make the binding swell, once the shaping was complete, the log of 3–4 tonnes was pulled by teams of men to a stream or river using multiple ropes made from raupo
7.
Paratene Matchitt
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Paratene Matchitt is a New Zealand sculptor and painter. He is known for combining traditional Māori art forms with those of modernist art and his work also references events from New Zealand history, particularly the Māori prophetic movements of the nineteenth century and most specifically Te Kooti. Paratene Matchitt was born in Tokomaru Bay, East Cape and he is of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Te Whakatōhea and Ngāti Porou descent. Matchitt attended St Peter’s Maori Boys College, matchitts art formation began with helping his father and grandfather on his workshop at Edgecombe. He went to Auckland Teachers Training College in 1955 and 1956, after graduating as a teacher, he took a Dunedin-based course in teaching arts and crafts in schools. In 1957, he began his career as arts and craft adviser for the South Auckland Education Board and he was one of the artists who pursued Māori Arts and Crafts courses at Ruatoria with Pine Taiapa. In November 1964, Matchitt was exhibited with other major Māori artists in Hamilton, at the time of the Te Pakanga commission in 1974, Matchitt was an Arts Advisory Officer in South Auckland. Matchitt is best known for his public sculpture such as the City to Sea Bridge in Wellington. Matchitts Ringatu III in Alison Park on Waiheke Island had to be restored at the cost of $8000 after being hit by taggers, Matchitt was jailed for two and a half years in 2001, convicted of sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl, although he said the relationship was consensual. In 2006 the High Court at Napier threw out charges against Matchitt of drugging and date-raping a 29-year-old woman, works in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
