Māori Language Week: Why Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei want to make ...
Our father would talk with pride, tinged with a little melancholy as he painted pictures in our minds with his beautiful kōrero of our tūpuna as they joined with government officials and Pākehā gathered at Te Rerenga Oraiti (Point Britomart) to celebrate the foundation of the city of Auckland.
I would close my eyes and imagine the cheers, and cannon salute, and the raising of the British flag. I would tilt my head to try to listen for the sound of our Ngāti Whātua waka crew chant as their huge canoe surged alongside European ships on the Waitematā to commemorate the occasion.
We would recall the deliberations of our ancestor Apihai Te Kawau, guided by his advisers and tohunga, who in 1840 made a decision that would forever alter the lives of my Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei people and lay the foundation for the city of Auckland.
Early that year, a delegation of Ngāti Whātua chiefs journeyed to the Bay of Islands under the direction of Apihai Te Kawau to invite Governor-Lieutenant Hobson and his government to Tāmaki. Te Kawau allocated a 3000-acre wedge of land, valued by Hobson for its deep harbours and fertile lands. This land, stretching from Maungawhau to Mataharehare (Parnell), across to Ōpou (Cox’s Creek), and back to Maungawhau, was known as a Tuku Whenua. It was not a gift or sale, but a lasting bond between Ngāti Whātua and the Crown, symbolising mutual support and partnership.
As I listened back then to the words of my papa, I would try also to imagine what life for my people would have been, had the capital not been moved to the heartland of our whenua. What Aotearoa would be like today, if the capital had remained in the north.
In time, I too shared the kōrero of my father with my tamariki. Like me, they would then ask the question: “why do we not all acknowledge and celebrate this important day for our city?”
Like my father, I have and continue to reflect on this question.
This leads me to the purpose of this opinion, which is to urge all the 1.5 million people who now collectively call this city home, to join with my Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei people to carve out an appropriate way to acknowledge and celebrate the true origin of our city.
We deserve a celebration that acknowledges the significance of September 18, 1840. Without the events of that day, the landscape and harbours we know today would be vastly different. Let us come together to honour this true foundation of Auckland, recognising the shared ancestors, both Pākehā and Māori, who laid the groundwork for this city’s formation and growth.
On July 26, 1986, my father passed away, suddenly, I was just 17 years old, and my journey as an adult was just beginning. I still mourn the loss of my father, and many years later, my mother. He would be proud of his mokopuna and of the progress of our Ngāti Whãtua Ōrãkei people.
I can imagine my papa sharing his beautiful gentle smile with me, hearing me continue to share his kōrero on the origins of this city, with his moko, and to those who will listen.
On Wednesday, September 18, I will join with my whãnau and many of my people to commemorate this crucial milestone in the formation of our city. I invite everyone who lives here, has roots here, or has loved ones here to join us in reconnecting with the day that should be considered the real birthday of Tāmaki Makaurau.
Hei konā mai i roto i ngā mihi.
