Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
[Te Aute haka (14 secs)]
[Colonial male voice] In the evening we crossed to Te Aute, a beautiful clean settlement with
a fine clump of forest and beautiful grazing land around it.
[Narrator] Southern Hawke's Bay is the home of one of New Zealand's most famous Māori
schools as well as the site of the longest place name in the world. The place name marks
a hill where a Māori ancestor, Tamatea, played his flute in a lament for his twin brother,
who was killed in a skirmish nearby. The place is called Taumata-whakatangihanga-kōauau-o-Tamateaturi-puka-kapi-ki-maunga-horonuku-pokai-whenua-ki-tana-tahu.
It can be literally translated as 'the place where Tamatea-pokai-whenua, the man with big
knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as "the land eater", played his flute
to his loved one'. Tamatea is an important ancestor of the local
Ngāti Kahungunu tribe, whose territory includes Hawke's Bay and the Wairarapa. Tamatea's lament
is still sung at tangi, or funerals. The sign for the longest place-name in the
world is 10 metres long. It lies 55 kilometres to the east of Waipukurau, 4 kilometres to
the south of Porangahau on the road to Wimbledon. During the 1960s, Kiwi folk singer Peter Cape
celebrated the place with a popular song. For those travelling through Hawke's Bay on
the main highway, you can see the country's last road sign in Māori. It can be found
at the edge of the settlement of Waipawa, which is just north of Waipukurau. 500 metres
down Taupairu Road, beside the railway crossing, is the sign. It says 'E Tu! Kia mataara ki
te tima!' which translates as 'Stop! Look out for the steam engine!'
Beyond the sign lies Taupairu marae with its church and village. Once, most Māori lived
in rural communities such as Taupairu, but since the end of the Second World War there
has been a significant migration to the cities. This led to a loss of language and culture
amongst Māori, though in recent times there has been a revival.
Further north of Waipawa, on the main highway, is the famous school, Te Aute College. Set
up to educate young Māori, the school was established at the village of Te Aute in 1854
by Archdeacon Samuel Williams. A plaque in the school's chapel pays tribute to Williams
as 'the life-long friend of the Maori race'. The school, and its sister school Hukarere
Maori Girls' College, have produced some of New Zealand's best-known Māori leaders.
The Te Aute College Students' Association, later the Young Maori Party, was founded by
pupils and former pupils of Te Aute in 1897. Members of this organisation included distinguished
Maori leaders including Māui Pōmare, Te Rangi Hīroa -- also known as Peter Buck,
James Carroll and Āpirana Ngata. The most important concern of the group was the improvement
of Māori health and welfare. Te Aute translates from Māori as a 'mulberry
tree'. The college is named after the Māori village where the school was first located.
Its present site is less than a mile from the school's original site. Te Aute's motto,
which can be heard in the school haka, is 'Whakatangata kia kaha' - acquit yourselves
like men, be strong. Sir Āpirana Ngata was involved in the revival of Māori culture,
including carving, songs, and the language itself.
Though the school has had many illustrious pupils, including Victoria Cross winner Sergeant
Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu, and recently celebrated its 150-year anniversary, Te Aute College
has also suffered many setbacks. It was destroyed by fire in 1918 and then in 1931 the Napier
earthquake caused major damage to the new buildings.
In 1992 Hukarere Maori Girls College was adopted by Te Aute College and girls were admitted
to the school until 2005. Today, Te Aute Collge continues to foster Māori values, attitudes
and language amongst the boys who attend.
[Te Aute haka (18 secs)]