Auckland Museum blog

Maua ko pou whakarae

“He Whare tu ki te pae he kai na te ahi. He whare tu ki te tuwatawata koira kee te tohu o te rangatira!”

Ko Syd Kirby taku ingoa, no Te Whakatohea ahau, he kaimahi ahau ki Tamaki paenga Hira. Ko tenei pou whakarae tetahi o nga tino taonga e rata ana ahau ki tenei whare taonga. I nga raa o mua he poupou tenei no tetahi paa tuwatawata I tu ki Opotiki mai tawhiti. Koinei tetahi taonga nui ki ahau ta te mea I ahu mai tenei poupou mai I toku rohe I te tairawhiti.

“The unpallisaded fort is food for the fire, the pallisaded fort is truly the sign of chieftainship!”

My name is Syd Kirby, I hail from Te Whakatohea an east Coast tribe. I work here at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. This carved pillar is a carving that is important to me here at the museum. In former times this post was part of the fortified paa at Opitiki. This taonga is a treasure because it comes from my hometown on the East Coast.

Maua ko moa

Kia ora. Ko Jacqueline Snee taku ingoa. Ko Ngati Porou me Ngati Kahungunu oku iwi. Ko ahau te kaitiaki o nga pukapuka raupapa kei Tamaki Paenga Hira.

Ko te Moa Tipua, kei te papa tuatahi taku taonga e noho ana.

Aue e hika maa tona taroaroa hoki! Ko te Moa Tipua te manu tiketike rawa atu i te ao katoa! Ka hoki mahara ki nga tipuna me ta ratou kitenga i tenei manu hautipua ara te Moa. Rokohanga ka kitea ai nga wheua kaitaa o tenei tu momo manu! Ko aua wheua i hahu ake patata ki toku ake wa kainga ki Takapau.

Kare e kore i tupono oku tipuna ki tenei momo manu!

“Hold fast to your language and culture, least they become extinct like the Giant Moa!”

The giant Moa is the tallest bird in the world. When I look at this replica I think of my ancestors and the first time they saw it. According to the korero we ate the Moa. Giant Moa bones have been found on the Takapau plains which is close to my home town in the Hawkes Bay. This is the connection to our ancestors the first peoples of Aotearoa.

Maua ko nga kete

Ko Beth Tauroa toku ingoa,
No Pohara Paa ahau,
He Uri ahau no Waikato.

Kete: Ko Mathew McIntyre Wilson te kairaranga o tenei kete, he uri ia no Taranaki, no Nga Mahanga, me Titahi hoki, nana tonu enei kete i hanga mai.

I rarangahia ai enei taonga ki te waea kappa me te waea hiriwa hoki.

He kete enei taonga, he taonga na nga mahi a te whare pora. He kete enei hei whangai i te hinengaro o te iwi, e titiro ana me pehea te whakauru atu I nga ahuatanga hou ki roto i nga mahi toi o enei raa.

Ki oku nei whakaaro he mea nui kia takoto ngatahi nga taonga tuku iho me nga taonga o tea o hurihuri nei. Kia mohio ai he iwi mauritu te iwi Maori, he iwi ihumanea, he ahurea hihiri hoki!

Maua ko Tohirere Matehaere Tangataware Rawiri (Maori Court, Tamaki Paenga Hera)

He tohunga tōku koroua ki te mahi hāngi. Kei te rongo tonu tōku ihu i ngā hua o āna mahi! Te reka hoki o te mīti poaka, kau hoki, me te paukena, kūmara, rīwai!

Nā, ka tukuna e tōku koro i āna pukenga ki tōku pāpā, heke iho ki ōku tūngaane. A tōna wā pea, ka mau aku mokopuna i tērā mātauranga tino nui ki a tātou te iwi Māori. Tau kē!

Ko te tupuna nei ko Tohirere Matehaere Tangataware Rawiri, engari e mōhiotia whānuitia nei ko Te Ware. Nō Ngāti Whanaunga, nō Ngāi Tai, nō Ngāi Te Rangi.

Ka moe ia i a Maude Moengārangi Tuhimata, nō Tuakau, ka puta ko Te Ruapotaka. Ka moe a Te Ruapōtaka i a Ngāpuāwai Rose Barlow, nō Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Whātua hoki, ka puta ko au.

Ki te reo Ingarihi (In the English language)

This tupuna is Tohirere Matehaere Tangataware Rawiri, but he was known by everyone as Te Ware. His iwi are Ngāti Whanaunga, Ngāi Tai, and Ngāi Te Rangi.

He married Maude Moengārangi Tuhimata, who was from Tuakau, and Te Ruapotaka was born. Te Ruapōtaka married Ngāpuāwai Rose Barlow, from Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Whātua, and I was born.

My grandfather was an expert at making hāngi. My nose can still smell the fruits of his work! So delicious was the pork, beef, pumpkin, kūmara, and potatoes!

Anyway, my koro passed on his skills to my father, who passed them down to my brothers. Perhaps in time, my grandchildren will attain that knowledge that is so important to us. Awesome!

Ko Antoine Coffin tēnei, nō Ngaiterangi me Ngāti Ranginui. He uri ahau o ngā tūpuna o Tauranga Moana. Nā ratau i hanga mai ēnei kōhatu. Ko te whakaaro o ngā kaihuakanga, ngā ‘bowling balls’ mō ngā mea takaro porowhiu.

He kōhatu orooro nō Tauranga Moana.

Original gallery label: Nothing is known of the Maori name or use of stone discs found in the Tauranga District. They are, however, similar to stone discs found in Hawaii, and it has been suggested that they were used in a similar game of bowls.

Rite tonu te kīhatu orooro ki ngā papa kuti o tēnei wa.  He hoanga hoki mō ngā kai.  Ko ngā kai oroorotia me pakarutia, he aruhe, he rongoa, he kaimoana hoki.  E pai ana te taonga ki te hikitia, mai tena ki tera o nga wahi.  Te patu aruhe me te kōohatu orooro e mahi ngatahi.

Ahakoa, e katakata ana ahau ki nga korero i runga i te tapanga, kaore e tika.  Ko te korero tuturu, he kōhatu ma te mahi kai. Ko te mahi kai, hei whangaitia ta matou tinana.

Maua ko Hinana ti uta, Hinana ki tai ('Maori Court West', Tamaki Paenga Hira)

Ko Kotuku Tibble toku ingoa, no Ngati Tuwharetoa ahau. He uri ahau no Iwikau nana i hanga mai i tenei paataka kai, hei tohu mo te kaupapa whakatuu i te Kingi Maori I Pukawa ki te pito taitonga o Taupo moana i te tau 1856.

Hinana ki uta, Hinana ki tai! He paataka kai tenei no Ngati Tuwharetoa.

He paataka tenei hei pupuri i nga kai, hei whangai i te taha tinana i te taha wairua hoki o te tangata.

Tino kaingakau ahau ki tenei taonga, ka taea e au te hono atu ki oku tupuna.

Ka mau te wehi!