Mobile Unit. Kāwhia history

Edward Schnackenberg, a former newspaper editor and journalist of Kāwhia, tells the history of the area around Kāwhia in the North Island, from the arrival of Kupe. He talks about the development of Kāwhia after the arrival of the Europeans, and his father's experiences as a missionary. He also discusses the Māori language, tapu and mākutu, Māori navigation, and folklore.

Part 1 –
Begins with Māori legend of Kupe, including his exploration of the East coast, around Wellington to Patea and Taranaki, up to Raglan. Kupe gave the land the name “Aotearoa”. Mr Schnackenberg tells of the journey to Aotearoa led by Turi, the waka Aotea, and the stock and livestock brought over.
[The story is interrupted a number of times by a telephone ringing.]

Part 2 –
Mr Schnackenberg continues the story of Māori settlement of Aotearoa. He tells of the waka Tainui from Hawaiki. He tells of the naming of the waka, and the tree it was carved from. The Tainui made landfall at a number of places from Auckland to Mōkau - the tribes of the area are descended from the occupants of Tainui, Mr Schnackenberg then lists them. Then tales of Hoturoa and Rakataura.

Part 3 –
Tales of Hoturoa and Rakataura continued, beaching of the Tainui at Mōkau, then Hoturoa travelled North and met Rakataura at Whareorino. Followed by tales of further travel, and Hoturoa’s wife Whakaoterangi planting the first kumara, harvested and stored near Waipapa – sufficient food supply for the whole tribe over the Winter. Some occupants of the Tainui were at Otahuhu, and populated the isthmus of Auckland. Tells of the naming of Kāwhia , then tales of construction of pā – by Turi at Patea, and at Kāwhia .

Part 4 –
Mr Schnackenberg speaks about the influence of missionaries on Māori life. Begins with the arrival of Reverend Samuel Marsden in 1814 for the CMS (Church Missionary Society), followed by Samuel Lay who established a Methodist mission house at Whangaroa – transferred to Hokianga in 1827. Then tells of missionaries in the Waikato – Reverend Morgan, Reverend Ashwell, and Archdeacon Robert Maunsell. Then he speaks about the Waikato River and the flourmills which sprung up along its banks. On the coast, cereal crops were also developed under missionary direction - including Reverend John Whiteley, a missionary in the area from 1836. Mr Schnackenberg then speaks further on agricultural crops - trade, and barter of produce with local Māori.

Most wheat and maize from the region was shipped abroad, transported by Māori to the ships in closely woven kits. Bacon was prepared in hollow logs, great quantities of potatoes were grown, and fruit was also plentiful – all for export. War broke out in 1863, and all this industry died out and Kāwhia port harbour was closed. Traders such as J. W. Ellis then set up stores on the frontier, and goods were bartered for there. Mr Schnackenberg then talks of King Tawhiao emerging from the King Country, and the aftermath of the New Zealand Wars. European settlement on the coast around Kāwhia from around 1901-1902. Mr Schnackenberg then goes back to the story of the six men left at Aotea Harbour by Kupe.

Part 5 –
Mr Schnackenberg says that Kāwhia is regarded as the “cradle of the Māori race”, and recounts a saying from King Tawhiao comparing the North Island to a stingray or skate, with its head at Wellington and its tail at Northland – and the West Coast is the body and soul of the Māori people.

Part 6 -
Further on Turi, who was directed by Kupe to find a river flowing into the Western sea with good land around for growing kumara and other crops. Patea was chosen as fitting this description. Turi named all the rivers between Kāwhia and Patea.

Part 7 –
Translation of part of the haka “Ka Mate”, and a recital of it in Te Reo Māori. Mr Schnackenberg disputes the origins of this haka, usually attributed to Te Rauparaha. He argues that it was composed much earlier by a Ngāti Hikairo chief, named Te Huki.

Part 8 –
E.H. Schnackenberg speaks about his father. The Reverend Cort Henry Schnackenberg was in charge of the mission stations at Mōkau, Kāwhia , and Raglan from 1843 to 1880. He arrived in Kāwhia in 1839, after a shipwreck off the coast. He was saved from the wreck by a young Māori who swum out to bring him ashore. After the wars, in 1867 Reverend Schnackenberg took over the Raglan mission station. He had great mana with the local Māori, including King Tawhiao. Then E.H. Schnackenberg speaks about his own education and work. He speaks fairly fluent Māori, goes on to discuss change in the Māori language, and difficulties in translating old waiata and verse. Then speaks about mākutu, and Māori interest in hypnotism.

Part 9 –
Story of Hone Te One obtaining his large canoe, to transport goods across the Aotea Harbour. Mr Schnackenberg tells of the difficulty of transporting the canoe to the harbour. Further discussion on mākutu and tapu, then moko (tattooing). Followed by the story of the tapu on the pohutakawa where the Tanui was moored. He then discusses Māori navigation, and some people’s scepticism that it was possible to travel from Tahiti or Hawaiki to Aotearoa without maps.

Parts 10 –
Mentions early Māori navigational skills, describing a Māori quadrant made from a calabash with drilled holes and water as a level. He praises their understanding of astronomy and ability to navigate with accuracy on land and sea. The stars were used to aid navigation at night, and the sun during the day.

Parts 11 and 12 –
Physical features of the coast near Kāwhia and Aotea Harbour, and the winds experienced there. Tale of a taniwha of the area who warns his people of an incoming storm or fine weather, and his transformation from a man into a taniwha, Te Ata-i-o-rongo. The taniwha story is continued in part 12, with the story of the waka Te Waruhanga.

Part 13 –
Continuation of story of the waka Te Waruhanga, and Te Ata-i-o-rongo. The waka held 140 warriors. A voyage was arranged to go out and avenge the death of Te Ata-i-o-rongo – Mr Schnackenberg tells of the journey and vengeance by Te Ata’s son. In the telling, he includes a recitation of a karakia.