Otaki Street Scene autumn 2023

Ōtaki

STREET SCENE

Libby takes Taniwha film to Berlin p9

What’s on

FORAGING FOR FLAVOUR with Mike King, Sunday March 5, 10am–1pm. Haruātai Park, Mill Rd. Haruātai Park and the old hospital grounds are a great places for foraging, with a real mix of exotics and natives. After a two-hour foraging tour it’s botanical ice-cream tasting time at Ōtaki College’s horticultural gardens. Mike uses icecream as a tool to showcase flavours. Contact Mike 021 141 6637 or info@finderseatersforaging.com

KID’S MARKET AT ŌTAKI MARKET Sunday March 5, 9am–2pm. Opposite New World, SH1. On every month.

CHILDREN’S DAY HOROWHENUA Sunday March 5,10am. Levin Adventure Park, 93 Oxford St, Levin.

MĀORILAND FILM FESTIVAL: March 15-19. See pages 4-7. Website: maorilandfilm.co.nz

MAHARA GALLERY: Mahara iti, the pop-up space in Mahara Place while the new gallery is being built. Free entry. Open 10am-4pm Monday-Friday. Mahara Gallery is staging a three-month programme of free events in Mahara Place, with everything from live concerts and art works on display, to workshops for children. Runs until April 28. See page 9 for more.

MĀORILAND HUB and TOI MATARAU: 68 Main Street, Ōtaki. Open Tues-Sat 11am-4pm.

Talisman Nursery

See: maorilandfilm.co.nz/events

ŌTAKI MUSEUM: 49 Main Street, Ōtaki. Open Thursday-Saturday 10am-2pm. Current exhibition The way we were, glimpses of days gone by. See Otaki Muse on FB or visit otakimuseum.co.nz

Self-catering accommodation set at the back of Talisman Nursery. Ideal for a nice cosy retreat. www.bookabach.co.nz/p20017341

ŌTAKI

Sunday during daylight time

Contact: otakimarket @ outlook.com.

TE HORO COUNTRY

MARKET: Te Horo Community Hall, School Road. First Sunday of the month, 10am12.30pm. Jan Lattie 027 4988 525 or janlattie@gmail. com

ŌTAKI GARAGE

SALE: Third Saturday/ month, 9-11.30am rain or shine, Presbyterian Church, 249 Mill Rd. 06 364-6449.

MARKET: (above) opposite New World, SH1, 9am-2pm every

THE STABLES @ TALISMAN

Appreciating how lucky we are

The latest bout of terrible weather that prompted only the third state of emergency in New Zealand’s history was a reminder that none of us can be complacent.

Ōtaki’s manaakitanga came to the fore as locals responded with supplies and cash to our cousins elsewhere in the country who had been devastated by the worst flooding in recent memory. We know it could happen here.

But as we saw the images and news reports from other regions, it seemed almost surreal in Ōtaki because there was little evidence locally of anything amiss. We got a bit of a breeze – just a hint of Cyclone Gabrielle’s force – and a few patches of rain, but nothing to cause us to abandon what we would do in our everyday lives.

We even got a kite festival in that presented “Sunny Ōtaki” in all its glory. While we basked in the sun and enjoyed the kite festival, our flat whites at local cafes and a swim in the river, it might have occurred to some of us just how lucky we are in this part of Godzone.

But that could all be reversed in a matter of hours as a result of the now glaringly obvious climate change. The flood modelling shows that much of Ōtaki – especially from the beach to the township –could be inundated if we have a severe storm and corresponding king tide. Recent experience in other regions shows us also that unprecedented rain in the hills could cause our rivers to overflow.

We’re very lucky here, but we need to be prepared for when we’re not. The website getready.govt.nz is a good place to start.

Debbi Carson, editor

OTAKI MUSEUM

49 Main Street • Ō taki • 06 364 6886

Discover the heritage of our town and its people, through a changing programme of exhibitions.

CURRENT EXHIBITION

“The way we were, glimpses of days gone by.” FOLLOWED BY “Stories from the Railway.”

COVER IMAGE: Taniwha producer Libby Hakaraia – see page 9

Māoriland world’s biggest

The Māoriland Film Festival is now the biggest indigenous film festival in the world.

The festival celebrates 10 years of indigenous storytelling in March, when it presents more than 140 short and feature films from 150 indigenous nations during the five days from March 15 to 19, in Ōtaki.

MFF director Libby Hakaraia says the 10-year anniversary coincides with the festival becoming the largest international indigenous film festival in the world.

“This year’s festival marks a milestone for indigenous storytelling in Aotearoa. ‘Mā mua e kē anō ai mā muri – We look to the past so the future may be different’ is a fitting theme for our 2023 programme,” she says.

“We started the Māoriland Film Festival in 2014 as a small whānau group of film-makers, lawnmower contractors and a health sciences graduate, as a platform for indigenous film and filmmakers. Since then it has presented more than 2000 indigenous films, hosted hundreds of national and international film-makers, and brought more than double the population of Ōtaki to watch films over the five days each year (12,000+ people).

“We have built the MFF to become a must-attend event for indigenous film-makers, festival directors and industry professionals from all over the world. It’s gratifying to have them tell us that Māoriland is culturally unique, relevant and memorable.”

In addition to an extensive film programme, MFF2023 features the 10th anniversary of the E Tū Whānau Rangatahi Film Awards, VR, XR, AR, and gaming technology, screen industry events, NATIVE Minds lecture series hosted by Tainui Stephens, stunning exhibitions at Toi Matarau gallery and carving of the Māoriland pou (posts) by Te Matatoki carvers, the 2023 Māoriland artists in residence.

He Tekau ngā Tau • THE TENTH

2023 PROGRAMME

The full programme can be viewed on the website: mff.maorilandfilm.co.nz/ mff2023-programme

There’s something for everyone in the line-up, with both short and long form drama spanning from the humorous to the supernatural, sci fi, historical and horror.

Powhiri, Raukawa Marae, Mill Road, Ōtaki. Wednesday March 15, 11am-1pm.

Māoriland Film Festival opens with a formal welcome to manuwhiri tuarangi and official guests of MFF2023.

Raukawa Marae is the principal meeting place of Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga. The marae is one of five closely linked marae in the district. The others are Te Pou o Tainui (Ōtaki), Katihiku (Ōtaki), Wehiwehi (Manakau), and Tukorehe (Kuku).

Keynote speaker: Libby Hakaraia. Rangiātea Church, 33 Te Rauparaha Street, Ōtaki.

Wednesday March 15, 5.30-7.30pm.

The Māoriland keynote address is a personal and historical perspective given by a prominent Māori film-maker.

Celebrating a decade of indigenous storytelling, Libby Hakaraia (above) will be giving the Māoriland keynote address this year, showing excerpts from the Māoriland Films of the 1920s created in Ōtaki, as well as some of the films that have inspired her in her 30+ years in the industry.

Libby will also share the Māoriland vision for the future, including capacity building with rangatahi.

Past Māoriland keynote speakers have been Tainui Stephens, Lawrence Makoare, Larry Parr, Julian and Mabelle Dennison, Rawiri Paratene, Heperi and Awatea Mita, Temuera Morrison, Rena Owen and Waihoroi Shortland.

Put on your most glam outfit and walk the red carpet for the annual Māoriland Red Carpet Party, a celebration of the film-makers and their collaborators at MFF2023. The quartet will take you on a musical

Māoriland Red Carpet Party with the Modern Māori Quartet (above) Māoriland Hub, 68 Main Street, Ōtaki. 8pm-midnight

ride through their “80s mixtape”.

Opening night screening, March 13: Ka Pō. 8pm, Memorial Hall, Main St, Ōtaki.

A young woman escapes an abusive relationship and discovers her roots in this wild Aotearoa-produced indigenous adventure set in the rugged wilderness of Kauai, Hawaii.

In the mountains of Kauai, a drug-addicted native Hawaiian woman, Nanea, lives with her troubled boyfriend, Eli, inside an abandoned school bus. On the night of her mother’s funeral, she reaches breaking point and destroys Eli’s possessions, sending him into a bitter rage. Nanae flees into the surrounding forest. Now on the run, Nanea suffers from drug withdrawal and encounters a mythical creature named Yahdella who sends her on a soulsearching journey. Territorial anger sweeps through the valley sending Eli over the edge and on the hunt for blood. Deep in the forest, Nanea hears the voices of her ancestors, who guide her to an ancient waterfall where her journey of self-discovery takes on an entirely new transformation.

A unique combination of talent comes together to create the lyrical, tragic and meditative NZ-US film Ka Pō, a first feature for Hawaiian director Etienne Aurelius, produced by Oscar-nominee Chelsea Winstanley (Ngati Ranginui, Ngāi te Rangi, Pākehā).

Ka Pō is a magical work that meditates deeply on the tragedy of methamphetamine addiction in Polynesian communities, and how the spirit of the land and the people has the power to heal. The journey of lead actress Mainei Aloha Kinimaka (Kanaka Mao’li) forms the heart of the story, as she flees deep into the forest that holds secrets and her destiny.

Ka Pō is a surprise, coming from the Hawaiian film community, a “native noir” film more akin to Aotearoa films such as Stray or Bad Blood. The Kauai forest is dark and damp and brooding – far, far away from the warm sands of Waikiki. Moments of magical realism mirror the works of Filipino-Native film genius Auraeus Solito, and his Busong Trilogy – mesmerising moments that both surprise and astonish.

Etienne Aurelius is indigenous Filipino (Tumanang tribe) and was raised within his extended native Hawaiian community in Kauai, which informed his love for the a’ina (land) and indigenous storytelling. Etienne spent many years working alongside Jason Momoa and early on in his career made the film We Are Mauna Kea – a documentary highlighting the indigenous struggle against the construction of a 30-metre telescope on sacred lands. Audiences will know Mainei Aloha Kinimaka from Apple+ See starring Jason Momoa, who is Mainei’s cousin.

Tangata Whenua

by Barry Barclay

1974 | 45min | Documentary March 16, 10.30am

Civic Theatre, Main St, Ōtaki. After digital restoration by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, Māoriland is screening the first episode of the 1974 television series Tangata Whenua.

Tangata Whenua was a groundbreaking six-part documentary series that screened in prime time 49 years ago. Each episode chronicled a different iwi and included interviews with kaumātua by historian Michael King. These remain a priceless historical record.

Part 1: In Those Times – Ngākahikatea Wirihana reminisces about her early life at the time of King Mahuta.

Part 2: Moko – Herepo Rongo is the last woman with moko kauae in the Poihâkena community. Māori elders discuss the significance of moko kauae and the role of the kuia who still have them.

Part 3: Herepo's Place – Herepo revisits places of her youth and discusses her present life, looking after her mokopuna. She emphasises the value of land and describes how her community at Raglan lost its land to the government during the war and how the local authorities turned it into a golf course. Features Eva Rickard and family.

Destiny: Iran

Saturday March 18, 3.30pm 72 min. Memorial Hall Main Street, Ōtaki. This warm and intimate observational portrait captures a young woman caught between traditional gender roles and her desire for self-determination, volleyball, and Instagram. After the death of her mother, 18-year-old Sahar is left in charge of her poor, mentally disabled father in an isolated village in Iran. Sahar dreams of attending university and becoming a doctor, but her extended family insists she plays the role of caretaker unless her father remarries.

New Zealand Premiere: Slash/Back: Canada

Sunday March 19, 6pm. 86 min. Memorial Hall, Main St, Ōtaki.

Maika wakes up to another typical day of her summer holiday in the tiny Arctic hamlet of Pang, a sleepy hamlet nestled in the majestic mountains of Baffin Island in the Arctic Ocean; 24 hours of sunlight, no school, no cool boys (well . . . except one). But Maika and her ragtag friends are suddenly forced into action when they uncover an alien invasion. These teens have been underestimated their whole lives, and using makeshift weapons and their horror movie knowledge, they swing into action to defend their home.

Kainga, Friday March 17, 6pm, 85min. Memorial Hall, Main Street, Ōtaki. Kainga navigates the thorny terrain of home in Aotearoa from the perspectives of 11 Pan-Asian women.

Writers and directors from Māori-Chinese Aotearoa, China, Philippines, India, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar and Tamil Eelam, explore the historical connection to tangata whenua, feelings of isolation, community support in lieu of family, home precarity, excitement about making home, longing to be “back home”, being othered at home, and finally claiming home. Each 10-minute story, set in the same house across several decades, honours these experiences one brick at a time.

Libby’s monster movie heads for Berlin

Māoriland Productions lead producer Libby Hakaraia has been selected as one of 29 feature film producers worldwide to participate in the European Film Market (EFM) Fiction Toolbox Programme, taking place in Berlin.

The EFM is one of the most important film markets and a significant international trade event. Libby will be pitching Taniwha, New Zealand’s first authentic monster movie.

The story is set 1000 years ago in ancient Aotearoa, and is written by Ngāti Porou screenwriter Ricardo Giraldo. The film has been in development for the past three years with Māoriland Productions in Ōtaki. Libby is the lead producer, alongside highly experienced Māori producers Tainui Stephens and Desray Armstrong.

“Taniwiha is a film project we’re all very passionate about,” Libby says. “It will be a wholly New Zealand production set in Aotearoa at a time when the largest birds to ever exist filled our forests and our skies.

“Within this epic environment we have created a thriller of a film. It centres on a young couple fleeing tribal warfare only to find themselves in the valley of a hidden, shapeshifting monster: the taniwha.”

Joining forces with Wētā Workshop to fashion the ancient world of Aotearoa New Zealand is an attractive drawcard for meetings at the Berlin film market.

“We are excited by the prospect of a story unique to Aotearoa and [that] emanates from Te Ao Māori – the Māori world,” says Wētā general manager David Wilks. “Wētā Workshop would relish the opportunity to bring our creative capabilities to the production.”

Libby says Māoriland is looking to the skilled New Zealand film production community, including Wētā Workshop, to create a monster to genuinely terrify and thrill monster movie lovers worldwide.

Live art in Mahara Place

Mahara Gallery is staging a three-month programme of free events in Mahara Place, Waikanae, which includes live concerts and artworks on display to workshops for children.

Live Art @ Mahara runs until April 28.

The programme through March and April includes market day tables on March 21 and April 14 outside Mahara Iti, the temporary Mahara gallery.

Kāpiti trumpet player Geoff Culverwell, who has performed at the Wellington and Manawatū jazz festivals, will present a lunchtime concert with his trio on Saturday, April 1. A dancing taniwha and disco dance class will be roaming the mall before Geoff and his trio play.

During the first week of the school holidays in April, REACT will run a continuous workshop for children making musical instruments from recycled materials. The children can then have some fun parading around the mall playing the instruments.

Regular drownings before 1901 bridge built

By Ian Carson

When a spate of dry weather early this year diminished the flow of the Ōtaki River to unusually low levels, piles that remained of the town’s original traffic bridge emerged.

The bridge was built in 1901, and was the first of what are now four bridges to have spanned the river for vehicle, horse and foot traffic. A bridge had already been built across the river for the railway when it was opened in 1886. The latest traffic bridge, opened in December last year, carries expressway traffic.

The wooden piles of the first bridge were seen clearly recently on both sides of the river, between the bridge on the old state highway and the rail bridge. It’s a popular swimming spot for families during summer.

Before the bridge was built, access into and out of Ōtaki to the south was by fording the river on stagecoach or horse, mainly at the river mouth. Floods often meant crossing was impossible, and it was a dangerous operation, with several fatalities recorded.

Newspapers from the late 19th century recorded drownings almost every year. Many of them were travellers, unfamiliar with the vagaries of the river, who got into difficulty as they attempted to make the crossing.

Boatmen at the Ferry House on the south side of the river often transported people across. The accommodation house opened in 1848, and offered a meal, bed and stables for travellers, who were often unable to cross if the river was in flood.

Fairly typical of the fatalities claimed by the river was a Mr G D Ross, a travelling salesman for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He was trying to cross the river on horseback on August

Ten years earlier, William Rouse of Wainuiomata also drowned. Reports of his demise said he was an old and respected settler who had just sold his Wainuiomata property and was heading to Patea to look at a farm where he hoped to buy and settle down for the remainder of his days.

Just how he was on the north side of the river is a mystery, but the Ōtaki correspondent for The Evening Post reported that about 7.30pm on May 30, 1878, William arrived on the north bank and “cooeed” for the ferry men on the opposite side. They immediately launched their boat from the Ferry House to bring William across.

As they neared the north bank, they were startled by the snorting of a horse that was swimming across, minus its rider. The ferry men turned in search of William, but could not find him.

“They shouted but received no answer,” the Ōtaki correspondent wrote.

The river was dragged the next morning and the search continued on the Saturday, but without success. The next day a son and nephew arrived and within half an hour found the man’s body in about 2 metres of water. However, it disappeared just as they were readying a rope to drag it out. Four hours later a man named only as Maka found William again and helped bring the body ashore.

They took him to the Ferry House, then operated by a W Ully, where a coroner’s inquest was held. It found that William “by some means got into the river and was drowned”.

Locals were also sometimes caught out by the capricious river.

On April 4, 1900, just over a year before the first traffic bridge was built, a local 4-year-old boy, Tamati Hawea, drowned in the river while bathing. Reports at the time said he was the son of Epiha Hawea.

AUTUMN 2023

SHOES AND OTHER LOVELY THINGS

Swimmers in Ōtaki River near the piles of the old 1901 bridge, which protrude from the water and the riverbank, near the bridge (background) built in 1955.

Photo Ōtaki Today 21, 1888, and drowned in the attempt.

Rangatahi express themselves through art

Late last year a group of rangatahi artists and their friends and whānau came together for the opening of the Hōmai Haumaru exhibition in Ōtaki.

The kaupapa was focused on giving rangatahi space to express their thoughts and feelings on mental health issues and suicide, by creating art.

The exhibition was the result of months of wānanga (discussions) and hard mahi, and was an opportunity for the artists and their creations to be celebrated.

The kaupapa was created by Hohepa Thompson, better known through his art and activism as Hori, an artist, designer, gallery and café owner, and an advocate for te reo me ōna tikanga Māori. Born and raised in Ōtaki, and previously a high school teacher, Hori is well known in the area and is familiar with many of the local rangatahi.

Hōmai Haumaru evolved from a series of exhibitions of the same name that Hori put on during the 2020 Covid lockdown. These exhibitions explored similar topics, resulting in heavy, confronting, and deeply personal pieces of art.

“That was the catalyst for it”, Hori says. “I drew from my previous exhibitions to create something that would work for rangatahi.”

With support from Te Puni Kōkiri through the Rangatahi Manawaroa Fund, this version of the Hōmai Haumaru kaupapa was born.

Hori and the rangatahi artists spent time together sharing kōrero on their lives and their hauora (health), while covering artistic techniques and preparing works for the exhibition, discussing how to best express what they were feeling through their art.

“Art is such an important tool to tell a story”, Hori says. “Especially for the tough guys, it’s a way for them to be vulnerable and really express how they are feeling.”

Ōtaki artist Hohepa (Hori) Thompson, second left, with a group of rangatahi

Whiro-te-tipua – This piece represents Whiro-te-Tipua, the god of darkness and embodiment of evil. At a glance Whiro seems big and strong, but if you look closer you see his small face and nervous looking eyes. This work is about kōrero, and the power it holds. Speaking about dark thoughts scares away Whiro-te-Tipua and stops dark actions.

Several other artists and speakers came to kōrero with the rangatahi during their wānanga, including Ōtaki Today columnist Pera Barrett, Xoë Hall, Miriama Grace-Smith, Tāme Iti, and Kereama Taepa. These well-known creatives gave the kaupapa a broader focus, bringing different artistic mediums and discussions to the table.

The long-awaited exhibition was in mid November at Te Toi o Hori gallery, Ōtaki Beach.

Artists had the option to speak about their work if they felt comfortable doing so. Several of them took on this wero (challenge), surprising their whānau with open kōrero on some difficult issues, which can often be accompanied by a sense of whakamā (shame).

“It’s all about normalising this kind of kōrero,” Hori says. “Sometimes you are going to have a bad day or a bad week – it’s about having the tools to be able to deal with that.”

Te Puni Kōkiri Te Tai Hauāuru regional advisor Lia Forrest says that the need for rangatahi programmes in the area was evident.

“We did a regional engagement tour and met with rangatahi providers to figure out what the landscape actually was,” she says. “The Horowhenua and Kāpiti region had the worst statistics for rangatahi within Te Tai Hauāuru [Māori electorate]. The engagement told us that these rangatahi basically had nothing to do.”

Hori adds: “Boredom can be deadly.”

Hori is keen to expand Hōmai Haumaru, opening it up to more rangatahi across Aotearoa and widening the scope of the programme, using other mediums for rangatahi to express themselves, such as music and dance.

The exhibition at Te Toi o Hori was open for a month, and this year the artwork is going to be part of an exhibition in Toi Matarau, the Māoriland Hub art gallery. The individual works are then planned to be auctioned, with funds raised going to Gumboot Friday

“Art is enduring,” Lia says. “It tells a story and the story remains, so it keeps living. The stories told by these rangatahi will live through their art.”

n Hori Gallery, 84 Moana St, Ōtaki. thehori.co.nz

Toi Matarau Gallery, Maoriland Hub, 68 Main St, Ōtaki. toi.maorilandfilm.co.nz

537 Lives – This piece was created by a rangatahi who loves graffiti art. The number 537 represents how many lives were lost to suicide in Aotearoa in 2021. Images courtesy of Te Puni Kōkiri

Story courtesy of Te Puni Kōkiri

standing in front of their work at the Hōmai Haumaru exhibition

From left Pairoroku Rikihana (Queenie Rikihana’s greatgrandfather), Tioriori, Raniera (Danny boy) and Tiemi Rikihana (known as Pukupakaru – Aunty Gabriel Rikihana’s grandfather).

Lost land – the shrinking of Rikiville

The following is a snapshot of a much larger story on Rikiville that appears in the 2022 issue of Ōtaki Yesterday

Rikiville was part of Ngāti Koroki land that originally extended from Dunstan Street, straddling Mill Road and across to Waerenga Road, as far west as Ōtaki School.

It was land owned by members of the Ngāti Koroki hapū and Rikihana whānau through their tūpuna as far back as Wīremu (Wī) Te Manewha, to whom it was gifted by Te Rauparaha.

Little is now left that remains in the hands of the Rikihana whānau. Much of that can be explained by the land policies of the Government, and local government, in the early 20th century. That was not confined to Ngāti Koroki; other Māori land throughout the Ōtaki district was also taken.

Of significance was the Native Land Amendment and Native Land Claims Adjustment Act passed in October 1928. Under section 32 of that Act, Māori land within the new Borough of Ōtaki – established in 1921 – that had outstanding rates could be vested in the Ikaroa District Māori Land Board. The governor-general needed only to issue an order to vest the land.

It meant Māori still owned the land, but had little power over what happened to it. Much of it was sold to the Crown.

For the Crown, perhaps vesting the land in the Ikaroa Māori Land Board was a compromise between Māori continuing not to pay rates and taking the land compulsorily, as advocated by Ōtaki Borough Council.

As part of their hāpū research for the Waitangi Tribunal, Queenie and Mishy Rikihana said Ngāti Raukawa Rangatiratanga and Kawanawatanga reports showed the burden of local body rates

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was the main reason that large portions of land were lost.

As Queenie’s brother, Jack Rikihana, said: “I remember Mum crying over the rates bill. It was only about £60 but that’s like $600 in today’s terms. It would come twice a year and that time it was for land owned by [relatives] Raita and Pari and we were going to lose it by not paying the rates.”

Ngāti Koroki hapū

members related that the large piece of land owned by Rikihana Te Tarure and wife Enereta (Enereta was the daughter of Wī Te Manewha) once bordered about what is now Waerenga Road, Dunstan Street and the Haru-ātai stream, and extended to the present Ōtaki School. Over the years the land originally gifted to Wī Te Manewha and handed down via Enereta, ended up being just two main areas of land and papakāinga to various Koroki whānau.

One was known as Haru-ātai No 5 in the Native Land Surveyor’s maps. This was occupied by the Rikihana and Johnson whānau, and was later known colloquially as Rikiville. The other big block of land was called Makuratawhiti and encompassed where Ōtaki School is today. It was the papakāinga of the Carkeek, Bell and Rikihana whānau. Some whānau still live on this land, on Carkeek Drive next to the school.

These blocks were noted in the Māori Land Court among other blocks left to Enereta by her father.

For Māori of that generation and their ancestors before, it was an alien idea that when a person inherited land, to retain ownership they would need to pay rates to someone like Ōtaki Borough Council. On many blocks of land, there were often no council services, such as roads or water supplies.

Gabrielle Rikihana said the generation of local Māori in the 1920s were too busy working for their marae to have paid jobs.

“These are important contributing factors to how and why our people struggled to pay the rates to keep their land,” Aunty Gabe said. “Earning money for a long time was a foreign concept for our tangata whenua, who were already self-sufficient – growing, fishing and hunting for their own food.

“That generation worked for Raukawa very hard, but none worked for wages. They were too busy working for Raukawa.”

Wīremu Te Manewha

The 2022 edition of Ōtaki Yesterday has much more about Rikiville. Contact debbi@idmedia.co.nz for a copy ($25).

Matta teams up to fight

Ōtaki company Matta Products has teamed up with I Used To Be, an innovative company specialising in repurposing deflated and popped pool toys.

Created by Aucklander Nina Darrah (photo below) after returning from the UK, I Used To Be was inspired by a woman Nina met who makes bags out of bouncy castles. Nina saw an opportunity to prolong the life of pool toys. Being conscious of single-use plastics, she wanted to keep unwanted inflatables out of the landfill by repurposing them into hardy, splash-proof bags.

Pool toys are made out of PVC, a type of plastic that is not recyclable in New Zealand. Instead, these discarded items are transformed by Nina into unique, handmade bags perfect for carrying wet clothing, beach essentials, or for weekend getaways.

The process of creating the bags begins with hand-cutting the pool toys. Any scraps that cannot be used to make bags are sent to Matta’s factory in Ōtaki. There, they are chipped, blended

• Boil-up Thurs/Fri

• Hot pork sandwiches on Wednesdays

• Paninis, sandwiches, toasted wraps/sandwiches

• Gourmet savouries

• Meal of the day

• smoothies, milkshakes

• Emporio coffee

• Variety of vegetarian and KETO options

pool toy waste

and turned into the Play Matta and Work Matta ranges of safety surfaces. The union is a good no-waste venture, as the two companies work together to tackle PVC waste and turn it into something useful and valuable.

“We are thrilled to be working with I Used To Be to make a positive impact on the environment and are excited to see the results of our collaboration. So next time you’re looking for a new bag, consider one from I Used To Be and know you’re helping make a difference,” says Matta’s factory manager Tim Scott. “Although our safety surface tiles are heavy-duty and hardwearing, we aim to have the lightest possible impact on the environment.”

Matta pioneered recycling in New Zealand. Since 1992 Matta has turned over 60,000 tonnes of trash otherwise destined for landfills (such as tyres, cables, road cones and gumboots) into durable and safe surfacing products (photo below) that are in turn recyclable. n Matta Products: mattaproducts.com – I Used To Be, iusedtobe.co.nz

• freshly baked pies daily

• filled rolls, sandwiches

• cream doughnuts

• great variety of cakes

• bread and pizza bread

Freeze, dry or bottle abundant autumn produce

By Debbi Carson

Ōtaki’s great soil and climate make it the perfect place to have your own garden. If you can’t grow your own, fresh produce is still abundant and always available from local growers, such as Penray Gardens and others up the road.

And with the new expressway open, visiting Penrays is a whole new experience, with quiet traffic flows.

Before we moved back to Ōtaki, on whānau visits, I would buy my veg at Penrays to take home to Wellington. Because it was often just picked that day, vegetables would last nicely for up to two weeks.

The onset of autumn brings a bounty of orchard fruits and vegetable harvests offering the chance to preserve and enjoy through the winter months. Plums, damsons, blackberries, figs, persimmons, feijoas, limes, apples and pears abound, and are suitable in sweet and savoury dishes.

We are personally lucky to have plenty of feijoa trees. With too much fruit to eat fresh, we make jam and chutney. We also freeze feijoas by halving the fruit, scooping the flesh out and freezing in an ice-cream container ready to be used in winter smoothies, feijoa ice-cream, or made into muffins.

We also have a persimmon tree that crops well every year. We cut them in slices to eat (I like them with the skin on). Persimmons are best eaten when they are firm – not hard – and will last for up to two weeks after they have been picked. Once they go soft, you can still stew them, bake them or blend them in a smoothie.

Enjoy

• Until May pick fresh, vine-ripened Beefsteak and Italiano Tomatoes. Capsicum, Hungarian Peppers, Mexican Peppers and eight different Chillies. mild to super hot.

• March PYO Pears

• March to May PYO Orchard fresh tree ripened apples. Ring 06 364 5302, Press 1 for PYO INFO LINE

Also at the Penray shop you can buy produce already picked, & sauces and relishes from our own homemade preserve range.

We have had great success with our rhubarb this year (pictured right). It is my market gardener fatherin-law’s rhubarb planted in the 1940s, and it thrives in its shaded position, sustained by regular watering.

For an easy dessert, clean and chop the stalks (discard the poisonous leaves), add sugar and cook on low heat until soft (no need for water). Refrigerate or freeze when cool.

Drying fruit at home is simple, and you don’t need a fancy dehydrator to get great results, although they are a worthwhile investment if you have an abundance of fruit each year. Dry fruit in your oven, on a very low heat for a long time. It’s not an exact science, so you’ll need to keep your eye on progress until fruit becomes shrivelled, leathery and tough – the finished result is so intense in flavour! After washing and draining the fruit, make sure it’s totally dry before spacing out on a baking sheet and placing in your oven. Larger fruits like apples will need to be cored, sliced and put in a solution of water and lemon juice to prevent browning.

EASY FEIJOA JAM

1kg feijoa (weighed whole)

¼ cup water

4 cups sugar

Cut feijoas in halves. Scoop out the flesh, roughly slice. Add water and boil gently until soft. Stir in sugar and boil hard for 5-10 minutes, or until a drop popped onto a saucer solidifies and gels. Feijoas are high in pectin so this happens quickly. Pour into heated jars and seal.

RHUBARB & ORANGE CAKE

Prep: 35 min. Cook: about 1hr 15mins

400g rhubarb, thickly sliced

280g raw caster sugar

225g butter, softened

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

225g self-raising flour

100g pack of ground almond

1 tsp baking powder

3 medium eggs

Small handful of flaked almonds

Icing sugar, for dusting.

Put rhubarb in a bowl with 50g sugar, stir, and set aside for 30 mins. Grease and line a 23cm loose-bottomed, round cake tin with baking parchment and heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

Put rest of sugar, butter, orange zest and juice into a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until well blended. Add flour, almonds, baking powder and eggs, then beat until smooth. Fold in rhubarb and any juices. Spoon into the tin and level the top. Sprinkle with flaked almonds. Bake in the centre of the oven for 1hr to 1hr 15mins until risen, golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cover with foil if the cake starts to brown too much during cooking. Leave in the tin for 15min before removing and cooling completely on a wire rack. Dust with a little icing sugar before serving.

– Recipe: Sara Buenfeld, bbcgoodfood.com

Ōtaki artscape

Ōtaki has an abundance of galleries and art studios to visit all year round. Pieces of art not only make great presents, but also the best reminders of a fabulous trip. And remember to stop in for a coffee break at the many options the Ōtaki district has to offer.

If you’re visiting artists at home, please remember to call first as many are open by appointment only.

• Artel Gallery, old SH1, Ōtaki. Open 7 days. artelgallery.net

• ATB Tattoo Studio and Gallery, Arthur St, Ōtaki. abandonthebox.co.nz

• Awatea Pottery, Brent Craig, ceramics, pottery. 19 Hadfield Rd, Peka Peka. 027 242 7572

• Birgit Moffatt Art Studio, sculpture, textiles. 32 Parenga Rd, Ōtaki

247 7488

PAULA ARCHIBALD STUDIO Ceramics 027

Art by Paula Archibald

Gorge. 022 460 2695. birgitmoffatt.com

• Hanneke Koop, ceramics, pottery, textiles. 144 Te Waka Rd, Te Horo. hankoop@gmail.com

• Hei Tiki Toi, woodwork. 24 Iti St. Ariana Summers 021 990 566, and Ben Keene 021 205 6052

• The Hori Gallery, artist. 84 Moana St, Ōtaki Beach. thehori.co.nz

• Jailhouse Pottery, Jennifer Turnbull 3 Iti St, Ōtaki. 021 295 7473. jenniferturnbull.co.nz

• James Carter Pottery, ceramics, pottery. 12 Waitaheke Rd, Te Horo. 022 672 7036. jamescarterpottery.co.nz

• Jos Smith Art Studio, painting/drawing. 7a Lemon St, Ōtaki 027 614 4145.

• Kathryn Ennis-Carter, textile artist, 55 Settlement Rd, Te Horo 021 620 757.

• Lindsay Hey, artist and printmaker 027 454 2374, and Neil Hey Studio Pottery 027 443 9796, 6 Kingi te Ahoaho Place, Ōtaki artsenvogue.co.nz

• Lorna Tawhiti, lorna@may15tattoo.com. may15tattoo.com

• Margaret Hunt, ceramics, pottery. 173b Waerenga Rd, Ōtaki 06 364 8053 or 027 450 2726.

• Old Courthouse Gallery, Main Highway, Ōtaki.

• Organic Design Studio, 40 Miro St, Otaki. odskapiti.com. Jeweller Gavin Berry 021 051 3096, artist Karen McCall 027 226 2094, sculptor Sarah Shaw 021 452 465.

• Paula Archibald, ceramics, pottery, sculpture. 3 Bell St, Ōtaki. 027 247 7488.

• Rod Graham Clayworks, 35 Ngaio St, Ōtaki Beach. 027 445 7545.

• Rosemary Mortimer, printmaker. 306 Te Waka Rd, Te Horo. 027 236 7343. rosemarymortimer.com

• Seagrass Gallery, Grant Stevenson, 38 Moana St, Ōtaki Beach. 027 231 4643. seagrassgallery.co.nz

• Savage Art, Sonia Savage, 35 Ngaio St, Ōtaki Beach. 027 244 7322.

• Studio Reset, 239 Hautere Cross Road, Te Horo. 021 179 3201. Painting, photography. studioreset.weebly.com

• Toi Matarau, Māoriland Hub, Main St, Ōtaki. Open Mon-Sat 114pm, and by appt.

• Tote Modern Art Gallery, Ōtaki Racecourse, Te Roto Rd. Open Fri-Sun 10am-3pm. otakipottery club.co.nz

• Yvonne de Mille, Mahi Toi, 50 Kirk St, Ōtaki. 027 442 3106.

If you are an Ōtaki artist and would like to be listed here in Ōtaki Street Scene please text Debbi at 027 285 4720 or email: debbi@ idmedia.co.nz

Text: 027 285-4720

History told in Ōtaki

Yesterday

The 2022 issue of the historical magazine Ōtaki Yesterday features plenty of stories about old Ōtaki. What’s the history of the big old house on the highway known as Kaingaraki? What about the old police house in Iti Street? How did the collection of kāinga and whānau at Rikiville come about? Did you know plumber Tony Beck once dived for treasure? And if you want a really good long read, there’s a fascinating story about a young girl who came to Ōtaki 90 years ago after languishing in an orphanage for 2½ years. Her story is a rare glimpse into life through the Depression and into the years of the Second World War.