Mailer 72

ISSUE SEVENTY TWO: WHITU TEKAU MĀ RUA DECEMBER 2023

Unveiling Nukupewapewa On the blustery early morning of July 14 in Paetūmōkai Featherston, a special ceremony was held for this year’s Matariki – the unveiling of a pou, which in te reo Māori means a post used to define a boundary.

IN THIS ISSUE: p2 p3 p4

Education Funding 2024 WAI 85 Update Pre AGM Roadshows 2023 p5 Introducing Descendent Channell Thoms p6 AGM Highlights 2023 p8 Tīpuna Whare Saved from Destruction – Te Whatahoro's Cottage p10 WMI funding partnership p10 Christine Kupenga p10 Wairarapa Moana Merchandise p11 Notification of a Deceased Shareholder p12 A Walk Down Memory Lane p13 Where Are You? p13 Wairarapa Moana: The Lake and Its People p14 Farm Update p15 Find out more p15 Can You Help? p16 50 Unclaimed Dividends p16 Shareholder Bank Account Details p16 Mailer Closing Dates

This particular pou honours a 19th century Māori chief and, appropriately, one of his descendants, artist Edward Riwai, was instrumental in its contemporary design.

“The carving represents Nukupewapewa, and his leadership here in Wairarapa, especially the peace he brought to this area because it was very warlike back then,” Riwai noted.

“Māori were the first ones to fly. Not the Wright brothers,” Riwai light-heartedly remarked.

“Our focus is on teaching tamariki about Māori heroes, and it’s also a way to teach other people about our culture.”

Commissioned by the Greytown Trails Trust, and three years in the making, the pou marks the start of the cycling and walking trail from Featherston to Woodside. Its design, acknowledging local history, was made in collaboration with Pāpāwai and Paetūmōkai o Tauira whānau.

›› Continued on page 2 ...

December 2023

WAIRARAPA MOANA

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Education Funding 2024

›› Continued from page 1 ...

Scholarships are available to descendants of an original Wairarapa Moana owner. Criteria is applied to all funding.

FUTURE LEADERS SCHOLARSHIPS Ngā Kete o Te Wānanga – Tertiary Scholarships are targeted at students undertaking study in postgraduate, undergraduate and diploma programmes.

Ngā Mahi Ā-Rehe – Trade Training & Apprenticeship Scholarships are provided to those studying and working towards a trade or an apprenticeship.

POUTAMA FUND GRANT

“It was just lovely to have Greytown Trails Trust come to us for our input and our guidance around what it would look like; it just shows how well we can work together,” Pāpāwai’s Simone Baker said.

Using 3D printing and modern materials like aluminium and fibreglass, the pou is set to be an eye-catching icon for travellers to the region.

“Ed has really set the bar for future artists and we’re going to see more boundaries pushed with that form of art,” said Baker, who sees the pou as part of a hopeful future.

“At Matariki, there’s an actual paradigm shift happening to accommodate all Pākehā, and coming together as one. It’s just going to go further; it’s going to create a united Aotearoa,” she said.

Article courtesy New Zealand Herald

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These grants are provided to allow whānau to undertake a course of training that will assist them to take the next step in their career. This could include either further training or employment opportunities, such as a bridging course or similar.

TE KETE URUURU TAU SCHOLARSHIPS Two special scholarships available to various fields within agri-business.

Inquiries welcome, application forms will be available in the New Year. To register your interest to receive an application for study in 2024, call the office.

Telephone: 06 370 2608 or 0800 662 624 Email: trust@wairarapamoana.org.nz

WAIRARAPA MOANA AND VICTORIA UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP PARTNERSHIP In 2019 we embarked on an exciting partnership with Victoria University to support our whānau attending university to advance their education and grow their careers.

Scholarship recipients receive matched funding from Victoria University should they choose to advance their studies at this prestigious institution.

Several recipients who have received grants under the partnership have expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the extra support it provides them to continue their studies!

(See page 10)

Wairarapa Moana Incorporation gains support of UN Independent Monitoring Group

The Aotearoa Independent Monitoring Group for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People in their July 2023 report provides commentary and analysis of our Wai 85 case.

Their report1 states the following:

Return of lands and access to justice In December 2022, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision that enabled Wairarapa Māori to seek the return of land in the Waitangi Tribunal. However, this decision was effectively rendered meaningless by the completion of a negotiated treaty settlement for the wider Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa iwi.

The case followed a binding decision by the Tribunal, independent of the settlement, that required the Crown to return the land in question to Wairarapa Māori. The Crown sought judicial review of the Tribunal’s decision and it was determined by the High Court, for various reasons, that the Tribunal was wrong to make the finding.

The Supreme Court held that the case still had merits and could be referred back to the Tribunal to determine if returning the land was still appropriate.

Although Wairarapa Māori were entitled to continue their case before the Tribunal, the fact that their land claim was also included in the collection of claims being addressed by the wider treaty settlement meant that once The Aotearoa Independent Monitoring Mechanism for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is an independent Māori working group created in 2015. Members of the Monitoring Mechanism have been selected by their iwi and endorsed by the National Iwi Chairs Forum as independent experts.

the settlement legislation was passed, their claim would be considered settled and could not be heard. A few days after the Supreme Court decision, and without awaiting the outcome of the Tribunal litigation, parliament enacted the settlement legislation and the Wairarapa Moana land claim was effectively extinguished. The Tribunal was blocked from returning the land.

Wairarapa Māori have since sought declarations in the High Court that the settlement legislation, so far as it extinguishes their claim, is inconsistent with the right to justice under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, articles 2 and 14 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, and the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The issue highlights the complexity of the treaty settlement process, the emphasis on unilateral parliamentary sovereignty above all else, and that in the absence of any constitutional protection, the legislature continues to breach the fundamental civil and Tiriti rights of Māori.

The objective of the Independent Monitoring Mechanism is to promote and monitor the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand.

1 Pages 12 – 13, Aotearoa Independent Monitoring Mechanism

for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Annual Monitoring Report – July 2023.

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WAIRARAPA MOANA

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Pre-AGM Roadshows 2023 Whānau in Auckland, Wellington, Rotorua, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and Christchurch came to our regional roadshows to receive updates on our business and to ask questions in preparation for the annual general meeting.

Attendance in all regions was down from numbers registered in the lead up. We understand that circumstances can change, and it is encouraging to receive notice of these changes prior to the hui.

This year the country experienced extreme weather conditions which impacted on whānau travelling to the hui.

Thank you to all who continue to support the pre-AGM roadshows.

We value your questions and feedback.

2023

Registered

Attended

No Show

Auckland

59

43

16

Wellington

46

32

14

Rotorua

64

46

18

Gisborne

27

18

9

Hastings

69

39

30

Christchurch

25

21

4

Ngā mihi o te Meri Kirihimete me te tau hou The Masterton office will close 2.00pm Thursday 21 December and re-open Wednesday 10 January 2024.

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[L to R]: Sisters – Channell Thoms, Dianna McLean, Maria Burt

Introducing Descendant Channell Thoms Committee of Management members and our Masterton office team enjoyed getting out round Aotearoa to meet with shareholders and whānau through September 2023.

We are grateful for the ideas and suggestions – and the hard pātai that get fired our way at the roadshows and Annual General Meeting.

Doing both her Master of Science and PhD in Environmental Science allowed her to weave mātauranga into her research.

We acknowledge the effort that all our shareholders, to take time out, travel, turn up to hui and hold us to account.

She started her university studies at the age of 40, living proof that education is a lifelong journey. It took lots of hard work and sheer determination to get through her studies.

Wairarapa Moana Incorporation (WMI) seeks to be leaders and innovators in environmental and sustainable farming and land use practice.

So, we were excited to find an environmental scientist and te taiao and Mātauranga Māori expert within our whānau – and at our Christchurch roadshow meeting.

Meet whānau member, Channell Thoms, a freshwater ecologist and an expert in the restoration of mahinga kai species.

She has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Geography, a Master of Science in Environmental Science with a research focus on Freshwater Crayfish restoration ecology and she was able to compare contemporary and traditional trapping methods.

Channell has just completed and successfully defended her PhD which looked at “kākahi as biological tools for stream restoration.”

Why environmental science? According to Channell, Te Taiao and Mātauranga Māori is just commonsense. The fieldtrips to Kaikoura offered the occasional time out from whānau – which she admits might also have aided the attraction.

Channell was recently featured on an episode of Country Calendar about mahinga kai. You could tell there was lots of whānau pride in her appearance on New Zealand’s longest-running television programme.

Channell likes to utilise the best of mainstream science and traditional Māori knowledge. Not unsurprisingly, she told us, traditional methods are far superior.

Channell has whakapapa to the Ngatuere whānau and is a descendant of Wairarapa Moana tīpuna.

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WAIRARAPA MOANA

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AGM Highlights 2023 WMI AGM Highlights The Wairarapa Moana Incorporation meeting commenced with a welcome from the Chairman, Kingi Smiler.

Eight nominations were received by the due closing date for three positions on the Committee of Management. Murray Hemi and Metiria Turei withdrew their nominations prior to the annual general meeting. Candidates Anne Carter, Marama Fox, TeHoripo Karaitiana, Bradley Tatere, Ani Te Whaiti and Memory Te Whaiti were invited to address the meeting prior to voting.

The Business Update provided an outline of the year’s activities which included an update by Karl Gradon, CEO of Miraka. This was followed by Brett Bennett’s presentation of the Incorporation’s accounts.

The proposed dividend as recommended by the Committee of Management and outlined in the Notice of Meeting book was presented and approved. The dividend will be distributed in early December. The proposed social and cultural grant to the Wairarapa Moana Charitable Trust of $200,000, as recommended by the Committee of Management, was also approved.

Anne Carter presented an update on Wai 85 and provided a short chronological history 2017 to 2023. In response to the Crown introducing legislation last year that extinguished Wai 85, Wairarapa Moana has lodged a legal proceeding against the Crown under the Bill of Rights Act. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission raised its concerns about the actions taken by the Crown against Wairarapa Moana Incorporation to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations Indigenous Forum in Geneva in July 2023. The Committee of Management has issued an invitation to The Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples, Francisco Tzay-Cali, to visit New Zealand to start procedures.

The Auditor and Share Valuer were re-appointed for another year; the minutes of the 2022 annual general meeting were adopted; and it was confirmed that the 2024 AGM will be held on October 12th at Masterton.

The Chairman announced the three successful candidates to the Committee of Management: Anne Carter, Bradley Tatere and TeHoripo Karaitiana.

The meeting concluded at 1:15pm and was followed by lunch.

The WMI draft AGM Minutes will be distributed with the 2024 March Mailer.

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Wairarapa Moana Incorporation acknowledges and congratulates all of the candidates who put themselves forward for this election.

Final poll voting results: Anne Carter 11,325,368 Bradley Tatere

11,092,832

TeHoripo Karaitiana

9,424,480

Ani Te Whaiti

6,775,639

Memory Te Whaiti

3,844,437

Marama Fox

3,483,715

Murray Hemi

Withdrawn

Metiria Turei

Withdrawn

WMT AGM Highlights Wairarapa Moana Trust co-opted member, Sonya Rimene, welcomed a large audience to the 2023 annual general meeting.

An outline of the Trust’s business activities for the year was presented. An explanation of the financial position and the investment programmes for the year ended 31 May 2023 was provided.

Work is ongoing to wind up Wairarapa Moana Trust and to transition to the new social and investment programme.

Next year the social and cultural investment team will be reporting back as part of Wairarapa Moana Incorporation. As a result, it was reported that this will be the last meeting for Wairarapa Moana Trust.

Trustees would again like to acknowledge all those who have participated across the generations to support and lead the Trust’s kaupapa of supporting the social and cultural wellbeing of our whānau and community.

The WMT draft AGM Minutes will be distributed with the 2024 March Mailer.

2023

Dates to Remember

Whānau at AGM.

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WAIRARAPA MOANA

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Tipuna Whare Saved from Destruction – Te Whatahoro's Cottage The whare of esteemed Māori historian Te Whatahoro has been saved from demolition by his descendants.

Most will be familiar with the legacy of Hoani Alfred Te Whatahoro Jury. Born in 1841, he was the eldest son of Te Aitū o te Rangi, of Ngāti Moe at Pāpāwai (a hapū of Rangitāne and of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa) and her husband, John Milsome Jury.

Te Whatahoro became a prolific writer on Māori traditions and customs, particularly those shared by Moihi Te Mātorohanga and Nēpia Pōhūhū until their deaths in the 1880s. He was heavily involved with Te Kotahitanga which became a national Māori political movement in the early 1890s. He was also a member of the Tānenuiarangi committee, which from 1905 to 1910 met to consider and verify old manuscripts which contained traditional knowledge from elders.

Te Whatahoro was raised by a generation of people who lived immersed in Wairarapa traditions and amongst community leaders who had signed, contemplated and debated Te Tiriti o Waitangi. He and his contemporaries were nationally recognised social, political, traditional, and academic leaders.

Importantly for Wairarapa Moana Incorporation (WMI), Te Whatahoro was a central figure in ensuring the Crown upheld its promise to provide land to Wairarapa Māori after the gifting of Lake Wairarapa in 1896. He identified the lands at Pou-ā-Kani as the best alternative solution and ensured that land was secured.

Te Whatahoro’s whare Te Whatahoro had seven wives and 15 children and lived in a whare on Tilsons Road, Pāpāwai, in his elderly years. His first wife was Pane Īhaka Te Moe Whatarau, with whom he had Te Aitū o te Rangi Wikitōria (also known as Sue Materoa) and Muretū William. At the passing of his grandfather, Muretū inherited the cottage and land at Pāpāwai. Te Whatahoro’s second wife was Hera Īhaka Te Moe Whatarau (a sister of his first wife). By local accounts, Hera was the last of the family to live in the whare.

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Te Whatahoro Jury Photo courtesy of Alexander Turnbull Library

Few might know that this cottage still stands in a paddock not far from the Gliding Club, about 800m from Pāpāwai Marae. It is one of the last remaining original Pāpāwai homes.

The whare is on land owned by the South Wairarapa District Council and was slated for demolition. Some quick work by Pāpāwai locals Diane Rewi and Murray Hemi prevented the loss of this old house and the heritage associated with it. A small working group was formed by Murray to try to build wider Jury-whanau discussions about the future of the whare.

On 26 March 2023, a small selection of descendants of Te Whatahoro gathered at Pāpāwai Marae to focus on the pros and cons of shifting or leaving the cottage in place. Over the past year there has been some itinerant vandalism as well as a small act of arson. It has been decided by the group that the cottage should be shifted, possibly to the grounds of Pāpāwai Marae. The current site has no legal access and is located next to the sewerage disposal spray area. Shifting the whare closer to the marae also ensures the building is safe and secure. Whānau are hoping to establish a memorial plaque to formally recognise and maintain a connection to the original house location. South Wairarapa District Council has been very helpful and supportive of this mahi.

What’s Next? The Big Idea

Hautawa - Whare Wānanga

There is still a lot to be considered in respect of the purpose and future use of the whare.

On 1 September 1859, a large meeting took place at Te Waihinga where Ngairo Rakaihikuroa had just completed the large whare. The following day Moihi Te Mātorohanga was asked to relate the traditions relating to Māori arrival in Aotearoa. The scribes at that wānanga were Te Whatahoro Jury and Aporo Te Kumeroa.

While the cottage represents several aspects of New Zealand’s history that are of national significance (Te Whatahoro’s writing and personal legacy, his role as Premier of Te Kotahitanga Parliament, his role in the gifting of Lake Wairarapa, and the subsequent securing of land at Pou-ā -Kani), there is also a bigger story to tell.

Like the Treaty grounds at Waitangi which holds the story of the birth of our nation (1840-1860), Pāpāwai also holds another story about our country's early growing pains (1860-1920s). At this time, Pāpāwai township, near Greytown, was a bustling cultural, political, and commercial centre with a population of several thousand. Pāpāwai played host to Te Kotahitanga’s annual Māori parliament gathering in 1897 and 1898. The town was home to the national Māori newspaper, Te Puke ki Hikurangi, notably managed for a time by Niniwa-i-te-rangi, a local wāhine rangatira. Today, Pāpāwai Marae remains a busy hub, and was the first marae in Aotearoa to be granted Wāhi Tūpuna status by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

The group is hoping to use Te Whatahoro’s cottage as the start of a story that has much greater significance and importance to us, to the local Wairarapa community, as well as to our sense of nationhood.

Over the coming months, the group will be seeking a partnership with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga as the first step to finding project support and investment relationships for this bigger project.

As such, the project group is wanting to call for expressions of interest from people interested in the following types of involvement: 1. People who want to stay informed and be part of the overall discussions at key parts of the project; and 2. People who want to be more actively involved in doing and contributing to specific tasks and activities within the project.

If you are wanting to be involved, please send an email to the project secretariat at

secretary@tewhatahorocottage.co.nz and outline whether you want to just stay informed or want to contribute some time, skills, and effort. There will be plenty of tasks and roles for everyone – from kai, communication, calendar-dates through to construction, coordination, and collecting the funding opportunities.

Aporo Te Kumeroa.

Source: Unknown

Te Whatahoro Jury.

Credit: Joseph Gaut (Attributed) Hoani Te Whatahoro Jury (c.1880) oil on canvas Collection of Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History.

In 1863 Te Whatahoro recorded the teachings of Nēpia Pōhūhū and Paratene te Okawhare (Paratene had previously shared oral traditions with Sir George Grey in 1853).

These events would lead to the formal opening of a Whare Wānanga at Pāpāwai. On 2 January 1865, Te Whatahoro invited Te Rei te Kohitohi, Riwai te Kukutai, Ihaka te Moe, Matiaha te Ura o te Rangi and Pene te Matohi to Pāpāwai.

The group asked Moihi Te Mātorohanga to tell them some stories of people from earlier generations. Moihi considered this and asked that a house was found that stood alone and was next to water. Te Rei and Pene offered their whare at Hautawa near the corner of Pāpāwai and Fabians Road on the banks of the Mangarara Stream. Moihi had buried his whatu kura some years previously after following the teachings of missionaries to caste away his false gods. It took him three hours of digging to retrieve the stones and once more in his safe keeping, they entered the whare on 5 January 1865.

Te Whatahoro and Riwai were appointed his scribes. Moihi was also assisted by the other tohunga Nēpia Pōhūhū and Te Okawhare who would correct any errors or supplement his work.

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WAIRARAPA MOANA

Wairarapa Moana are proud Taihonoa Partners of

Tertiary education scholarships awarded

by Wairarapa Moana are matched dollarfor-dollar by Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington through the Taihonoa partnership programme.

Since the inception of the partnership in 2019, a total of 24 scholarship recipients have received a total $33,750, as shown in the table below.

Year

No. of students

Amount

2019

7

$10,250.00

2020

2

$3,500.00

2021

5

$6,750.00

2022

5

$7,500.00

2023

5

$5,750.00

Total

24

$33,750.00

“I am honoured to be a recipient of the Taihonoa Wairarapa Moana Trust Future Leaders Scholarship ... it is a huge relief financially and I am able to focus more on university and learning.”

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Christine Kupenga Christine (known as Tuppy or Tups) Kupenga, nee Te Tauri, was the second eldest child of eighteen children born to Jury Te TaurI, grandson of Hoani Whatahoro Jury, and Ruby Te Tauri nee Whakataka.

Born in Waipiro Bay 22nd April 1939. Attended Turakina Girls College. Worked as a midwife at Waipiro Bay Hospital.

Married Matua Kore Kupenga at Waipiro Bay. Moved to Tahakopa, East Otago, after Matua secured a house for her and daughter when working in forestry. Moved to Clinton, South Otago, enjoying helping run Brownies with two daughters attending.

After eight years headed back to Wainuiomata with four daughters sailing on the second-to-last sailing of the Wahine.

After six months moved to Te Puia Springs to help Matua run his grandfather's farm. At Te Puia Springs Hospital she had first spoilt son.

Moved to Wainuiomata where she worked as cleaner, kaiāwhina, then after training became pay clerk at Kōkiri Marae, Seaview. Had three more children. Worked the nights at Griffins and then at Feltex Carpets with her husband before it closed down.

Was an active member of the Wainuiomata Kapa Haka Rōpū and was so proud when they won the Choral and Haka section .

Scarlett Travers BA student and Wairarapa Moana Trust Future Leaders Taihonoa grant recipient

She was a proud homemaker/educator and gardener and biggest supporter of her children's and mokos aspirations helping and encouraging them in gaining Te Reo Māori papers, Doctors, Science and Social Work degrees.

When deciding about your tertiary journey and which university you want to attend, the Wairarapa Moana partnership with Victoria University may prompt you to consider studying at this prestigious institution.

In her late 60s, five years after her husband passed, she enjoyed following local bands enjoying a kanikani and then found karaoke, winning prizes and young admirers singing a variety of songs from Elvis in her high soprano voice, to dancing and singing Madonna's music and Christina Aguilera's ‘Genie in a Bottle’ right up to her 82nd year.

To register your interest for a Wairarapa Moana 2024 application, contact the Masterton office on 06 370 2608 or 0800 662 624 or email trust@wairarapamoana.org.nz

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Christine passed away on 5th May 2021 in her Wainuiomata home of forty-one years.

Haere mai koutou katoa ki te Hura Kōhatu ki Urupā Tokomaru Bay 11.30am 13th January 2024.

WAIRARAPA MOANA MERCHANDISE The office has the following merchandise available for purchase. To order, contact Amethyst at wmoffice@ wairarapamoana.org.nz or visit our website shop at www.wairarapamoana.org.nz/shop/ WAIRARAPA MOANA: THE LAKE AND ITS PEOPLE The story of the North Island’s third largest lake complex from history to environmental problems.

T SHIRT

Colour: Charcoal Sizes: S – 3XL Price: $20.00 100% Micro Polyester Keeps You Cool & Dry Anti-Shrink, Anti-Fade Fabric

T SHIRT

Colour: Denim Sizes: S – 3XL Price: $20.00 100% Premium Cotton Stretch & Shape Recovery Long Lasting & Durable

POLO SHIRT

Colour: Cyan Sizes: S – 3XL Price: $28.00 100% Micro Polyester Anti-Shrink, Anti-Fade Fabric Quick Drying

POLO SHIRT

Colour: Black Sizes: S – 3XL Price: $28.00 100% Cotton

SLEEVELESS VEST

Colour: Black Sizes: S – 3XL Price: $56.00 Nylon Ottoman Vest

CAPS and BEANIES

Colours: Black or Navy Blue (One size fits all) Price: $12.00 each

Notification of a Deceased Shareholder If you know of any shareholder who has passed away please inform the office.

This will enable us to keep our records up to date, and we can also provide assistance on succeeding to the Wairarapa Moana Incorporation shares and any other Māori land interests.

Ma runga i te aroha, kia mau ki tō whanau me ngā whakapapa ka ora ai te tamaiti.

From a place of love, hold fast to your family and your connection to your ancestors for the wellbeing of future generations

This whakataukī encourages people to nurture, love and care for whānau members, the idea of collective responsibility which emphasises the importance of whānau and their connection to each other.

Contact Amethyst on 0800 662 624 or wmoffice@wairarapamoana.org.nz

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WAIRARAPA MOANA

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A Walk Down Memory Lane with TE AITU-O-TE-RANGI

Te Aitu-o-te-rangi, the daughter of Te Whatahoronui and his first wife, Aromea, was born about 1820.

She belonged to Ngāti Moe at Papawai, in Wairarapa, a hapū of Rangitāne and of Ngāti Kahungunu in Wairarapa.

Her parents and grandfather, Muretū, lived at Te Uretā, Waka-ā-paua and Wharehanga, on the western side of the Ruamāhanga River, near present-day Martinborough.

Te Aitu’s childhood was disturbed by warfare as northern tribes invaded Wairarapa in the 1820s; resistance was led by her uncle, Nukupewapewa, and her first cousin, Pehi Tūtepākihirangi. Her father, Te Whatahoronui, and many of his people were massacred by a group of Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga and Te Ati Awa on the Wharehanga peninsula about 1834. Te Aitu was captured by the chief Te Rauparaha, who attacked her Pā in Wairarapa. He took her to Kapiti Island, because of her high-born status and because of her beauty he kept her as a wife. A pākeha whaler arrived at the island, John Milsome Jury, and fell in love with Te Aitu, as she did with him. They fled the island together by boat and rowed all the way back to Wairarapa.

Not long after, Te Rauparaha started his chase but could not catch the couple.

She married the Englishman and started a family with him in the Wairarapa region, within the borders of her tribal land.

Her eldest child was Hoani Te Whatahoro Jury who became a prominent political leader involved in the creation of the first tangata whenua inclusive Parliament.

The couple then went to Nukutaurua, on the Mahia peninsula, where Te Aitu’s surviving relations had been living since 1834, under the protection of Te Wera Hauraki, a Ngāpuhi leader.

The exodus to Nukutaurua, known as Te Heke Rangatira ki Nukutaurua, came to an end around 1840 as peace was made and the exiles began to return to Wairarapa. In March 1842 Pehi Tūtepākihirangi led some 400 people, including John, Te Aitu and their son, born the previous year, to live at Te Kopi-a-Uenuku, Palliser Bay. In 1845, after the first European sheep stations were established in Wairarapa, John and Te Aitu moved inland, up the Ruamāhanga River, to land called Waka-ā-paua, later the Waka-ā-paua block.

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Te Aitu-o-te-rangi

Te Aitu claimed Waka-ā-paua as her home when she recovered the spade-shaped piece of greenstone, Kauorarangi, which had been hidden there earlier. She and her husband built their first home in a clearing, Ngakia-tōtara, on an island called Te Uretā (Jury’s Island). They cultivated the land, planting wheat and oats; they also had cows, goats, horses and 200 head of cattle.

In the 1840s and 1850s John Jury sometimes helped farmers in the district with their shearing and fencing.

While he was away at the Californian goldrush from 1850 to 1851, Te Aitu worked for her neighbours, Catherine and Charles Bidwill, helping with their young family and in the laundry.

Te Aitu and John Jury had four children. The first was Hoani Te Whatahoro, who recorded many tribal traditions, laments and songs. A daughter, Annie Eliza Haereaute, who married Joseph Oates, was born in 1846, and another son, Charles Joseph Te Rongotumamao, in 1850. A male child, born in 1854, did not survive.

Te Aitu died in the 1850s, probably in 1854. There are several different accounts of her death. The most likely one suggests that she caught measles during the epidemic which swept through the east coast districts of the North Island towards the end of April 1854. Charles Bidwill made

her coffin and she was buried either at Ngāpuke or Waitapu, old villages near Martinborough.

John Jury continued to farm Waka-ā-paua by right of his wife’s claim to her ancestral land, as he later made clear at a Native Land Court hearing. When he was milling timber on the land in the 1840s, no one had challenged his right to do so. Te Aitu’s cousin, Wī Kingi Tūtepākihirangi, supported the claim. The island and the land around it had belonged to Muretū, Te Aitu’s grandfather, but according to Native Land Court records, ‘the old man’ (possibly Pehi Tūtepākihirangi) had given it to Te Aitu seeing that she had children.

In 1868 a certificate of title for Jury’s Island was issued to Te Aitu’s children by the Native Land Court at Greytown. John Jury died on 6 August 1902 at his daughter’s house at Taumata.

Article courtesy Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau Photo courtesy of Aratoi

Where are you?

The office is seeking the whereabouts of these shareholders, descendants, or trustees.

Murray Douglas Kingi Zinzan Russell Ngatai Patricia Puanani Edwards Veronica Taylor Nickora Johnston Crawford Horiwia Bradbrook (Tamihana) Whānau Trust Mary Waaka Karen Waikuini Benham Andrew Bryan Cleverly Phillip Norman Chapman If you are able to provide any relevant information or contact details, please contact Amethyst on 06 370 2608 or 0800 662 624 or wmoffice@wairarapamoana.org.nz

Wairarapa Moana: The Lake and Its People Bringing you short snippets from the book to encourage you to read and increase your knowledge of this taonga. Enjoy!

Chapter 16: Wairarapa Moana: Valuing What Nature Intended.

Written by Jim Flack.

One thousand years ago Wairarapa Moana was pristine.

This can be said with confidence because people had not arrived to upset the natural environmental balance. The environment kept itself in balance.

There was a variety of native animals and plants – birds, insects, trees, fish and flowers. The landscape was modified by floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, slips, ice age and fires from lightning strikes. Over millennia, species evolved to cope with changing conditions or occasionally disappeared. Most of the changes were gradual.

When the first people settled around Wairarapa Moana, its environmental balance began to change. People need to eat and some native animals were severely depleted or disappeared through hunting, but the major changes were caused by planned burning and the introduction of kīore or Polynesian rat.

“Wairarapa Moana is no longer pristine, nor will it be, while people are living in the valley around it.”

– Jim Flack.

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A big focus for the current 2023/24 season has been to improve the quality of our milk.

Wairarapa Moana Incorporation are leaders in sustainable farming and land use practices. That means constantly identifying and looking at areas for improvement and onfarm excellence.

For the 2023 season we reported to shareholders in the Annual Report1 an average somatic cell count (SCC) for the year of 189,500. The lowest average SCC in 2023 was on Farm 8 with 137,000.

SCC is an indicator of milk quality. It shows the amount of white blood cells that are present in the milk. A higher number of white blood cells means the cow is likely to be fighting off some kind of infection. A lower number suggests a healthy cow, and higher quality milk.

We are pleased to report at this point in the season the majority of Wairarapa Moana Incorporation farms are in the top 20 for milk quality supplying Miraka, with an average of 102,000 SCC across all farms.

1 Page 6 Wairarapa Moana Incorporation Annual Report 2023.

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That equates to a 60% improvement in milk quality for the season to date supplied to Miraka, in comparison to the previous season.

“The farm teams have been very focussed on ensuring accurate herd records, hygiene in the shed, and making sure the milking process is working well,” said Gareth Hughes, General Manager Farms.

“It is about attention to detail.”

Obviously, it is early in the season but we are off to a great start.

As we all know the weather forecasters are predicting an El Nino summer – that means it is going to be dry with drought-like conditions in some parts of Aotearoa. Great for the beach and barbecue season but a challenge for all farmers and growers.

“We are getting your farms ready now so that we can confidently farm through the season with sufficient feed,” said Gareth Hughes.

The farm team has been closely monitoring pasture growth rates and harvesting early spring sileage, particularly on our Dairy Support Units.

“We have been fortunate so far to have plenty of sunshine days, great growing conditions for grass.”

A number of WMI farms have pivot irrigation which is ready to provide essential water when required.

Can you help?

JACQUELINE KIRI STRAWBRIDGE The office is holding unclaimed dividends for Jacqueline, and we are attempting to locate any descendants or rightful beneficiaries and would appreciate any information that may bring a successful result. This is the information we have about Jacqueline: Jacqueline’s maiden name was Jacqueline Kiri Shadlock.Jacqueline’s parents were Meri Shadlock nee Riwai and Joseph Shadlock.

Last year WMI upgraded the IT associated with its irrigation system to a provider called “Halo”. This system assists with the accuracy of our water use and ensures we only utilise the amount of water to which we are entitled as part of our consent.

We are also fortunate to have years of data on which to base our daily farming decisions, to ensure we use this precious resource efficiently.

Find out more ...

WM Facebook Join us on Facebook as we

share every-thing from on farm action to trust scholarships, wànanga and waiata, through to our history, news and photos. https://www.facebook.com/WairarapaMoanaInc

WM Website For information, news and events. https://www.wairarapamoana.org.nz

WM Waiata on YouTube Check out the

Wairarapa Moana YouTube channel and listen to the collection of waiata. https://www.youtube. com/channel/UCRBU5TvlRmJXh8atuVppAnw

Jacqueline was born on 26 December 1952.

Jacqueline married Garry John Strawbridge at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Masterton on 14 October 1972. At this time, she was living at 86 Jellicoe Street, Martinborough.

Jacqueline’s last known address on the Share Register was 185 Tremaine Avenue, Westbrook, Palmerston North.

Any information you can share with us would be greatly appreciated.

Call Amethyst on 370 2608 or 0800 662 624 or email: wmoffice@wairarapamoana.org.nz

Shareholder Search – Can you help?

We would like your help to trace descendants of shareholder

RANGITEKAHUTIA SONNY OTENE Any information you may be able to share with us will be most appreciated.

Call Amethyst on 0800 662 624 or email wmoffice@wairarapamoana.org.nz

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50 Unclaimed Dividends

Shareholder Bank Accounts

If you are able to provide any information that can help us to make contact with these shareholders or their descendants, please contact the office on

Dividends are paid by direct credit to bank accounts.

06 370 2608 or 0800 662 624 or email wmoffice@wairarapamoana.org.nz RANGITEKAHUTIA SONNY OTENE JACQUELINE KIRI STRAWBRIDGE SIMON SINAPI FOU BARNETT HENDERSON LUCILLE MANAENA REKO TE KANI TAMARAUKURA PAUL MATENGA TE OWHAKAKA HAEATA WALTER GLEN MATENGA JILLIAN ELIZABETH KINGI TE WHAKAHAWEA MATENGA ARAPERE TAMIHANA ESTATE HENARE POHATU RUTA COURTNEY DIANE BEVERLEY RIMENE SAMUEL JOHN H R TE TAU ESTATE PAMELA MARAMA JOHNSON ROPOAMA MAAKA MAUREEN MCDONALD TERESA WALKER SANDRA RAKI EILEEN SMITH NINIWA JOSEPHINE TAUEKI REX & DONELLA MANIHERA WHĀNAU TRUST HOHEPA AND LAURA TAEPA WHĀNAU TRUST

If you are living overseas and have unpaid dividends, these will be paid by direct credit to your overseas bank account in March, June, September or December; or to your New Zealand bank account if you have one.

If you are living in New Zealand, unpaid dividends will continue to be direct credited to your New Zealand bank account.

Thank you to all our shareholders who have provided new or updated postal addresses and bank account details.

To update your shareholder details please contact Amethyst Tauese by email wmoffice@wairarapamoana.org.nz or call 0800 662 624 or 06 370 2608.

Amethyst is available Monday to Thursday 9.00am to 2.30pm.

RIRIA PATRICIA JEPSEN RENA FITZGERALD LENA NICHOLLS JAMES ROSS MICHELLE JACQUELINE MCGREGOR JANE PIATA CAIRNS TATU RAKI PINEAHA MIHI TE MIHA RAUI HINE HEMI RUTU NGAIRO GREGORY KAMANE WHITE URSULA WHITE MAEIDA BARBARA KOPU TAMA LANCE HOWARD MIHAERE HEREMAIA POURANGI MIHAKA HEEMI MIHAKA HERA TAUEKI MARU IHAIA TAMIHANA HANA HIHIRIA CECILIA MIHAKA MICHAEL JOSEPH PESTNO JANINE LOVE JUNE ALISON TURU EREURA NGARORI KINGI RORA NGARORI KINGI MARY SCOTT

Do you have a story, a news item, a pānui you’d like to share in the Moana Mailer? The next Mailer dates are: ISSUE

CLOSING DATE FOR ARTICLES

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Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Friday, March 15, 2024

Contact us, we can help ... on 06 370 2608 or 0800 662 624 or info@wairarapamoana.org.nz

, Moana a p a r a r i a W ting Contac Office Hours: 9.00am to 4.30pm Monday to Thursday, closed Friday.

If you have any queries please contact Ngaere Webb, Amethyst Tauese, Cheryl Wilmshurst or Charmaine Kawana 16 at the Masterton office.

Freepost 158415 PO Box 2019 Kuripuni, Masterton 5842

Wairarapa Moana House 4 Park Avenue Masterton 5810

Phone: 06 370 2608 Freephone: 0800 662 624

Email: info@wairarapamoana.org.nz Website: www.wairarapamoana.org.nz