It was curiosity that pushed Tame Pokaia on a journey he knew little about to try to find whenua that belonged to his whānau.
As a child, he heard stories about land that was his family’s nestled beside the Waipa River near Whatawhata but not many knew exactly where it was.
So, early in the 1980s, he made it his responsibility to find the land of his late mother, Roka Wiri Poro,a and reconnect his people to it.
He learned how to research land titles, Land Information New Zealand reports and Māori Land Court files.
“The saying of my ancestors has always stuck with me, ’The land was taken. The land must be returned,” Pokaia (Ngāti Mahuta ki Taupiri, Ngāti Hikairo ki Kawhia and Ngāti Reko) said.
‘I’ll get my gun and shoot’
Not only did Pokaia have to put up with Pākehā processes to unlock his whānau land, but he had also to put up with one local farmer’s behaviour.
One day Pokaia, his wife, and daughter were looking at the land with maps, trying to find exactly where his mother’s land block was but they were confronted by a farmer.
“He said I’ll get my gun and I will shoot. I thought, if I was to die, it would be all right because I would die for my parents and my grandchildren.”
Glen Cunningham, the farmer who said that spoke to teaomaori.news about their conversation saying, "I had had trouble with cannabis people and I have threatened many and made pretty serious threats to some people to try to get rid of them. There was a thought to go get the gun because, yeah".
Te Ture, Te Whakapono, Te Aroha
Cunningham admitted he had been using some parts of the 100-plus hectares of Māori land for over 10 years without paying rent and without permission.
However, with Pokaia researching and making inquiries into the block of lands of his mothers and others’ whenua he was able to hold Cunningham to account and have him start paying by way of lease and not having his 220 cows desecrate the urupa.
Cunningham agreed and over time they have become good friends.
“I could have gone in with my taiaha and, if I had, we wouldn’t have this outcome today but instead I followed the teachings of my elders. Haere i runga i te ture, te whakapono me te aroha. Do it properly, in spirit and in love,” Pokaia said.
Cunningham has since sold the farm to another farmer, who knows the history and is happy to help the whānau in any way.
The land was always under Māori title but there was an issue because it was landlocked. There was no way to get to the land other than a helicopter or entering from the Waipa River. However, after much discussion with Land Information New Zealand, the Māori Land Court, Council, and surveyors, Pokaia was able to plan and activate a right of way to allow his people to use a private road that would give them access to their land blocks.
Resting place for first Māori king
The Waipa River connects to the Waikato River. On the arrival of the Tainui waka in the 1300s many people settled along the Waipa River, which became the main highway for transport. The land Pokaia has found was a station point for trade, markets, homes, and a resting place for King Potatau Te Wherowhero, the first Māori king, as he travelled from Ngāruawāhia to Whaingaroa.
An urupa sits on a hill there to this day. It is surrounded by prime green land that soaks up all the nutrients from the Waipa River. There are more than 10 Māori blocks with Māori titles that await to be reconnected to Māori owners.
For now, Pokaia wants his people to “dream big” about what they would like to do with their whenua.
As for Pokaia, he will start by preparing a memorial statue for those who lie in the urupa on the lands of his ancestors.