← Ōtūmoetai Pā field trip videos
Welcome to Ōtūmoetai Pā
Des
Kia ora tātou, mokopuna mā. Kia ora mō tō koutou whakaaro ki te titiro ki te whakarongo mō tō tātou hītori o Tauranga Moana. Koutou rā tangata nei, ā, ngā mihi ki a kōrua hoki mō tō koutou whakaaro mō tātou hītori o ngā pakanga o Ōtūmoetai, te pā o Ōtūmoetai, te whenua o Alister.
Koutou rā tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou kia ora tātou katoa.
Andrew
Kia ora, Koro Des.
This is Koro Des, local kaumātua. And here we are on Ōtūmoetai Pā, on the precipice, looking out over that beautiful moana on such a glorious day. Thank you for welcoming us here today, Koro Des.
Let’s start with the name; Ōtūmoetai. What does that mean?
Des
Ōtūmoetai means, when the tide starts to recede and it gets out and it gets to its furtherest, it stops and it sleeps. And it sleeps for a short time, and then it turns and starts coming back in. And when it gets to its highest point, and then it sleeps again, and then it returns. So simply it's called, the sleeping tides.
Andrew
And it was a hive of activity for living here. People lived here. And extensive gardens in the surrounds. But obviously people would come back here and this was also a defensive place. Tell us a bit more about, you know, set the scene, if you will, of what it was like here.
Des
So it was the everyday thing. If they weren't out doing the gardens or up in the ngahere hunting up there for birds.
Andrew
Or fishing.
Des
Or fishing, all of that. Then they’d be back here, resting. So it comes to the evening. They come back, they have their meals, and then they rest until the next day. They had to work hard because they had hundreds of people to take care of.
Andrew
Right, so you were telling me before that this was confiscated land. The land was sold off to fund the European military; the colonial military during New Zealand wars. And then it had successive ownership. Became a farm and Alister was the last owner. And you can see, by the way, remains of some of those farmhouses just up there.
It was the last remaining block, wasn't it? That hadn't been developed because you can see all the development around us.
Des
He was never going to sell this, like, all of his neighbours. There was about eleven or so hundred acre blocks that goes from there, across to the trees here, and then going back up across the road, across the railway line, up Ngātai Road and up a little bit there; hundred acres. When they got older they sold that block, on the other side of the road, and kept this block here.
So he had a meeting with us, and he asked us to buy the land. So we couldn't buy the land because we don't have enough money – didn't have enough money. So what happens then is, we said go and see the council. So he went to see the council, and the council was more than happy to buy it for the community. And keep it in its... in what it is now.
Andrew
And you talk about how the coming together of people created what became the working of this pā, the living on this pā and.. And that's what it does now, today, it's like it's a place where this happens – it brings people together. And I'm really excited.
Thank you so much for welcoming us here today, giving us a snapshot of that history. And I'm really looking forward to learning more on this field trip hīkoi about some of the discoveries that have been made through the archaeology, which tells us more about the history of this place.
Des
And this, just quickly, what it's done. It's all of the new entrants that come to our school, they come here for the pōhiri, and their parents come and they've never been here before. So you, you know, you're bringing in a whole lot of new people.
So now when the kids go past they say this is their place.
Andrew
Connections.
Des
Yeah. Yeah. So that's the, that's the best thing that you know we've all done together to allow that to happen. And the council also enjoys that as well. You know, the council is the owner and they take care of it. But it's there for the public and mainly for the schools.
Andrew
Well Koro Des, kia ora, ngā mihi.
Des
Kia ora e hoa.
Andrew
Kia ora e te whānau.
This is Ken, and Ken is one of the key archaeologists here in the Tauranga area. And we’re on top of Ōtūmoetai Pā. And we just heard from Koro Des a bit about the history of this place. And he talked a lot, Ken, about the different groups of people that have lived around this area. And right now we're sitting on some steps from an old homestead. Tell us a bit more about where these steps fit into the picture.
Ken
Okay. Well, after Ōtūmoetai, and the land around it was confiscated, in the mid 1860s, it eventually fell into the hands of European owners. And the Matheson family purchased what is now, basically the extent of the pā and a lot of surrounding land. And they occupied and farmed it for many years until the 20th century. And eventually sold sections off. They built this homestead about that time, 1870s. This particular homestead, the steps we're sitting on, was built in the 1920s, I think. So it was the second homestead, but on the same site.
Andrew
So about 100 years ago.
Ken
About 100 years ago, yeah. And so this is the last remnant or the last area that hasn't been built over or dramatically modified. And that's why it's such a precious piece of land within the context of the wider pā site. And Tauranga generally.
Andrew
And this piece, of course, that was kept aside was specifically given by its previous owner for the purposes of archaeology.
Now, archaeology is basically digging into the ground and unearthing objects that tell us about the past. What makes Ōtūmoetai Pā and its surrounds such an interesting place to do archaeology?
Ken
When the first Europeans arrived, they identified Ōtūmoetai as the capital or the major settlement in the Tauranga district. And there were hundreds of people living here, and it had been occupied probably for 600 years; back into the 1300s. There was early evidence – archaeological evidence – of early settlement on the beach terrace below us. And then the pā probably came a little bit later. The defensive system.
So we've got this continuation of occupation in one very relatively intense location. And so every time we do an excavation within the pā, whether it be when Alister donated the land to the council or when subdivision developments occur further to the west within the pā, we find this really intensive, archaeological resource, that is unprecedented, really, in the Tauranga district.
It's remarkable, and like I say, all the artefacts, the urupā, the structures, the whare, all the different structures, internal fencing and palisading on the defensive walls, all left an archaeological record.
And so, it's just an amazing, absolutely amazing resource. And much of it survives.
The extent of Ōtūmoetai based on traditional history and archives, physical remains. Obviously we don't have the ditch and bank, the defensive system, beyond through the residential area. So we project where that is, and we use old archives and early survey plans and anecdotal information, to work out the boundaries of the pā.
And so when there's a, you know, a development within the pā or near the pā, we can work out, you know, where it's positioned in relation to the defensive system or internal activity areas within the pā. And that way we can approach the excavation having some sort of knowledge of what to expect to find.
Andrew
So Ken, an archaeologist is a bit like a historic detective; a history detective. You know, you’re trying to find evidence of past existence, what people did. But it must be quite a structured process that you go through, you know, to actually excavate. It's not just random digging. Tell us a bit more about how you, you know, what you do as you go down through layers of time.
Ken
Well, that's exactly it. As I say, we start off when we expose and take the topsoil off. We work from the most, the youngest period of occupation. And to do justice to the earliest period, we have to go through methodically and remove each layer, thoroughly, at a time. So that if we uncover that 1860s period, we take that off, we might come down to another period that may date to a hundred, 200 years prior to that, depending on the activity that occurred in the same area throughout that period.
The thing with working on a site like this is you do get so many artefacts and that tangible connection with the past, whether it be a fishhook that you know someone caught a fish on and it broke while they were bringing it in, or an adze that was used to, you know, haft a post to build something, or a waka.
All those things bring the past to light, you know. There's a great saying that the past is a foreign country, and that's exactly what it's like. You never quite understand it all, but every time you go back and look at it, you start to understand it more. And that's what archaeology’s like. It's like traveling to a foreign country and being completely alien from that culture as a European. But slowly over time, you become more enamoured with the whole process and understand things just by the tangible evidence of what went on in the past. And that's what's so amazing about archaeology.
Andrew
Yeah. And those artefacts are going to be what we go and have a look at a bit later on in the field trip. I'm looking forward to seeing some of those things that have been unearthed. But thanks so much for your time, Ken. It's been fascinating and I really appreciate it. Kia ora.
Ken
My pleasure. Kia ora.
Ngā kaitiaki o Ōtūmoetai Pā
Andrew
This is an interesting place to stop. We're here with Barry, who takes a kaitiaki role when it comes to archaeology here in Ōtūmoetai Pā. And this is an interesting spot isn't it, Barry. You've got this mishmash of different features. You got this you know, colonial looking style white picket fence that was probably used as part of the farm with the remains of that farmhouse up there.
This old trench, defensive trench, battle trench from the pā. Beautiful old trees – TĪ kōuka, the cabbage tree. That giant pūriri and this exotic looking palm. And then flanked on either side by these modern houses. It shows the real development of cultures and the timestamp of different things happening over the years.
But aside from that, Barry, your role as kaitiaki when it comes to archaeology, what does that involve?
Barry
Well, it involves taking care of our history, in this area. Looking for evidence of occupation that we know existed here with our people. And, working alongside the archaeologists to, mainly to the benefit of tangata whenua who rely on them to expose those things that we can't see on the top of the ground, but, only found through digging.
For instance, some of these, these houses over here, some of them get demolished and they want to rebuild and put new houses up. So in order to do that, they have to have an archaeological authority, which comes through Heritage New Zealand. Then all the paperwork is done and then put through us as tangata whenua, then we agree to support them with having a kaitiaki here, monitors, cultural monitors here. We start with a karakia, and then we talk about the land; we talk about the history of the place, and why is it's important for us to be here while they're digging.
Andrew
So there's protocols in place?
Barry
Absolutely.
Andrew
Protocols to follow. And you can't just start putting your spade in and start digging.
Barry
No.
Andrew
There’s things to follow.
Barry
Yes. There is. Yes.
Andrew
Tikanga.
Barry
Yep. Certainly is tikanga on here. To be able to do any digging you need a permit and you need an authority. Otherwise, there's a certain distance that you... if you go down to the original clay soil, that's where the evidence is found normally.
Andrew
And that's more than just respect for tangata whenua. It's an acknowledgement isn't it?
Barry
Yes. Yes. That is an acknowledgement of our existence here. Yeah. Definitely.
Yeah, we find evidence of ruas, pits, storage pits, fire pits where they did their hāngīs, their cooking. And then we also find evidence of our urupā.
Andrew
Kōiwi you were saying.
Barry
Yes kōiwi.
Andrew
Kōiwi is deceased remains.
Barry
Yes. And, you know, we think some of them have been in the ground 700 odd years. And we only know that because the archaeologists have said these been down here. And so obviously because of where they are and the area we’re in, we know that they must have been part of our, our whānau. We consider they are anyway. So we, if we can't remove them, we'll leave them there with the permission of the landowner, or we remove them and reinter them into our urupā. Yeah.
Andrew
Thank you Barry, like just giving us a bit of an overview about, you know, your role and the importance of that role of having kaitiaki involved when it comes to archaeology. You can't just put a spade in the ground and start digging. And then when something's found, you know, there’s protocols, there’s tikanga to follow.
Kia ora, Barry.
Barry
Kia ora, Andrew.
Tauranga Heritage Collection
Andrew
Kia ora Dean. Kia ora.
Dean
Kia ora.
Andrew
Nice to meet you. This is Dean, and Dean is the manager here at the Tauranga Heritage Museum.
This place is where artefacts, taonga come from different places around Tauranga. But we're particularly interested in some of those taonga, those artefacts that have come from Ōtūmoetai Pā. This is where they come.
Dean is going to take us out back to a special room to see some of that taonga. I'm so excited about this because we've talked with our archaeologist about finding some of these taonga. Let's go and see some. Lead the way.
Dean
Perfect.
Andrew
And this is the place, this storage facility, where these artefacts, these taonga come to. And there's a process that's gone through so that they're looked after.
Dean
Yeah, absolutely. So most of the taonga on this tray here have been kind of brought into the collection as they’ve been found. And these ones over here were actually done through a controlled archaeological dig.
A new object comes into this collection from an archaeological dig. We can register an artefact, and then that's given a specific number, which is called a Z-number. So it's protected. It can't leave the country. But it will reside in here. And so in that sense, we are a repository. And we work with the Ministry and with Heritage New Zealand around how those objects are looked after.
And then if ownership is sought by iwi, that’s usually done through the Māori Land Court. And then they’ll put a case together. What we're fortunate about here is that, with our elders who were here when we set this all up, there was an agreement that any taonga found within the bounds of Tauranga Moana can come here, but then we acknowledge which hapū and iwi they come from.
This is telling us a story that those who occupied were, I suppose, receiving or getting stone of different types and putting them to work. So when we look at an adze like this, I mean, that's not going to cut wood, but it will fashion soil.
So you see: "items found at Ōtūmoetai Pā site, Levers Road, Property of Alister Matheson". So when you have a look at here you can see these, these types of hooks here. These were fashioned to catch snapper.
Andrew
Yeah.
Dean
So when you catch a snapper it hooks on the jaw of the snapper. We can then date, through these hooks and then we know what the people were doing at that particular time.
These are māhē. They’re anchor stones for nets. For fishing nets. So when a fishing net goes out, one of these is tied to the end and lays up on the beach. But no two are the same. So if you have a look at that. So these have been carved specifically as “this is my net. Don't touch my net”.
Andrew
Is it?
Dean
Yeah. Identification as to whose net that is. Now, I've seen pretty much every one of these types of stones, including up in Auckland Museum, and they all come from Tauranga Moana.
Andrew
Yeah.
Dean
So they are unique to here, but they're markers for whose net it belongs to. So they were tied in at the end there.
Andrew
So Dean, we've seen some of the examples of the early occupation, fish hooks, obsidian, fish hooks made from moa bones, that sort of thing. Anchors and stone adzes, that sort of thing. This is a bit later. We've got a piece of slate. With someone's name in it.
Dean
Yes, absolutely.
Andrew
Te Kaponga – sounds familiar. One of the one of the chiefs.
Dean
Yeah. So we have these fragments of slate, which would have been brought by early European settlers. And then with the arrival of Christianity and missionaries there was this whole idea around education. Yeah. And so the slates were used to teach Māori how to write. And so in the slate here, we're fortunate enough to have Te Kaponga.
Te Kaponga was a chief of Ngāti Ranginui. So he came down from Ngāti Ranginui, Te Kaponga, and then his whakapapa goes all the way down to the last Māori occupant of the land, which is Hōri Tūpaea.
Andrew
His picture is just over there.
Dean
That’s his picture over there.
Andrew
Dean. Thanks so much for showing us around. But you were saying, you know, this is part of the story because this is a repository. This is where the artefacts, the taonga items come in and are kept. But there's a little bit more to it.
Dean
Oh, absolutely. I mean, the role for museums and that is to become kaitiaki of artefacts.
But the story doesn't end with us. The story actually still remains the property of the descendants of the artefacts that we care for.
Andrew
And we're going to have a kōrero with one, Te Haana, in just a moment, but kia ora again. And thanks so much.
Dean
Awesome. Kia ora.
Connecting with taonga from Ōtūmoetai Pā
Andrew
And here she is. Ko Te Haana tēnei.
Te Haana, you are from Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. And like us, this is your first time here at the Tauranga Heritage Collections. And so the difference, though, between you and me is that you whakapapa and are related to most of the people who have occupied Ōtūmoetai Pā over the years. That's amazing.
You're seeing some of these taonga for the very first time. What does that mean to you to see those pieces that connect you to that place?
Te Haana
So it's actually really amazing to be able to connect back with our taonga. There's an old whakataukī we say: toitū te whenua, whatungarongaro te tangata. And that's about the generations of people die, but the land still remains. And when we talk about taonga, we talk about it being a capsule or something that actually becomes the kaitiaki of these taonga, until we do an archaeological investigation, or we do a mahi with tangata whenua that identifies archaeology in the area or finds, and then we connect back to them as it comes back out into te ao mārama. So being covered in the dirt and then coming back into the light for us to reconnect to is really amazing and outstanding.
Andrew
It must invoke quite a lot of feelings to see some of those objects that, you know, people that you whakapapa with made those objects, used those objects, were part of their life.
Te Haana
So it shows the engineering qualities of our tūpuna before pre-colonial contact as well. But there's also layerings at Ōtūmoetai of our trading. So this is where our tupuna John Lees Faulkner comes in. He married into our Ngāi Te Rangi whānau. I'm also Ngāti Ranginui, and I also have ties to Te Arawa. And those are the three waka that came to settle in Tauranga Moana.
And so this being about a marriage. This whenua was particularly fought over and a marriage was something that created peace amongst Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāi Te Rangi. And as somebody who has blood of Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāi Te Rangi, it's good to have that peace also within us. If there were two iwi fighting that will also create fighting within ourselves.
So finding this together, accepting those layers of occupation for multiple people, this is the coming together of all of those different layering of people. And this is the product you get. So I am a Pouārahi. This is why I love to do my mahi. It's about the connection of tangata back to their whenua. That's why we are tangata whenua. And then becoming kaitiaki of the whenua. And Ōtūmoetai Pā is actually a really good example of how that can happen alongside our Tangata Tiriti as well.
Andrew
Ka pai. Thanks so much for sharing that. So very lucky to have you to be able to share that with us. Kia ora.
Te Haana
Kia ora.
Andrew
Ka kite.
Te Haana
Ka kite.
Andrew
Wasn't that a fascinating insight into the Tauranga Heritage Collection. You've seen where those artefacts, those taonga that have been unearthed through archaeological excavations come to and where they're sorted and organised; where they are curated and looked after.
And we've had a look at some of those items, some really old ones, some newer ones, and you've seen some of those meanings or stories behind those items. And met somebody who directly whakapapa to that place and the people that lived there. It's been a really special afternoon here, and I hope you've enjoyed yourself in looking around too.
A visit to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Andrew
Kia ora e te whānau. Right now we're at the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, Lower Northern Area Office. And we're going to go inside and meet two more archaeologists, who work up in the office, and find out a bit more about what they do. Follow me.
Rachel
Kia ora Andrew.
Andrew
Hi.
Rachel
Welcome to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.
Andrew
Thanks for having us. This is Rachel, everybody.
Come on, let's find out.. Rachel's going to take us to her office.
And look, here's Te Haana. We met Te Haana at the Heritage Collections yesterday.
Te Haana
Kia ora.
Andrew
Good to see you again.
Te Haana
Yeah. You too.
Rachel
And this is Eleanor.
Andrew
Ah kia ora Eleanor.
Eleanor
Good to see you.
Andrew
Nice to meet you.
Hey look at this. Every archaeologist needs a spade.
Well, I can see you guys are really hard at work, but there must be lots of things going on here in the office.
Rachel
Yeah. So this is where Eleanor and I manage the archaeology for the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne districts. So there's always something interesting. Something going on.
Andrew
Well that's a big area! When you say managing, sort of what does that involve?
Rachel
So we administer the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act. So that protects all archaeological sites whether they're recorded or not from damage or modification.
Andrew
Right.
Rachel
So we really try and promote the protection of archaeological sites. When that's not possible, there’s lots of sort of balancing things going on and people wanting houses over these large landscapes, they apply for an authority from Heritage New Zealand. So then there’s a careful archaeological investigation to recover information.
Andrew
So speaking of information, you've got quite a lot of that haven't you?
Rachel
Loads of it, yeah.
Andrew
Show us some of the information that you've got here.
Rachel
So this is... we rely on this! This is one of our tools we use heaps – it's the New Zealand Archaeological Association ArchSite. So they've got a database of recorded archaeological sites.
Andrew
It's massive. There's lots of sites.
Rachel
Yeah. If you see the green dots or the stars on the screen, you can see how intense the recorded archaeological sites are in Tauranga, and where we are as well. And these are just the recorded ones. There’s heaps of sites yet to be discovered.
Andrew
Well, that's right. And what's on this screen here?
Rachel
So, some of these sites have been investigated. And when the information has been collected from them, it's written up in archaeological reports. So on this other screen is the digital library that Heritage New Zealand has. And it's available on the website, and it has archaeological reports that people have written. So there’s hundreds and hundreds of archaeological reports on site.
Andrew
And this information is really useful for people that want to maybe do something to their property, either a small development or a large one.
Rachel
Yep. Like collectively, this information helps people to make decisions, good decisions about their land and what they want to do and what they need to do. And what, you know, the information we’re recovering.
Andrew
And there’s other people involved in some of those decisions. And then when you have to do an investigation, it's not just about the person that owns the land now.
Rachel
Yep. So most of these sites are Māori archaeological sites. So we work alongside iwi, hapū in that decision making and what happens with the archaeological sites.
Andrew
Yes, because there’s certain tikanga to follow and protocols and you make sure that things are done right.
Rachel
Yes, right, absolutely. And there's also, councils have a big role as well because they manage development really, through their district plans or city plans. So there's lots of council rules to follow as well. And Heritage New Zealand is, you know, part of the bigger picture really with iwi.
Andrew
Well if I wanted to do something around my place, there might be some interesting information that Eleanor has.
Come over here where she's found something quite interesting. Because what if I just wanted to do some digging and maybe put in a new swimming pool or something Eleanor? You’ve found something interesting at my house right here in Kerikeri.
Eleanor
That's right. So near your house there is some recorded shell midden sites.
Andrew
Right. So what does that mean in terms of anything I might want to do around the house?
Eleanor
So it means if you wanted to say undertake some earthworks, we would need to check to make sure that one, if there is archaeology there or that it might uncover some.
Andrew
And so this is interesting too, because maybe someone's just wants to bury some treasure around the house. You know, something that they don't want anyone to find. And they come across something that's already there. What would the process be for that?
Eleanor
So if someone comes across what they think is some archaeology, it's important that they stop and they contact their local Heritage New Zealand office.
Andrew
Right. And then those processes can be put in place. There might be an archaeological investigation or there might be information that already exists like this. So everyone's clear about the process forward.
Eleanor
That's right. We want to make sure that if there is archaeology uncovered unexpectedly, that we recover that information and the right processes are followed.
Andrew
Yeah. And it's protected right for the future, because that's what you guys are all about.
Well, thanks so much for having us here and just showing us quickly around the office. Really interesting to see what you guys do in here and how that relates to what goes on out in the field, and how all those other people that are involved in those processes fit into the picture. Thanks very much.
Andrew/Rachel
Thank you.
