Te Wiki o Te Reo: Maori Language Week.

Tokaroa
Maori Language week is a real incentive for those of us who are not Maori, or Maori speakers, to become a little familiar with the language. Everywhere we go there are Maori place names that we are gradually learning to pronounce. Understanding what they might mean is another step forward in knowing our local environment and it's history. There is a Maori online dictionary and also a 2001 publication by A.W.Reed, called Illustrated Maori Place Names, I.S.B.N. 0 7900 0794 0. I have dipped into both to find out translations of Maori terms, with which I am not too familiar. Coromandel connections are the most fascinating. A very much abridged alphabetic list here follows.

Ahuahu is the process of mounding stuff up. It is also the name of Gt. Mercury Is. Kumera is grown in mounds or ahuahu and there were many gardens on Gt. Mercury. Alternatively the term is connected with the legendary whale rider Paikea. On arriving he was very cold and mounded himself in warm beach sand. Paikea has descendants in Kennedy Bay to this day.

Aotea is the name of one of the great canoes captained by Turi and gave it's name to Gt. Barrier

No Maori words begin with B,C or D and not many with E.

Hauturu is a two part word for Little Barrier. Hau for wind and turu for post. A resting place for the wind. Many words seem to be made of more than one part and it is useful in understanding their meaning.

Our sea cliffs that form Kahutara are an example. Not only is it the name of one of the great canoes (The Ngai Tahu sailed south to Kaikoura in a canoe of this name) but its two parts mean , a womens cloak and sea bird, which is quite descriptive. Then another "k"we have katipo, a venomous spider that can be found under logs on local beaches. Kuaotuna, across the water interprets as "young eels". There are still wetlands there. Many years ago I met an older maori lady who suggested that the "young" were in fact mutton birds. These were taken from their burrows on the Mercury Islands and processed on Kuaotuna beach. "Killing of the young" was her interpretation.

Coming up the coast we pass through Manaia, also the name for a carved maori figure with a large beaked head. We cross manga "streams" as we skirt the maunga "mountains" whilst passing motu "islands" of the coast, and perhaps isolated clumps of trees that are also called motu. Perhaps we stop so that a child can have a mimi! Closer to home we have our own Maungatapu or sacred mountain. Moehau translates literally as moe "to sleep" and hau as "wind". Tama, who figures large in Coromandel history is buried at Colville or maybe the mountain itself. Certainly his son Kahu named the mountain after him. A more sensitive translation being that this is "the resting place of Tama's life force".

Nga is a very common prefix as it means "the". Ngahere "the forest". It may be a better term to use than bush which seems to have a Dutch, South African origin!

O is another very common prefix meaning "the place of". We see it in Otara, Onehunga etc.

Papa in place names seems to mean flat, but, in the case of Papa Aroha, which is not particularly flat it could refer to a particular meeting place for many subtribes to meet. Aroha seems to have a number of interpretations. Mutual respect if not love would seem to be a minimum requirement for such a meeting.

Roto "lake" and rua "two". When we come to Tairua the interpretation is "two tides", one from the south and the other from the north, a description of a local phenomena. Tapu is a word that needs no explanation. The place itself was the site of a great battle and many are buried there. Te means "the" as in Te Ika A Maui "the North Island" or Maui's fish. Locally we have the Te Hope stream which was waist(hope) deep to ford. Much closer to home we have Tokaroa, our big offshore rock, often surrounded by titi "mutton bird". Tuateawa "beyond the stream" and you could drive along Waiherere drive. It could have been formerly called Te Waiherere "the place of rushing waters". These days the streams are culverted. However the history still remains in the names!

HEI KONA MAI.

Tuateawa Timeline.

As you wander around Tuateawa it is difficult to imagine the transformations that it has undergone. Twenty thousand years ago forest would have existed only in this region and the North. The last Ice Age was at it's peak. South of Auckland there would have been scrub, and then tussock. The Tuateawa area would have been more extensive. The sea level was down a good 100m. A single land mass existed from Stewart Is. to Cape Reinga. Moas could have walked from Tuateawa to The Mercuries with dry feet.

Tuateawa would have been part of a seedbank that allowed recolonisation of the south as the Ice Age weakened it's grip on NZ. Not all of the species survived the cold. Today, for example, we have only two members of the Protea family, the Rewa rewa and Toru. Many existed before the ice age. It is thought that the vegetation of Noumea is the closest in composition to that of the preglacial period in NZ.

Warming occured and by 10,000BP Cook Straight was formed. By 3,000BP 95% of the North Is. was forested. Tuateawa would have been full of an incredible variety of life.

New Zealand became the last land mass to be occupied by man. There are many indications of these early Polynesian arrivals in the Coromandel region. All the evidence suggests a date around 1280 AD for the beginning of colonisation. In less than 500 years they would be joined by colonists of European origin. These, first colonists, arrived to a land of plenty. They brought their agricultural skills with them. Fire was a major tool, as it would be for the later European arrivals. East coast bush is particularly susceptible to fire as it is more open and less lush than that on the West coast. Habitat destruction would have been almost immediate. Fire did provide land for planting though, which was the immediate requirement. In the burned land bracken fern and cabbage tree grew particularly well. Both were major carbohydrate sources for the Polynesians. It is of interest that we live on the slopes of Whanake. In Maori the noun whanake refers to the edible portion of the cabbage tree. It does seem reasonable to name a geographical feature after an important resource found there!

Their protein source was found in the bush and on the shore. Sea lions and fur seals were abundant on Tuateawa shores in those times. In the bush and it's fringes there were moa. Some of these weighed in at a quarter tonne. Dressed out they would have produced 90kg. of meat. In Tegal terms that would be a No. 900! Both the hunting and farming practices proved to be unsustainable. A population boom put pressure on resources, and the large protein supply dwindled and then became totally or locally extinct. Soil fertility would have fallen from repeated cropping and new land would need to be burned for horticultural purposes. When the Polynesians arrived it is believed that around 75 to 85% of the country was forested. This dropped to around 53% by the 1500's. A massive habitat destruction in a very short period.

It is at this point that the life style began to change and a distinctly Maori culture developed from its Polynesian origins.

European colonists proved to be just as exploitative. The kauri and its potential for profit were quickly realised. Discovered in 1772 it was being exported as sawn timber to build Melbourne and Sydney by 1820. Today there are 7 000 hectares of Kauri, initially, in Coromandel and Northland there were around 1.7 million hectares. The local story is revealed by this image of a hand written document of 1906. It may not be easy to read. Essentially it says that, in a region stretching from Waikawau to Tuateawa there is little commercial timber left to be harvested.

"young" totara, approx 500mm di.

We like to think of Tuateawa bush as very special. Indeed it is! However it has been through a lot to get where it is. It contains some really big trees, but only of non commercial species. Those species are making a comeback, but they have only had a century to do it so far. A return to the pre 1280 AD bush could be a few years away!

Tuateawa Plant Spot: Titoki.

Titoki fruiting heads are just about the brightest thing to be found in Tuateawa at this time of the year. However there is a need to delve into the plant to find them . As a dramatic alternative to daffodils they are well worth houseroom. There are quite a few titoki plants in Tuateawa but even more are found in urban situations. It is a well formed shiny leaved evergreen tree ideally suited to our avenues parks and small gardens. The scented oil in the seeds has been used as a hair dressing. The scent is hardly noticeable. Similarly the juicy looking fruity bit appears much tastier than it is in reality!

Tuateawa Bird Spot. 8000 Kereru snared from 3sq. km. of bush!

That was in Opawa, near Taupo in 1881. No possums then, less habitat destruction and probably fewer mammalian predators. Comparisons are useful to make if not totally reliable. These figures would suggest more than one kereru per acre, without counting those that survived the snaring. Translated to Tuateawa, with all things being equal, this would suggest a population into triple figures. Of course, it is very far from this level.

Kereru populations are in general decline in the N.I.. The major factors identified being, loss of habitat, competition for food with possums and mammalian predation. Within that last category hunting must be included. Kereru were given total protection in 1921. Some still continue to exercise customary rights, and for them, these remain an issue under The Treaty of Waitangi. In the absence of any solid data the exact population in Tuateawa is unclear. Anecdotally there is a suggestion of an increase from the lower levels of the past.

We are fortunate that in depth studies have been carried out in a number of other locations. Census information is also being collected in a coordinated and standardized way to provide baseline and continuing data. This will permit evaluation of the effectiveness of conservation tactics. There are some years when an entire kereru population will not attempt to breed. In areas where miro berries are a major food source a poor fruiting will have this effect. Kereru are totally vegan, no grubs for them. They are fruit eaters first, followed by flowers like kowhai and also new leaves. In years that they do breed there may be a total lack of success. Their reproductive potential is not great. Only one egg is produced per nest and nest predation of both egg and nestling is very significant. In a really good year though, they may nest three times. In circumstances of really good predator control 90% of fledglings will leave the nest. A Whirinaki study is of interest. The possible lifespan of Kereru is thought to be around 20 years. Published estimates of actual lifespan are around the five year mark. In Whirinaki they used radio monitoring of a number of birds. Lack of movement would suggest death and they would usually be able to find the body and determine the cause of death. Predation was a major factor, falcons, which we lack, were a minor factor in this predation and some were lost from hunting. The average life span however was less than two years. Not very long to produce the offspring to replace you.

Our pigeon is rather special when compared to those in Europe. It has an amazing display flight and the sound of it passing overhead is quite magical. What's more it doesn't cover buildings with excrement. It does it in much more ecologically significant places! Excepting a few iconic species like kowhai and pohutakawa, most of our trees produce seeds covered in succulent fresh. Many of our native birds are involved in transporting these to new locations. Foremost of these is the keruru. It consumes 70 different fruits, digests the flesh and deposits the seeds. The digestive process removes any inhibitory chemicals in the flesh and abrasions to the seed speeds up water intake. The seeds germinate more quickly and in greater quantity. There are five species that only the keruru is capable of eating. They are the very large seeds of miro, puriri, tawa, taraire and karaka. Most of these are major components of Tuateawa bush. Without these species regenerating bush will be very different in composition to our established bush. More bush means more birds, in fact more of just about everything. The kereru is a very pivotal species in this whole process.

The situation in Tuateawa looks very promising. From a very small population base there is an effective team of volunteers. Predator control is happening, as is monitoring of effectiveness. New initiatives are being used and Habitat Tuateawa has also been effective in securing significant funding for their continuing work. CONGRATULATIONS!!! How wonderful it would be to see kereru numbers approaching historical levels.

Lost Civilization

Tuateawa might seem an unusual place to go shopping. If you know where to look though there is a great range of handcraft and art work available. There is also a variety of quarry product. However, real estate has to be at the top of the list! We sent out our shopping correspondent, Ren Tabach, to see what was available. He returned, not with the makings of an article, but with this remarkable image.

How many years had these mysterious structures existed, hidden deep in the Tuateawa bush? We immediately called a full meeting of the editorial board to consider this question.

Unfortunately, local hero, explorer and treasure seeker, Tuateawa Jones, was not immediately available for consultation. Just that morning he had departed in his heavily laden supersizeme Humvee. His destination, the Waitakeri Hinterland. His mission, to find the lost city of Ultima Thule. It is a region full of disputing native tribes like the Jaffa-ri and Waitakeco-ri. Perhaps he would have been better exploring closer to home rather than in this dangerous region.

Luckily the board had other, if less expert resources. " it could be a gateway into another dimension or time" said our science specialist. We quickly discounted this contribution. Sadly he has recently been developing the forward stoop, shaky hands and fixed gaze of a late stage X-BOX addict. Dai, our theologian, raised the possibility of Druid influence and sees the bush as a possible sacred grove. Lee K. Holmes, our building specialist is much more down to earth and rooted in the present. His major contribution was to wonder about the quality of the mortar and if there was a L.I.M. report!

This brings us to Justin Thyme, a late arrival to our foodie team. Stepping out of his area of expertise and precisely onto the toes of Vincent Van der Humm, he wondered if it might be a work of art? Vincent is a man of huge ego who finds it difficult to agree with anyone. "Ruins are so passe. Real art today is dead tiger sharks, decaying in large glass tanks full of formalin" he claimed. It seems that, in certain parts of the world such things fetch around six million US$! The rest of us found this rather confusing. What happened when the shark had finally turned to sludge and the art work was just a tank full of rather smelly liquid? From this point on things rather deteriorated. Vincent stormed out shouting "you just get another shark, you Philistines" Our ecologist burst into tears, sobbing something about declining shark populations whilst our business editor thought six mill. was a bit steep for an empty aquarium, no matter how big it was. Strangely, Rip Moff our local entepreneur developed a large smile.

But I digress. At this point we are no further ahead in solving the mystery. We have had calls out all day trying to locate Tuateawa Jones. We are deeply concerned that he may have fallen foul of the Jaffa-ri.

STOP PRESS. LATEST!!!!!!!

All is well! Tuateawa Jones is safe. Humvees do require a lot of gas it seems. He made the mistake of attempting to fill up at the only Greenpeace petrol station in the Waitakiri region. He should have guessed when a teenage girl came out to see him wearing a tee shirt proclaiming---I HAVE ISSUES! No petrol for Tuateawa Jones. He was advised that his vehicle was an obscenity, and she slapped several large "SAVE THE EARTH " stickers on the windscreen, all biodegradable, I am advised. Being the polite man that he is TJ drove away only to run out of petrol a small distance down the road. The last we heard he was still pressing on. Don't expect to hear from me until 01/04/2010, was the last word. We wait anxiously.