Whanganui River

The Whanganui River acts as a cultural epicentre of New Zealand. The formation of the river is illustrated in Māori legend, where a furrowed path was left and later filled with water after Mount Taranaki fled from an enraged Tongariro[1]. This myth is evidence of the high importance that Māori place on land through traditional values like kaitiakitanga and taonga – the Whanganui River in particular[2]. 

Prior to European colonisation, ‘Kiwi culture’ could be epitomised through the relationship that Māori had with the land, the Whanganui River a prominent part of this. Māori have been settled in New Zealand as early as the 13th century, developing strong connections with the land – or taonga[3]. Taonga is a sacred regard for the natural gifts from the Gods in which current Māori are the responsible stewards (Petrie 2006). The Whanganui River is a prime example of this - a valuable resource for Māori life. Food and medicine was sourced from the riverbank’s plants, and its trees used for waka, housing and pou. The river acted as a Māori highway to the central plateau and as a means of connection to other river iwi (Craig, Rawiri and Wild 2012). In Whanganui, Māori cultural identity has evidently been shaped around the harmonious and spiritual relationship with the river, as a central component to Māori being. 

[1] (Royal 2007)

[2] (Royal 2007)

[3] (NZ on Screen 1952) 

Traditional ideas of Kiwi culture were complicated through the process of colonisation. When using the Whanganui River as a central component, the contrasting cultural identities between Māori and Pākehā become apparent. Owning land had immense cultural and ideological importance to settlers and their descendants as they knew of the power that would come with land ownership (McAloon 2008). Following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, The land for the township of Whanganui was sold to the New Zealand Company in a dubious purchase, with further land purchases increasing tension between settlers and Māori (Young 2005). The focus of Pākehā during early colonisation was land acquisition, whereas Māori initially saw this as an opportunity to build relationships, while still retaining their mana (Waitangi Tribunal 1999). 

The sheltered valleys, rising slopes and flat plains of the Whanganui riverbank were attractive to European farmers and businessmen wanting to cultivate the land for commercial gain. The Europeans brought with them contemporary business ideologies which were foreign and confronting - yet intriguing to the Māori. Many Māori embraced the new opportunities that came with international economy. They crewed whale ships, worked at whaling stations, grew crops, exported to Australia and supplied much of early Auckland and Wellington their meat and building materials (Petrie 2006). The construction of flour mills began in the 1840’s around the Whanganui River. Reverend Richard Taylor, an early missionary, built a mill on the flat land around Pipiriki out of Whanganui’s taonga. Upper-river Māori noted this entrepreneurial success and followed suit, largely for reasons of chiefly and tribal mana (Petrie 2006). This convergence of ideologies represents a development in the ever-changing concept of ‘Kiwi culture’, most obviously in the form of kiwi ingenuity. The land is still a dominant part of kiwi culture, fundamental for both Māori and Pākehā civilisation. 

Pākehā continued to express their powerful and commercial identities through land acquisition around the river city. The coming centuries saw the introduction of rafts of legislation that assumed British control of the river, infringing upon Māori rights. The 1891 Whanganui River Trusts Act enforced a governmental authority over the river, impacting on river flow and fisheries. Māori protested and petitioned against this as no permission from Hapu was sought, and this Act would have a detrimental effect on their civilisation (Bennion 1994). The Resources Management Act 1991 was also influential to Pākehā commercialisation around Whanganui, including such regulations as irrigation and hydro-electricity which damaged the river’s natural state, and therefore Māori identity.  

The most defining piece of legislation in terms of Whanganui’s cultural identity is the Whanganui River Claims Settlement Act 2017. New Zealand underwent a transformation from viewing the river as property to legal being. Parliament provided $80 million to redress the omissions and destruction from colonial control over the river and its people. It also recognised the entire river and all its physical and metaphysical elements as a united and living whole (Hutchinson 2014). This legislation preserves the strong relationship that Māori have with river. The river’s rights were determined by the shared values between the Crown and Iwi, which stress the importance of the relationship between the river and people, and the river as a form of spiritual and physical nourishment. This recognition and respect of indigenous principles represents New Zealand’s culture today, an imperative to living as a united nation. 

This change in legal status reflects society’s values as a whole, proving the progression of New Zealand towards a unified culture. Māori and Pākehā have each used the Whanganui River as a mode of expression for many years. The way in which these cultures treated the river highlights their contrasting values, most notably in a traditional versus commercial way. Kiwi culture was complicated when New Zealand was colonised as New Zealand’s ‘culture’ was divided. The Whanganui River Claims Settlement Act 2017 epitomises the Kiwi culture we know today, one of respect, consolidation, and reverence towards our natural landscape and indigenous people. 

 “Ko au te awa, Ko te awa ko au. I am the river, the river is me” (Hutchinson 2014). 

Bibliography

Bennion, Tom.  1994. Whangnaui River Report. Research report, Waitangi Tribunal.

Craig, Russell,  Taonui Rawiri, and Susan Wild. 2012. "The concept of taonga in Māori  culture: insights for accounting." Accounting, Auditing & Accountability  Journal 1025-1047.

Hutchinson,  Abigail. 2014. "The Whanganui River as a Legal Person." Alternative  Law Journal 179-182.

McAloon, Jim.  2008. 'Land ownership - Provincial administration of land', Te Ara - the  Encyclopedia of New Zealand. November 24. Accessed March 19, 2019.  https://teara.govt.nz/en/land-ownership/page-3.

NZ History. 2014. The  1865 Campaign. June 25. Accessed March 19, 2019.  https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/wanganui-war/1865-campaig.

1952. The  Legend of the Whanganui River. Directed by John Feeney. Performed by NZ on  Screen.

Petrie, Hazel.  2006. Chiefs of industry: Maori tribal enterprise in early colonial New  Zealand. Auckland: Auckland University Press.

Royal, Te  Ahukaramū Charles. 2007. Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. September  24. Accessed March 17, 2019.  https://teara.govt.nz/en/kaitiakitanga-guardianship-and-conservation/page-2.

Waitangi Tribunal.  1999. The Whanganui River Report. Wellington: GP Publication.

Young, David.  2005. Whanganui Tribes - Wars, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.  February 8. Accessed March 26, 2019.  http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/whanganui-tribes/page-2.