Kia ora koutou e te whānau

Ngā mihi nui ki a Matariki, te Tau Hou Māori

Happy Matariki

We wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all many blessings during Matariki, which is a significant time of reflection. 

Māori mark it as the official start of our New Year according to the Maramataka. 

It is when we gather as friends and whānau to pay our respects to those souls who have gone in the last 12 months and we look forward to the year ahead.

So much has been achieved this year with your unwavering support for which we are grateful. 

Our achievements to date, which are a reflection of your commitment and support, are as follows: The Ombudsman's Report into the Ministry has been completed; his Investigation into Auckland City Council continues; the Petition now stands at 25,000 signatures; Site Works at Mataharehare remain on hold; and we are currently actively involved in developing a mediation process acceptable to all parties.   

We continue to write letters to the Prime Minister and CEO of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage which are now available on our webpage.

Matariki and the Pōhutukawa star

The rising of the star cluster Matariki (otherwise known as Pleiades) signals the drawing of an end of one cycle and the emergence of a new one.

It also signals that Hine-takurua (the winter maiden) has firmly taken residence upon the land.

According to Te Ao Māori when an individual dies, their spirit leaves their body and undertakes a journey along Te Ara Wairua, the pathway of the spirits.

Their journey ends at the northernmost point of the North Island at a place called Te Rerenga Wairua, the departing place of the spirits.

The dead travel along the rocky ledge towards the ocean where an ancient Pōhutukawa tree stands.

There they descend down the aka (root) of this tree and disappear into the underworld.

Te Hā as a Tupuna Rākau Pōhutukawa (ancestor tree) is particularly significant at Matariki.

In the Matariki constellation, Pōhutukawa is the star that connects Matariki to those who have passed in the preceding 12 months and is the reason people would cry out the names of the dead and weep when Matariki was seen rising in the early morning.

Therefore, the whenua around Te Hā is not an appropriate place to reflect on lives lost 42 years ago in Antarctica. 

It is not an appropriate place for 132 tonnes of concrete and steel. 

It is not appropriate for any man-made structure, to diminish the mauri and mana of Te Hā, especially given the significance of the nation coming together for the first time to better understand and to celebrate Matariki.

We are also taking the opportunity to remind the Prime Minister that Matariki is not just another public holiday that has been gifted to the nation, but a deeply spiritual time. 

We are calling on her to use her power with principle, in recognition of Matariki, to properly protect Te Hā and to allow the Erebus memorial to be relocated to a more appropriate location.

We are gathering under Te Hā on Friday at midday, with kaumātua from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, to share a karakia (blessing), some kai and to reflect on the past year, while we look ahead to the future with hope for a meaningful resolution. 

If you are wandering through the park, please feel free to join us.

Ngā mihi nui,

Dame Naida Glavish, Margaret Brough and the Protect Mataharehare Team