POHATUROA ROCK

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 38, 11 January 1946, Page 5

POHATUROA ROCK

A LINK WITH THE PAST AN HISTORIC HERITAGE (By Rosaline Redwood in the N.Z. Home Journal)

It was on a recent trip down the east coast of the North Island that I first saw for myself the great “tapn” rock of Pohaturoa, in the little coastal town of Whakatane. That rock fascinated me i

•It rises from the pavements of. the >main street and from its towering heights it looks down aloofly on the y oof-tops of the town. Its elefted •sides arc wizened with age, and if it could talk—well, I doubt if any other rock in the country could, tell suchl tales.. Every fissure and ledge is alive with history—the. oldest Maori history in, the country. On a nearby sandy. beach is the historic landing place of the famous Matatua canoe in 1340 A.D. This rer markable- voyage of 2000 miles Horn Hawaiki was carried put under the guidance of the great chief and navigator, Toroa, and thus came about the first Polynesian settlement in this little haven in the Bay of Plenty. This great rock back from the shore appears to have attracted the natives from the first, and the priests of the tribe proclaimed it a “tapu” or sacred rock where the religious ceremonies and tribal rites of the local Maoris were carried out. The Maoris never erected temples—rather did they prefer an open air natural place of worship.

How many strange .rites the rock of Pohaturoa witnessed we shall never know, but there were undoubtedly a, great many. The priests of the tribe carried out very sacred '•ceremonies in connection with death, birth, war, food forest and domestic undertakings, etc. When important rites were being performed the priests stood facing the rising sun in the cast. The ceremonies took place lr. the early morning, and no fires were lit or food cooked until the “tapu” function was over. Fasting was part of the Ritual. When the war parties of the Matadua tribes returned from battle in the early days, they laicf, their spoils •at the foot of Pohaturoa, and it was here that the folk at home waited to welcome the returning warriors. Here too was carried out the / 9 » old ceremony of offering the hearts of the first slain enemies to the chief war god Tu. For it was who watched over the warriors and guided their destiny. Because all grave tribal issues were settled at the ■sacred rock, there originated the .saying, “Settled in the shadow of the rock.” On the southern face of the rock there once existed a shelf which was. used for the exposure of exhumed bones, usually packed in flax mats, before their removal across the river for final burial in the sandhills. And a small recess in the rock —the spot is marked—was, used by the attendants of the priests or tohunga, for washing themselves after handling the dead. There was much “tapu” concerning death and burial and those who handled the dead became so extremely “tapu” themselves that they dared not come in contact with any other person. Until the priests removed the “tapu” such l natives must have had an uncomfortable existence, for in order to avoid touching, eating or drinking vessels, they drank water which was poured into their cupped hands, while food was placed in their mouths by sticks, by attendants. Alongside the rock was a small waterfalfc arjd in this- stream the first bofcjrv,s<ms were baptised. It was a purifying ceremony which fitted the subject for dealings with the gods. The water in this waterfallwas, of course, “tapu, ” and could not be used for domestic purposes by the Maoris. Other “tapu” ceremonies were performed at sacred fires to protect the welfare and vitality of the people. These rites concerned the preservation of the life of the forest the birds the fish the trees •5 ? 1 and the land.

This great rock of Poliaturoa also had a cave which was used as a common shelter, and in front of it was the meeting place. A little further away by another rock was the actual place of war councils. Following the arrival'of the white settlers at Whakatane the passing years brought peace and many chan-

gcs. The vast surrounding swamps were drained and the natives no longer paddled their canoes among the rushes in search of game. A road was built over the old coastal route taken by the military dispatch riders during the war against Te Kooti and his followers. And later another fine inland road from Rotorua was built over the original track cut by that great warrior Hongi for dragging bis canoes overland.

And the old rock of Pohaturoa looked down—l imagine with a kind of stony sadness and saw the Maoris leave their pas and forts on tbe hill erests, and lake up their lowly abode at the foot of the hills beside the pakelias.

And today, as in bygone days, the warriors have left the shadow of the rock for a battlefield—a new battlefield which lias been stained with the blood fo both Maori and pakeha who together defended the land of their birth. As I cast a last lingering glance up at the “tapu” pile, of rock silhouetted against the sky, I wondered if Poliaturoa would miss the many warriors who would not, this time, return to its protesting shadow. But perhaps- its great granite heart will remain un-c moved—for Pohaturoa has seen so many battles so many strange rites, and so much history, that new events and new years in a changing world make no impression on its aged, wizened face.