RANGIATEA—HISTORIC MAORI CHURCH

Chronicle (Levin), 22 November 1947, Page 2

RANGIATEA—HISTORIC MAORI CHURCH

Monument To Noble Race's Energy And Industry 1 ' . V V fSf' . r * ; ; . ' •

Rangiatea, the historic Maori Church at Otaki and a continual source of interest to visitors from overseas, celebrates its centenary in 1949. The Otaki Maori Mission, headed by Rev. Paora Temnera, is urging the full restoration of this fine building before that date arrives. That this unique ehureh should be restored and preserved is a matter that concerns not only Otaki, but the*'whole Dominion. ! , Tomorrow members of the Rangiatea will havt£ with them the Bishop of Wellington, Rt. Rev. R- H. Owen, who will conduct a confirmation service at 11 a.m., and the Pi*ime Minister, Mr. Fraser. . .

To give a right history 6f the erection of this church, so rich in its connections wich the early 'days in New Zealand, it is necessary, according to tradition, to turn back the pages to the time when the canoes Tainui and Arawa sailed from Hav/aiki, they brought with them the soil on which stood their sacred altar Rangiatea, in Hawaiki. These ancient roving mariners first touched land at a place called Whangaparoa, in the vicinity of Mawetu (Bay of Plenty) . The former canoe, Tainui, manned by a select crew, left Arawa, and made her passage northwaids, towaras Auckland-, and there they anchored. Perceiving a seagull flying from fne West Coalit, over Otahuhu, they surmised that there piust be water not far off, so some of them climbed. a high hill, and found that their surmise was correct. They decided to draw their canoe overland to the water now known as Manukau Harbour. Then they ' proceeded on their voyage southwaids, and touched at Aotea, but fhiding this place unsuitable, proceeded still further south, finally landing at Kawhia. Their canoe was- hauled ashore, and the Maoris built an altar, and the soil which they brought from Hawaiki was spread on the altar, . which was dedicated in the sacred name of "Rangiatea."

During the time the Ngatiraukawa and Ngatitoa tribes inhabittd this district a dsturbance broke out at Heretaunga (Hutt) . The leader of this disturbance was | Rangihaeata, but the Europsana ; surmised it was Te Rauparaha and other influential chiefs who were aiding Rangihaeata. Matene te ! Whiwhi (nephew of Te Rauparaha) at that time was the guest of Governor Grey. Te Rauparaha resided at Plimmerton. There was also trouble between the Maoris and Europeans at^Horokiwi. The former trouble was becoming serious, and Maoris had gathered from ; all parts, at Otaki, to assist RangiI haeata. Matens te Whiwhi and ! j Tamihana te Rauparaha (son of I Te Rauparaha) heard of this I mobilisation and knew serious 1 ] tmuble would occur. They requesb- 1 : cd Governor Grey to capture Te Rauparaha, and take him out to sea, stating that if Rangihaeata came to hear of Te Rauparaha 'sr capture he would immediately abondon his idea of fighting. Governor Grey agreed with this suggestion, and ordered a war-sloop to lay off Porirua. BoatS were quietly rowed ashore at night, and Te Rauparaha was ma'de a prisoner while he was asleep in his house. He was carried on board the man-of-war Calliope, and i remained a prisoner for twelve | months. Te Rauparaha naturally '.nrotested against his capture, as he considered he was a King acbing on behalf of Queen Victona. Governor Grey eventually promised him that if he would use his i influence to get Rangihaeata to leave off fighting he would be relcased. Te Rauparaha agreed to , this, and one of his emissaries was Ue^patchcd with a message tv Rrngi haeata, 'stating that his obedience to the governor's wishes vvouid save him from his perilous position. The messenger, | with an escort, delivered the me.I sage to Rangihaeata, who was J sorely grieved when he heard of the position Te Rauparaha was m. I His followers were also much disfressed and the messenger was Sent back with a message stating that Rangihaeata would agree with the terms, and cease to make trouble. Soon afterwards Rangihaeata and his followers migratcd to Otaki ! and Poroutawhao (midway between; Foxton and Levin ) , where thejpassed the rest of their days. The warship Calliope, with .Te| Rauparaha on board, after receiv-j ' ing the ultimatum of peace from ■ Rangihaeata, set sail for Aus- ! tralia. On arrival at Sydney Te . Rauparaha was welcomed and received with great festivities. , He was taken to the leading places of worship, and his stay in Sy'dney was made a thoroughly pleasant one. These places of worship- made such an impression on Te Rauparaha that he kept them in his mind, and thought what a wonderful and grateful people the Europeans were. After a pleasant stay, he ■embarked for 4Melbourne, where he told PotaTtau. grandfather of King Mahutu, M.L.C., all that had been done for him m Australia, and the treatment an'd kindnsss accorded him. He resumed his voyage to Auckland, and finally the man-of-war conveying him and all the leading chiefs of the Waikato, anchored outside the mouth of the Otaki River. They

lande-d in boats. The occaSion was a memorable one. The shore was lined with thousands of Natives, and a right roval welcome was accorded the chief Te Rauparaha, who was attired in an Admiral's uniform, and carried a sword. He was accompanied by Governor Grey an'd the cornmander of the warship. The earth trembled with the feet of those thousanas of warriors, who, delighted at the return of their chief, danced. and gave their war-cries with great gusto. After a formal greeting, Te- Rauparaha related an account of his trin to Australia, how well he had

been treated, and what good people the Europeans were, and he exhorted them to side with the pakehas under the sovereignt-y of Queen Victbria. He also stated that the pakehas loved their religion, and they should follow their example by keeping close to God. He exhorted them to build a church, and not to sct their minds at rest until one was built. ' The advice of the great chieftain was not lost, and in the year 1847 the Maoris Qommenced to cut the timber for the building— the greater part from the Manawatu and Ohau districts. In those days there were no horses nor bullocks, and all hauling was done by manual labour. The rafters and huge timbers were floated down the Ohau River p.nd'into the Waikawa River, and then1 out to sea. The Ohau River in those days ran into the Waikawa River, and out to sea, forming quite a large river at its mouth. Hundreds of Maoris with ropes could be seen hauling the great trees along the sea coast, and there was one of the Natives sianding on the tree with a pole keeping the trees out to sea, ! wliile the others were hauling on the sea beach. These immense totara trees were eventually landed at Waitohu, near Otaki, and then dragged over the sandhills by hundreds of Natives to the site where the church now stands. Then all the timber was adzed down by Native adzes, which are now to be seen in the church. The Maoris having no machinery in those days, all the large trees, actj ing as pillars now, were erected, as was the Maori custom, by hand labour. Te Rauparaha got many Natives from the Manawatu district to go down and' do the carving, which is indeed a work of art. The laced work was also carried out by these people. The whole of the work was splendidiy carried out, and remains to this day a monument to the industry and energy of a noble race. In about 1910 it was found necessary to . strengthen the building, and a large sum of money — some £700 or £800 — was subscribed by Natives and Europeans, for strengthening and improving the structure. The main parts of the building -are still in a perfect state of preservation.

An incident is related in connection with the work of erection of the church. When fioating some of the huge logs in the sea from Ohaii'to Otaki, one of the Natives on top of a tree got tired with the pole, and he called out to the others to take his place. In jumping off, into the sea he jumped on to a stingray. This fish has- a poisonous barbed spear at the tail, which was driven right through the calf of his leg. Immefliateiy the Maoris rushed and pulled him out of' the sea, and carried him ashore. The wound poisoned by , the sting many of the Natives c-ck turns and sucked the poison from the sting. The man was carried to Otaki, and in about tv/o mcnths had recovered under the Native treatment.