RELIC OF THE PAST.

Taihape Daily Times, 23 August 1919, Page 5

RELIC OF THE PAST.

ANCIENT MAORI ROCK. WHAKATANE, AuS- 21Abutting the main motor road; be’ tween Rotorua and Opotiki} right in the heart of the Wha_kat«anc t0W11; separated from the precipice towering overhead by a cart track, and ko°Pi’lg guard, as it were, over Whakatane’s fi'rebe.ll, stanisl Pohu.turoa, the mOSt hist?oric rock in New Zealand. The story of this rock is of particular interest at the present time, because Captain Mair, of Rotoru-a-_, aged abmlt 80, who spent much of his life fighting the Maoris, is about to make a stir In Parliamentary circles about :t. The trouble is that the Whakataxie Ch-.lm.bcr of Commerce suggested grinding it up into road metal. And really at a casual granee, it looks "fit for it. ]t stands only about 30 feet iiigh, is about ‘a. chain wide, is loosely covered with karaka. bushes, which are rare in the district, and has been slightly blasted by borough workmen——henee its present overhanging.« Nothing much to look at, but to the Maoris momentous. Captain Mair, who possibly knows more about these Mlaori secrets than any other man in New Zealand, vouches for the authenticity of what follows. A LAND OF NATIVE LEGEINDRYA

'Whakatane is overflowing with‘ native history and landmarks, since 600 years ago, when the matatua canoe, un- I der Chief Toroa, was guided through’ the stormy entraffee with its fl-eight: of terrified warriors by the old_ chief’st daughter W:liraka,‘who yelled, “P 11! act the man,” etc. ("‘Whakata.ne”).; About a mile or so up the river is! the rock? iPohl,aturoa, which ‘through the 600 years has been gathering to itself the reverence and history of the descendants of the first shipload. The rock—in Ythe 'pre-reclamation daysteuehed closely to the waters ‘edge, and it. thus formed a natural barrier between wiarringp natives as it "did-' later between natives and ‘the English}, who closed the I inner passage ’aga»in'st‘-.Te‘ Kooti in’ 18'(39’_wit‘.h‘ zvbrcastwork. At. this rock’: then it.hrough'alld the ages the" famous dead were brought for burial _c”e}'qnl¢n‘ies; the "sacred I rites app‘ert=aAin.. jiug to “him V‘ "were" performed ' ‘(“te" 'tvhaTn_g‘ai hau”) {and the head men conf_§ul't_§<l the ‘oracle before" a battle. ‘R”I}‘PLI'N‘G CIMDLE or 'DYNASTIE'S* At the rear of‘ thelrock flmvs a tiny. stream at some times a rippling baby waterfall slipping down the gully and at others filtering through pretty beds of watercress till it reaches the road level beside the rock, and loses itself in the white man‘s dirt Into the bosom of that strcum~—hte cradle of dynasties 01". that stream——the cradle of dynasties nurtured their joys and hopes, and a riingular bluxrials (3-[er-61113011)’ associaflcd only with baby chiefs endowed it with its name, “The waters of the Placents.” The rock again was the scene of the phallic worship to ensure fruitfulness; tpl_,l‘el'e occurred the weird ceremony of _dedication to Tumatauenga, the god of xvar, the hair-cutting. for the period of; niourliiiigi,,tlie purification from h_loo:dshe(l_ of the whole" returning ivar party——no\v partly» I’illed,in———the w_-ar-riors and the young maidens were tattooed. The first.fruit.s of the fiorest, the first k.unlara_ orytaro, the first of the cultivated ‘food’ rvierevcarefulily brought here to the tohunga'(prie'st) as ofi‘erings to Tanemahut-a. (the forest god) and Rouge (the god of food). THE \VAR ()FFIQI3 OF THE TRIBES. On the ledges of the rock and on platforms in the trees the bones of the highest clliefs—especially members of the Hurinui t‘:uuily—~\vcre placed to aivailt a convenient ppportunilty for conveying to the last resting—place on Maungapohatu Mountain in Urcwera—land. * ‘ Immediately at the western end was a flat portion named “Wharaurangi,” where ‘the chiefs and warriors alone ‘ were permitted to »dSSCII1l)1C, and there all councils of wa'i"i‘v*cre hold, while the Haebeians congregated on the fiat, rock ilowei-down to discuss domestic affairs, l repair their nets, grind fish hooks, etc. [This place was used as the old wharf and named “‘Otu.whlaki”—.~he.ncc the ! ancient proverb, “KOl-Cl-o taua ki 1 Wharaurangi, korero to nratau ki Otua—i wlfnki” (i.e., “'the discussions of Wharaummgi are about the carrying on of war, while those at Otuakhaki con- ‘ com the making of’ fisli-hooks”). Both ' these places have been covered over by i recent reelnmations. '