Ngāti Kahungunu To Honour The 200th Anniversary Of The Battle Of Pakake: “PAKAKE WAS OUR GALLIPOLI”

Wednesday, 27 November 2024, 3:33 pm
Press Release: Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Inc

Pakake was a small island Pā in the Ahuriri estuary where Ngāti Kahungunu stood to defend its lands and people from a confederation of iwi armed with over 600 muskets. There was not a single musket within Pakake Pā. The invasion was in retaliation for war parties that were defeated by local iwi and hapū prior. Whilst there were fatalities, those war parties were quite small in number. The size of this invading party and the advent of the musket would have a devastating effect on the local people with the Pā being overcome and many killed, including women and children.

Ngāti Kahungunu Chair and direct descendant of the Waimārama Chiefs, Tiakitai and Mahikai that defended Pakake says, “Our ancestors knew there was an overwhelming force on its way. They had discussed it in depth at a war council in the days leading up to the battle. Yet they felt it was their duty to defend the Pā, their whenua and their people, and to the last man if need be. When I hear the words mana motuhake and rangatiratanga. I think of them.”

The battle would have an especially disastrous impact on the many hapū from the Ahuriri and Te Whanganui-a-Orotū where some of the key chiefs of the region were lost.

Ngāti Hāwea experienced the loss of key rangatira. A direct descendant of these tīpuna, Ngahiwi Tomoana says, “Pakake is our Gallipoli, when Ngati Kahungunu became a nation, an Iwi from Wairoa to Wairarapa. Utter destruction of all our hapu was averted by the actions of Pareihe, and Te Wera Hauraki who took our people to Okurarenga, Mahia to regroup, rebuild and retake our whenua. We survived by sucking clay. Kaiuku was named after that. The origins of the devastation at Pakake were our own inter hapu warfare and jealousy which allowed many other tribes to GENERAL invade our area without real cause. The lesson today is to not let inter hapu MANAGER differences divide and rule us as an Iwi but allow kotahitanga to keep our future ambitions real.That's how Ngati Hori, Hawea and Hinemoa remember Pakake.”

Hinewai Ormsby, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Chair and Waiohiki Marae Chairperson who is a descendant of many rangatira involved in battle says, “ We are coming together to share knowledge and acknowledge a historical event of immense significance and loss for Ngāti Kahungunu. The impact of what occurred in 1824 continues to resonate with us on this day of commemoration. Through education and awareness, we honor the memory of those who came before us, ensuring their legacy endures for generations to come”.

Although Pakake was situated in Ahuriri, there were many rangatira that defended Pakake from throughout Te Matau-a-Māui, Hawkes Bay.

This Friday 29th November will see Ngāti Pārau of Waiohiki Marae host a wānanga for Ngāti Kahungunu where many ancestors will be mourned and stories shared from across the region. There will be several speakers invited to share their knowledge and handed down kōrero. The pōwhiri will start at 10 am followed by the wānanga and a reflective dinner to end the evening. Ngāti Pārau leader and CEO of Te Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui-a-Orotū, Matt Mullany says "the wānanga represents an opportunity for the hapū of Ngāti Kahungunu to share their kōrero tuku iho and to reflect on the significance of the Pakake battle today. It is a chance to connect, heal, and strengthen the ties that bind us as a people, ensuring our stories and histories are preserved for generations to come.”

Saturday 30th of November will see a dawn service that will be held at the parking lot behind the Thirsty Whale in Ahuriri and a hāngi breakfast to follow.

Te Piringa Hapū Minister and descendant of Whakatō and Tāreha Te Moananui, Rev. Zhane Tāhau Tiopira says “Let’s take the time to enter into the wānanga, to understand the context and kōrero around the battle, take a sacred pause to honour our tipuna who passed, and be inspired to pick up the mantle left to us by them and live into our mana Motuhake to see all the descendants flourish and live into their dreams of rangatiratanga.”

Says Barber, “This commemoration represents an opportunity to use our collective past to shape a collective future. Our ancestors maintained the ahi kā, or burning fires in our rohe that have never been extinguished. That same fortitude and resilience is still evident today in the descendants of these brave men, women and children who held on to what was tika and pono and were not afraid to lay down their lives for it. There is no greater example.”

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