Waitangi Day Heritage Bus Tour

Waitangi Day Heritage Bus Tour

A free bus tour to Waikanae sites of historical significance will be led by local iwi Te Āti Awa as part of the Waitangi Day event they are co-hosting with Kāpiti Coast District Council on Saturday, February 6.

The main Waitangi Day commemorations begin at 10am at Whakarongtotai Marae in Waikanae. It will include live music and cultural performances, market stalls, art exhibitions at Mahara and Artel galleries and kids’ activities.

People are invited to book a place on the two hour heritage tour which is being led by local author Queenie Rikihana Hyland and her niece, researcher and writer Rewa Morgan. The bus will leave the former Waikanae Hotel carpark after the hangi is served, around 2pm.

Discussions will look at the enterprising lives of high-born Maori families such as the Parata’s, Eruini’s, Thomas’s and Webber’s. These families lived in beautiful homes along Te Moana Road and hosted tour groups to Kāpiti Island, ran the Waikanae Race Course (on their land near Parata Street) and took fishing trips on the Waikanae River. At one stage Wi Parata Te Kākākura is said to have owned or controlled 55,000 acres of land in the Kāpiti area.

“I feel it’s important that we, the iwi, tell our own story about our ancestors from the time of the first Hekenga (migrations) in the early 1820’s until the present day. I really enjoy doing these trips as they bring our history to life,” Queenie said.

Rewa, whose mother Heneti Webber was raised on Motu Ngarara (a small island off Kāpiti Island) will focus her talk on how the islands and ocean helped inter-tribal agency and activity.

“Our tribes living on Kāpiti and its mainland were at the forefront of Aotearoa New Zealand’s global economy. Kāpiti waterways were highways that connected people. Inter-tribal unions and marriages between high ranking woman, whalers and traders influenced trade and industry. It’s important we acknowledge the political and economic savvy of our ancestors”.

“The treaty of Waitangi was signed on Motu Ngarara and at that time Kāpiti was a bustling trading post for adventurers, entrepreneurs, sealers and whalers,” Rewa said.

Tour stops will include the Hemi Matenga homestead on Winara Avenue, a historic Kauri tree and St Luke’s Church.

To book a place on the bus tour email maia.whiterod@kapiticoast.govt.nz. Places are limited.To learn more about the Waitangi Day commemorations visit www.kapiticoast.govt.nz

ENDS

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