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E whia tini kē ngā iho pūmanawa o tēnei tangata pakiki ko Tāne Lawless e whai oranga ai ia ki te huarahi o te hiahia o tana whatumanawa kia tū hai pou-tiaki mō Papatuahuroa e takoto nei.
"Nō taku ohinga tēnei kare-ā-roto mō te nehenehe, ko tāku he haere ki ngā hui whenua me taku whānau, he kohi rākau-puaka me te nanao atu ki ngā rawa taketake hai whakamahinga kame tūturu māku – kai te toto tēnei mea te kete aronui, nā reira ka hua ake he tapanga tī-hāte hai āwhinatanga i a ia ki te mahi kore utu ki wē nehenehe".
Whoi anō, he wāhanga paku noa iho tēnei, he mātanga whakatika motokā e mau nei i tana tīwhikete W.O.F. " He tino pūkenga kia kāua au e raruraru nōku e hakoke i te nehenehe".
E toru tekau mā waru ōna tau kai te mārama ia ko te taiao te wāhi tika mōna, ko ia tonu kai te whakahaere i āna ake kaupapa, kai tāhaki anō hoki ētehi hai kauāwhiawhi i tēnei huarahi aroha nui.
I whānau mai, i pakeketia hoki i Rotorua, otīā i Te Rotoiti. Tokorua āna tamaiti tāne. He Ngāti Pikiao, he Ngāti Tūwharetoa, he Ngāti Raukawa, he Ngāti Maniapoto, he Ngāi Tūhourangi, he Ngāti Whakaue waihoki he Ngāti Tarawhai ia.
Heke iho mai tēnei wairua tiaki whenua i ōna tūpuna, i a Jack rāua ko Matekino Laweless i Te Rotoiti, waihoki ngā mātua o tōna māmā ko Everlyn rāua ko George Rameka nō Taupō rāua.
Kai Taupō āianei a Tāne e noho ana. Ka hua ake te pātai ki a Tāne, nō whea tēnei wairua ngākau whiwhita ki te tiaki taiao?
Hai tāna, he mea tuku iho mai i ngā tūpuna engari nōna e whakaaro kau iho, ka puta mai te aroha nui ki tōna māmā me tāna whai i te kaupapa Te Pua-o-Te Reinga. He putiputi nō Rarohēnga.
He dactylanthis tēnei putiputi, e ai ki te whakaaro Pākehā, koia tēnei putiputi te kotahi o Aotearoa nei e tupu kau ki ngā paiaka o te rākau, ka rua, he putiputi pirinoa hoki ia. Ko tōna ingoa whānui ko te Wood Rose.
He ringaringa huri whenua ōna, he waewae māia ōna engari ko te whenua, ko te taiao ake kua titia ki te pū o tana whatumanawa. He ahakoa kua whakawhiwhia e ia ki ngā tīwhikete huhua e kūare ana ki te nui o te nama i ngā tau ko pahemo.
"Kua whakawhiwhia e ahau ki ētehi tīwhikete nōku e takahi nei i te nuku o te whenua me taku mahi titiro, aromatawai rākau tōtara me ōna whānaunga tae ake ki ngā rākau tawai me ōna whānaunga ko te nuinga o ēnei kai wē nehenehe e tū ana".
Koia nei tōna ao tūturu e kakapa ai tōna whatumanawa. Kua pau hoki i a ia e whia kē ngā tau e mātai, e tatau manu ana me tana tino aro atu ki te kārearea. Nā te kārearea hoki e whakawana hoki i āna mahi toi. I te tau e rua mano, kotahi tekau mā waru i pōwhiringia a Tāne e te Graffiato Festival i Taupō ki te whakaatu i āna mahi toi, ko te taiao hoki tana kaupapa whakahīhī ngākau whakaiti nei.
Me uaua e kite he paku nama hai āwhinatanga māna nā reira ka whakaaraara e ia tana pākihi tapanga tī-hāte (koia tētehi te mea e mau ana i a Tāne i tana uiuinga). Nā te mea kai te puritia e ia tōna ake mana, kai te wātea a Tāne ki te hakoke ki te whai i ngā moemoeā me ngā hiahia o te ngākau.
Kai te taiao a Tāne e mahi kore utu ana, whoi anō he aroha nōna ki te ao nei, engari taihoa ka oti i a ia te whakatū i tana kamupene kirimahi motuhake nei ka huri pea te tai ki a ia. Kua kitea e ahau ngā tini hē me ngā taupatupatunga i te puku o te taiao, engari kai te pae tawhiti kē taku titiro".
I ētehi taima he mahi tārore hai patu toriura hai patu tori uaroa ki runga o Makatiti māunga me ngā tahataha o Taupō.
Na te huinga ngātahitanga i Tūwharetoa me te papa atawhai o Aotearoa kua momona te mahi i Taupō. Kai te whakapono a Tāne ki te āpōpō nā reira tana hiahia ki te hāpai i ngā tamariki me ngā rangatahi ki a mātau ai rātou ki ngā tikanga o te tiaki taiao otīā kia tū hoki rātou hai pou-tiaki taiao.
He tuku mātauranga-ā-nehenehe ki a rātou, mātua ko te hakoke i ngā koko katoa o te ngāhere. Ko te mea nui rawa atu kia piki anō te kaha me te ora o ngā rākau Māori me ngā tamariki a Tānemahuta kia kāua e rite nei ki te Moa ka hemo.
E Māori noa nei a Tāne e mahi ana, tāpiringia āna taputapu iti pēnei me ngā taputapu o te ao hou, he Pūnaha Kimi Taunga (GPS – PKT), he rorohiko me tōna taraka kai paiaka ngāhere, te pene rākau me te pepa koi anake.
Engari tētehi atu wāhanga ōna e nanao atu nā ki te ako me te kawe i te mātauranga Māori, kāti he mōhiohio nōna ki te rāweke rorohiko. Kai te puna o te reo hoki a ia e wānanga e ako ana i tō tātou reo rangatira, "He mōhio te arero ki tō tātou reo nōku e itiiiti ai, whoi anō tahuri kau ki te mahi, ka ngū katoa".
Ko te pae tūārangi hai tāna, kia rite tā tātou tiakitanga i te taiao me he pā taunaha, he aroha, he manaaki, kia rangatira ngā mahi, kia tika katoa ngā whakaaro kia aro anō tātou ki te kawa o te marae. Koinā ki ahau he pou-tiaki.
Tane Lawless is a man of many talents which he exploits to fund his passion for taiao (earth/nature) and his self-appointed role as kaitiaki.
"My passion for the forest has been since I was born, growing up attending the land with my whanau, collecting firewood and materials for traditional practices.
"Art has forever been a hobby which led to a t-shirt label that helps with voluntary work in the forest."
But that's only part of his portfolio.
He is a qualified mechanic with a warrant of fitness ticket.
"It's an ideal trade as we all need vehicles, especially getting to some forests."
At 38, Tane is finding that he is becoming more permanent in the taiao sector, managing his own projects with the support of others.
Tane was born in Rotorua and raised at Rotoiti. He has two sons and his connections are to Ngati Pikiao, Tuwharetoa, Raukawa, Ngati Maniapoto, Tuhourangi, Ngati Whakaue and Ngati Tarawhai.
His passion for the land has been inspired by his tupuna, Jack and Matekino Lawless at Rotoiti and his mother's parents, Evelyn and George Rameka from Taupo. Tane is currently based at Taupo.
Asked what inspired his current path Tane says part of it is in his genes but it was his mother and her interest in Te Pua o te Reinga — the flower of the underworld. The flower is dactylanthis New Zealand's only fully parasitic flowering plant which grows on the roots of trees. A common name is wood rose.
He attributes his strong work ethic and dedication to the taiao to his whānau.
Tane has acquired qualifications but can't estimate the cost although he does admit it has probably added up over the years.
"I have managed to get a few qualifications along with hours of field experience, from podocarp to beech forests in remote places of the Kaimanawa ranges."
It is that field experience that Tane most values. For years he has been involved in bird counting, with a particular interest in the karearea. Some of his most captivating artworks display the karearea.
In 2018 he was invited to exhibit at the Graffiato Festival in Taupo, his mural a striking reflection of his love for the taiao.
Funding for his work has been hard to find so he created his own label and sells t-shirts. (The one he was wearing during our korero had Rotoiti 15 across the front.)
Being self-funded meant Tane could pursue his own interests and not be governed by rules. He is currently doing a lot of voluntary work in the native environment while setting up his own contractor business.
"I have seen a lot of mistakes and conflicts within our taiao. I keep thinking about tomorrow and the future."
In his own time, Tane traps and kills pests such as stoats and weasels on Makiki Maunga and around Taupo.
The co-governance between Tuwharetoa and the Department of Conservation means a lot more work around the Taupo area is being carried out.
Tane is positive about the future and would like to prepare rangatahi and tamariki to take over as kaitiaki. The would involve setting up traplines and walking the whenua with them.
Most important to him is to see a rise and return in the number of native species within our tribal lands.
He sticks to the basics with modern technology — GPS, computers, vehicles and the good old pencil and paper but is trying to use matauranga Maori practices more these days. But he is familiar with the appropriate programs on computer.
Tane wants to restore his te reo Maori and is now taking classes. "I was fluent as a child but lost it when I went out to work."
His vision for the future is to have our uri treat our whenua like we do our pā, with respect, care and tikanga, protocols ... that is a Kaitiaki.
Developments with tangata whenua: what spells success - or not?