Ancient Maori gardening tools returned to Northland marae

Some of the pre-European gardening tools which will be returned to three Northland marae. Photo/Supplied

The chairwoman of a Northland marae says the return of a collection of pre-European gardening tools will provide a talking point and an opportunity for learning.

The 30 ancient gardening implements will be returned to three marae in the Te Waimate Taiamai area - Parawhenua Marae, Rawhitiroa Marae and Tauwhara Marae - on Saturday after years of intensive treatment at the University of Auckland and Auckland Museum.

Parawhenua Marae chairwoman Hinerangi Himiona said the tools were found over the years by Waimate North farmer John Finlayson, who passed away last year, who registered the taonga with the Ministry of Culture and Heritage in 2007.

She was happy for them to return home.

"We agreed we should install them in the whare so our orators can regularly refer to them in their oratory. In the down time people can look at them and wonder what they are, we can find out more information about them. We want them as teaching and learning aids."

The tools include about 15 adzes which were used for digging soil, cutting wood and shaping tools; 10 patu including patu aruhe which were used to pound fern root; and ko which are digging implements.

Himiona said after Finlayson contacted the Ministry of Culture and Heritage an 11-year process began which included advertising the find in newspapers, negotiations, and discussions.

She said there were previous historic finds which had caused conflict between kaumatua but that was not a problem for the three Te Waimate Taiamai marae when it came to these gardening tools.

"We said we don't really want to go down that road. What's the point in having these taonga come back to us if all we are going to do is fight with each other. There was a core group of us who said 'yeah let's not do that'."

In 2015 a meeting attended by Finlayson and his son Cameron, the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, and marae trustees was held at Tauwhara Marae. It resulted in an agreement that the ownership of the taonga would be vested in the three marae.