Whangārei Heads kaumātua photo exhibition becomes book

This image of kuia Rosmarie Dickey is one of Claire Gordon's photos that grace June Pitman's book Kaumātua o Tamaterau Life stories through the lens. Photo / Claire Gordon

A successful photograph exhibition highlighting the history of the Whangārei Heads settlement of Tamaterau through the eyes of its kaumatua has been turned into a book.

The Kaumātua o Tamaterau Life Stories & Photographic Exhibition was held last December at Tamaterau Hall, where the area's history was seen through photographs and stories of some of its kaumatua.

June Pitman of Motumoana Enterprises Ltd, the creative mind behind this project, has teamed up with Claire Gordon of Flash Gordon Photography to bring the exhibition to life.
The exhibition proved so successful that it has developed into a book, Kaumātua o Tamaterau Life stories through the lens, by Pitman and featuring Gordon's images and the history.

Pitman said Tamaterau is a unique seaside community hugging the shoreline of Whangārei Harbour, gateway to the numerous nooks and crannies that comprise Whangārei Heads.

''Travelling along Whangārei Heads Rd following the coastline of Terenga Parāoa (Whangārei Harbour) passing through the settlements of Rāhui Kuri (Solomons Point), Tamaterau, and Waikaraka towards Onerahirahi (Onerahi) is a delightful experience where we get to soak in its glorious present time scenery,'' Pitman said.

This image of Ray Main is one that is in June Pitman's book Kaumātua o Tamaterau Life stories through the lens. Photo / Claire Gordon

''Ninety years ago the scene was very different. Imagine the road as a horse track passing through settlements of beachside raupo-thatched whare (houses), large cultivations of mara kai (food garden) of vegetables and crops grown on the hills and flats by local Māori to feed their whānau and supply produce to the markets up the Hātea, and so on.

''Looking further back in time, the pathway from Whangārei all the way through to Whangārei Heads was heavily occupied by Māori. Numerous papakāinga dotted the coastal skyline including Rangitihi, a visible landmark pā that rises high above Tamaterau rohe. Māori iwi/ hapū lived there in relatively close proximity to each other.''

Utilised intensely for gardening and cultivation, kaimoana harvesting, communal gatherings and tribal discussions, traditional Māori practices and rituals, and other daily and seasonal activities, Tamaterau's shoreline was also an important landmark tauranga waka (landing/departure point for waka), and for numerous other vessels that over time would venture up and down the length of Whangārei Harbour.

''A significant proportion of today's landowners and occupants are acutely unaware of Tamaterau's (and indeed the whole of the Whangārei Heads area) rich and interwoven history,'' she said.

''What does exist is a generational network of Kaumātua o Tamaterau, all descendants of Māori whanau who have maintained continuity of occupying, living, cultivating, and farming their ancestral lands in the Tamaterau rohe through five generations to present day.

''The richness of stories shared of lifetimes lived at Tamaterau, coupled with the realisation that our kaumātua and the next generation of descendants are all getting older highlighted the fact that it would only a matter of time before these personal recollections were at risk of being lost to us forever.''

Kaumātua o Tamaterau Life stories through the lens is a book based on a previous exhibition looking at kaumatua of the Whangārei Heads settlement by June Pitman and Claire Gordon.

The book features extended narratives that reflect more fully the personal experiences of growing up and living life along the Whangārei Heads Rd as shared by members of ngā whānau Dickey Haora, Nelson, Pitman, Pohe, Pepi and Solomon.

Kaumātua o Tamaterau Life stories through the lens is available at Book Inn – Kamo, Journey Collab – Whangārei, Onerahi Book Shop, Smith & Local café – Parua Bay for $45. More information is at motumoana.nz.