Engari rā, kāre anō kia ea a Ngāti Hurunga Te Rangi rātou ko Ngāti Taeotu, ko Ngāti Te Kahu kereme Waitangi (Wai 533). E keremehia ana e rātou te papa hū o Te Whakarewarewa me te nehenehe nui o Te Whakarewarewa. E hoki kau ana ngā maumaharatanga ki te pakanga tuarua o te ao.
I taua taima ko ngā kuia nō Ngapuna me Te Whakarewarewa te ohu ringa raupā i te kōhanga whakatupu rākau e mōhiotia ana inaianei ko Scion. Ko tōna ingoa taketake ko te NZ Forest Research Institute.
Hai tā te Pouwhakahaere matua o Scion a Dr Julian Elder, he nui te mana o tēnei herenga hou. Kia tahuri kau ki ngā kaupapa ko hori ka kitea ake ko te pūtaiao e kawea na e Scion te mana nui i māuriora ai te taiao, i ngāwari ai hoki te noho tahi me ngā iwi huhua o te Māori.
Ka nui te whakamihi a Dr Elder ki te hōmaitanga a te iwi a Tuteata ingoa tupuna hai ingoa mo tō rātou nā whare e tū whakahīhī nā i te takiwā o te rori o Titokorangi me te rori o Tarawera.
Ko Veronica Butterworth me Hokimate Kahukiwa ngā māngai o te hapū. Kai te kaha
awhinatia rāua e Pauline Tangohau he mema hoki ia nō te hapū. Ka nui hoki tā rātou nā aronga matawhāiti ki te oranga tonutanga o te whenua me te whakawhanake i te mātauranga me ngā hua mahi hai takahitanga mā te rangatahi.
Mātua hoki ko te whakatō mātauranga Māori o te hapū ki te puku o Scion e ngātahi ai ngā whakaaro.
Hai tā Veronica Butterworth ko tētehi o ngā tino hua o te hononga nei ko te whakamana i te mātauranga Māori pēnei me te kaupapa pā harakeke i tākohangia atu ki a Scion.
Me te painga hoki hai tā Pauline Tangohau ehara kau noa iho tā rātou tūnga he whakakī pouaka anahe. Ehara!
Ko tā Hokimate Kahukiwa he whakamihi nāna ki ngā rangatira huhua i whakaputa ngoi ki a mana ai tēnei hononga ka whakaaronuitia te Poari o Scion ko Dr Helen Anderson tō rātou tiamana i taua taima, ā, ka tae mai hoki a Aaron Judson rātou ko Rob Truss, ko Hemi Rolleston ko Nelson Meha ki ōna tai māharatanga.
He putanga auaha ka hua mai i tēnei herenga ko te tūnga hou i Scion ara ko te whakahoahoa me te whakapakari i te hononga ki te mana whenua. Ko Tamara Mutu te Kākātarahae koia te Hunga Whakahaere Matua ko ōna rangatira ko Ngāti Hurunga Te Rangi rātou ko Ngati Taeotu ko Ngati Te Kahu ko Scion.
Māna ngā painga e ketuketu, māna hoki e whakarangatira, me te mea hoki ka whakapiritahatata a ia ki ēra atu o ngā pahi e noho kau ana i raro i ngā paihau o Scion. Ko Timberlands me Te Uru Rakau he tokorua nō tēnei huinga e ngana nei ki te whakapakari i tā rātou herenga ki te mana o ngā hapū nō rātou te whenua.
He aha rā! Kai te kaha whakaparangahia tēnei tōpūtanga hai timatanga hou e mana ai te ōhākī a Houmaitawhiti.
- Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori
It's been a long time gestating but mana whenua and a Crown Research Institute have produced a true partnership in Rotorua.
This will be formalised in a Kawenata between Nga Hapu e Toru o Ngati Whakaue; Ngati Hurunga Te Rangi, Ngati Taeotu, Ngati Te Kahu and Scion. And both parties are thrilled that a journey started decades ago by the likes of the late Ben Hona has come to fruition.
The land where Scion sits has great significance for Ngati Hurunga Te Rangi, Ngati Taeotu, Ngati Te Kahu. It was a place where whanau lived, hunted the ngahere for kai such as birds, berries, pikopiko, fern root, kauka .
The Puarenga Stream had shags, ducks, koura, inanga and toitoi. Kakahi could be found at nearby Owhatiura. The Scion site is part of the rohe of Tuteata, who is the shared ancestor of the three hapu. Tuteata's rohe stretched from Moerangi, to Owhatiura, to Hemo Gorge.
Ngati Hurunga Te Rangi, Ngati Taeotu, Ngati Te Kahu have an outstanding, unsettled Waitangi Tribunal claim (Wai 533) to the Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley and Whakarewarewa State Forest.
In more recent times, during World War II women from Ngapuna and Whakarewarewa worked in the nursery at Scion's predecessor - the NZ Forest Research Institute.
Scion Chief Executive Officer Dr Julian Elder (pictured) says this partnership is unique, compared to projects where Scion's scientific knowledge helped with environmental threats such kauri dieback or projects with other iwi such as in Te Tai Tokerau Tairawhiti and Tuwharetoa.
Dr Elder pays tribute to the hapu for the gift of the name Tuteata for Te Whare Nui o Tuteata which has pride of place on site at Titokorangi Drive off Tarawera Rd.
Veronica Butterworth and Hokimate Kahukiwa are the hapu representatives and they are assisted by hapu member Pauline Tangohau.
All are committed to caring for the land and to enhancing education and career opportunities for rangatahi. A major priority is sharing the kawa and tikanga of the hapu within Scion and normalising hapu values.
Veronica Butterworth said one of the most positive outcomes of the partnership was the recognition of matauranga Maori, such as the pa harakeke project supporting an extensive collection of flax cultivars which has been gifted to Scion.
Pauline Tangohau appreciates the fact that the hapu representatives are not just there to "tick the boxes".
Hokimate Kahukiwa acknowledged the efforts of many different people to build this partnership including the Scion Board (chaired by Dr Helen Anderson) and various Scion staff alongside Dr Elder such as Aaron Judson, Rob Trass, Hemi Rolleston and Nelson Meha.
An innovative, positive outcome of the partnership is the new position in Scion, dedicated to building relationships with tangata whenua.
The role reports to Ngati Hurunga Te Rangi, Ngati Taeotu, Ngati Te Kahu and Scion.
Tamara Mutu has taken up that role as Hunga Whakahaere Matua / Operations manager.
She will look for mutually beneficial opportunities across Scion's operations. She will also work with the various other tenants at the Scion site. Timberlands and Te Uru Rakau are two of those key tenants and they have made a strong commitment to build a relationship with the three hapu.
The partnership is a celebration of a new world and new beginnings.
- Translated by Raimona Inia
