Opinion: Know your history - Kimihia o korero tuku iho

PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES

Seventy-four years ago when the wife of the President of the United States visited Rotorua a simple hongi was set to send ripples through the establishment.

When she arrived at Whakarewarewa, Eleanor Roosevelt was met by Ngapuna's Rangitiaria Dennan. Rangitiaria, better known as Guide Rangi, greeted Mrs Roosevelt with a hongi instead of a handshake and in doing so broke government protocol while adhering to the protocols of her people.

While some officials baulked, the wife of the president smiled and clearly delighted in her time spent with Rangitiaria.

Headlines in American papers reported "An old Maori custom: When in New Zealand, Mrs Franklin D. Roosevelt does as the native Maoris do."

Eleanor Roosevelt was to become the driving force behind a charter that recognised the rights of all people and five years after meeting Rangitiaria her legacy, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was launched.

But while her work at Whakarewarewa is well documented it is important for us to also understand the climate and the times in which Rangitiaria lived.

She was born at Ngapuna. Traditionally those living along the banks of the Puarenga Stream enjoyed a good life. The waterway was sacred but also a source of clean water and food. A few years before Rangitiara was born a medical officer reported that the children of Ngapuna were some of the healthiest in the district.

But this was not to last.

Raw sewage from the burgeoning town was soon dumped straight into the Puarenga, the Government's Waipa Sawmill would soon discharge toxic effluent into the sacred waterway.

Outbreaks of disease linked to pollution would see entire families displaced as public health officials ruled that living at Ngapuna was a health risk. It is ironic that around the same time Rangitiaria was hosting Eleanor Roosevelt, a few kilometres downstream, Ngapuna was suffering from a typhoid outbreak.

Rangitiaria herself urged the Government to stop the pollution, she wrote: "The Pakeha industries at Waipa mill have spoiled the purity of the Puarenga stream. The water has at times turned black and children jumping in at times have been unable to find them in the famous pool under the bridge.

"Large quantities of pine bark have come down the stream in floods. Flooding seems to be getting worse as farming develops and erosion worsens up the Puarenga valley. We have also had trouble with 14 big floating blobs of unsavoury looking material appearing in hot summer weather.

"It has been identified as algae, which apparently grows on the stream bottom, and is said to have been caused by the discharge of sewerage outflow into the Puarenga from the oxidation ponds at the government's Waipa sawmill settlement."

This Waitangi Day the Human Rights Commission is encouraging us to find out more about the history of the places we call home: Know Your History - Kimihia o korero tuku iho.

Even though my work is based in Auckland, I am very lucky to be able to think of Rotorua as one of my homes.

Highlighting the stories of New Zealand women is a big part of my job and the stories of the women of Te Arawa who were our region's cultural ambassadors to the world are ones we all deserve to know more about.

Women like Rangitiara Dennan.

Every Waitangi Day is an opportunity for us to reflect on where we have been as a nation and where we hope to go.

Dr Jackie Blue is the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner for the Human Rights Commission.