Looted taonga Te Kōanga o Rehua to return to Whanganui River

Don Robinson says the return of Te Kōanga o Rehua is an important event for the people of Pipiriki and the descendants of Te Mahutu. Photo / Supplied

A taonga looted from a Whanganui River marae during the colonial siege of Pipiriki will be brought back to Whanganui on Wednesday by iwi.

The 5.5m waka maumaharatanga Te Kōanga o Rehua was carved in the 1800s from the hull of a waka taua (war canoe) and erected at Te Kōanga o Rehua marae in the middle reaches, as a monument to the memory of chief Te Mahutu.

Following the Siege of Pipiriki in 1865, the memorial was plundered by soldiers and Māori loyal to the Crown, and taken downstream to the urupā at Pūtiki Marae in Whanganui. It eventually found its way to the Dominion Museum in 1911 and was moved to Te Papa Tongarewa in the 1990s.

Don Robinson, a descendant of Tamahaki and the people of Pipiriki, said the return to the river of the relic was an important event for the people of Pipiriki and the descendants of Te Mahutu.

It will arrive on Wednesday before dawn after a nearly 50-year battle to have it returned.

“It will firstly visit the Pūtiki marae and urupā, where it had been in place sometime really early in its journey out of Pipiriki,” Robinson said.

“On Friday at 6am, it will be formally presented to the Whanganui Regional Museum and the people of Whanganui. A number of descendants of Te Mahutu will be at the ceremonies on Wednesday and Friday.

“This is something that we are proud of, the museum is proud of and Te Papa Tongarewa is supportive of.”

The totara relic is on long-term loan from Te Papa, but river iwi are anticipating that good management and care at the museum will allow discussions for repatriation to go forward.

Te Koanga o Rehua was carved in the 1800s from the hull of a waka taua (war canoe). Photo / Supplied

The waka maumaharatanga was taken, along with other items, following a number of deadly battles on the Whanganui River in 1864 and 1865, ending with the Siege of Pipiriki by Crown forces.

“We had the Battle of Moutoa in 1864 at Ranana. Following the Battle of Moutoa, the battle moved upriver to Ohoutahi. At the conclusion of the Battle of Ohoutahi, the soldiers and ‘friendlies’ moved on to Pipiriki where they began the Siege of Pipiriki,” Robinson said.

“Following the battle there, a decision was made for the waka and a piece of the Anglican Church alongside the waka to be removed from Te Pōti. It was taken downstream by the soldiers and others to Pūtiki at Whanganui.”

The taonga was kept at Pūtiki for some years before being passed to Sir Walter Buller, who erected it on an island at Lake Ōhau near Levin. After Buller’s death, it was gifted to the Dominion Museum and then moved to Te Papa Tongarewa.

In the early 80s, an organisation called the Whanganui Whare Wānanga Trust was formed, led by Matiu Mareikura, Mark Cribb, Ruka Broughton, John Tahuparae and Don Robinson. The Trust made approaches to the Dominion Museum about the return of the object either to Pipiriki or to the Whanganui museum.

“We would go to Wellington periodically, talk to the museum and look at objects of importance to the Whanganui rohe, and what was being done for the preservation, restoration and storage of these on a long-term basis.”

The carved and painted waka maumaharatanga is in good condition.

“When it failed in its early years, they had to put in a lot of time and effort to restore some of the woodwork,” Robinson said.

The Whanganui Regional Museum’s Māori curatorial team was working to ensure the taonga was installed in a proper manner and kept in the best possible condition, he said.

It will be housed standing upright near the museum entrance in the atrium, facing the Māori Court.

Robinson, a long-time member of the museum’s bicameral board, the Tikanga Māori House and the Joint Council, is elated that decades of negotiation have finally been successful.

In 2021, museum board chair Marshall Tangaroa, director Bronwyn Labrum and other museum staff travelled with Robinson to Wellington to renew repatriation talks with Te Papa Tongarewa.

The fabled taiaha, Te Ringa Mahikai, belonging to the warrior Te Hāmarama, was among 14 taonga brought to the Whanganui museum from Te Papa Tongarewa in 2019.

Robinson said Whanganui River iwi were also keen to see the return from Te Papa of the waka Teremoe, once belonging to Mātene Rangitauira, of Pipiriki. The war canoe was used in the 1864 Battle of Moutoa and the 1865 Battle of Ohoutahi and Siege of Pipiriki.

“There’s no room at the moment for something as big as that. But I’m hopeful that one day we can find a place for it. One day, the people will find the room, find the time, find the finance to have it re-established in Whanganui.”

Whanganui Regional Museum will be closed on Wednesday, May 24, and Thursday, May 25, as engineers and specialist workmen install Te Kōanga o Rehua. The museum will re-open at 10am on Friday.

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