About this research
Project Summary
Inspired by a little-known Tīkapa mōteatea, He Uru Mānuka, a love lament set among riverside mānuka groves, this project aims to document and culturally map selected Waiapu River locations pairing customary and contemporary technologies. In February 2023 during Cyclone Gabrielle, Waiapu River flooded to a height of 8 metres which exacerbated existing erosion, and further damaged vulnerable cultural and ecological sites. Once-common species utilised in Ngāti Porou lifestyle practices are severely impacted by rapid environmental change, leading to a loss of cultural knowledge. Yet, these practices foster invaluable and mauri-sustaining relationships with our ancestral river.
At a time when land is literally disappearing out to sea, this research aims to ‘restory’ our lifeways, linking creative practices with ecology to perpetuate relationships with the lower reaches of the Waiapu. The project’s core objective is to revitalise cultural practices such as net-making and fish weir building, whilst recording valuable data about environmental impacts on plant and fish species, for ngā hapū o Te Wīwī Nāti.
The project team is drawing on Waiapu maramataka to determine the optimum times to undertake the practical research. Through culturally mapping with the use of contemporary technologies, the research will develop valuable connections between customary narratives of place about pā harakeke, mānuka and kānuka groves and amphidromous fish habitats. The project will create new video and photographic works that will be accessed by our communities and beyond to share the research results.
Research Question
How might cultural mapping and ‘restorying’ interconnected locations and networked species relations reveal healing narratives to foster engagement with the ecological protection of our living world?
Lead Researcher
Dr Natalie Robertson, Ngāti Porou, AUT University
Research Team
Graeme Atkins, Ngāti Porou, Rongomaiwahine, Raukūmara Pae Maunga Restoration Project
Lionel Matenga, Te Whānau a Pōkai
Alex Monteith, Independent
Dr Maree Sheehan, Maniapoto
Dean Savage, Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau
Select Outputs
- Robertson, N. (2023). AWA—Building pā tauremu Fish Weirs in the Waiapu River. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, 23(2), 136–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/14434318.2023.2274907
- Robertson N (2023) Recreating pā tauremu stone fish weirs in the Waiapu River. International Indigenous Climate Change Research Summit 2023, Auckland, 14 Nov 2023 - 17 Nov 2023. Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga.
- Robertson, N. (2024). Presentation of He Manako He Pānga Pōuri, He Kōingo — Afflicted with desire, sadness, and yearning. 2024. Alex Monteith, Natalie Robertson, and Marie Sheehan. Single-channel 4K Video projection, with sound, duration 9:58”. Toi Taiao Whakatairanga Ihirangaranga wānanga, Hinerupe Marae, Te Araroa, April 22-25th 2024.
- Robertson, Natalie (2023). Mānukanuka ki Waiorongomai. Apprehension of mānuka on the Waiorongomai river, a tributary leading into Tapuaeroa River, Tairāwhiti (East Cape), Aotearoa/ New Zealand. Triptych.
- Robertson, Natalie (2023). Raupeka ki Mangawhariki. Distressed mānuka trees in the Mangawhariki riverbed. Triptych.
- Robertson, Natalie (2023). Hoake tāua ki Waiapu! Ko te pā tauremu, ko te kupenga taka ki rō wai. Let us make our way to Waiapu! This is the stone fish weir and net immersed in water. Pā tauremu (stone fish weir) and kupenga (fishing net) in the Waiapu River, Tairāwhiti (East Cape), Aotearoa/ New Zealand. Triptych.
- Robertson, Natalie (2023). Whakawhitirā! Ka titiro ki uta ra ki Hikurangi Maunga. Let it shine! Look inland and afar off to Hikurangi Mountain. Triptych.
- Monteith, Alex; Robertson, Natalie; Sheehan, Marie. (2024). He Manako, He Pānga Pōuri, He Kōingo — Afflicted with desire, sadness, and yearning. Single-channel 4K Video projection, with sound, duration 9:55 minutes, looped.
Inspired by an ancient mōteatea and grounded in the living whenua of Ngāti Porou, He Uru Mānuka is a creative cultural mapping project breathing new life into ancestral knowledge. As climate shifts reshape the Waiapu River, we pair traditional practice with modern technologies to document, protect, and uplift the mauri of the land, the waters, and the stories in between.
Kairangahau · Researchers
Associate Professor Natalie Robertson
Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau a Pōkai , Clann Dhònnchaidh
Auckland University of Technology (AUT)
Ko Hikurangi te maungaKo Waiapu te awaKo Ngāti Porou te iwiKo Pōhautea te maungaKo Takā te awaKo Te Whānau a Pōkai te…
Associate Professor Natalie Robertson
Graeme Atkins
Raukūmara Pae Maunga Restoration Project
Graeme currently serves as a Kaitieki Ranger in the Raukūmara Pae Maunga Restoration Project, a Māori-led initiative…
Graeme Atkins
Associate Professor Alex Monteith
Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland
Alex MonteithBorn Béal Feirste Belfast, Na Sé Chontae Northern Ireland;Lives at Te Piha, Aotearoa New Zealand. Alex…
Associate Professor Alex Monteith
Dr Maree Sheehan
Ngāti Maniapoto , Waikato, Ngāti Tuwharetoa , Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tahu, Ngāti Whaoa
Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa
As a researcher, educator, and composer, I have the privileged role of responding to the educational aspirations of…
Dr Maree Sheehan
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