Unravelling the Whakapapa and Pūrākau of the Waikouaiti Recreation Reserve

About this research

Intern: Demelza Scott-Weekly, University of Otago

Project Supervisor: Dr Robin Quigg

Institution: The University of Otago

Project Summary: Parks and reserves land, if not conservation or national parks, are governed by local authorities, guided by the Reserves Act 1977. Local authorities must give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (TOW), similar to that of the Crown. It is not clear where and how the principles of the TOW fit with the preservation and protection of the reserve given the Reserves Act is specific about the well-being of the reserve, rather than prioritising those with ancestral links to the land now delineated as a reserve.

A historical content analysis is proposed to undertake an investigation of a reserve within the Kāti Huirapap ki Puketeraki rohe, Waikouaiti Recreation Reserve. Some of the land is owned and managed by the Dunedin City Council (DCC) as a publically accessible recreation reserve, but a significant proportion is currently leased for 'stock finishing'. A project will explore the documented whakapapa and pūrākau associated with the reserve using the DCC archives and other similar resource libraries.

The project will be supervised by Dr Robin Quigg. Dr Quigg teaches hauora Māori within the public health curriculum at the University of Otago. With a background as a recreation planner prior to working within the public health discipline, she is particularly interested in decolonising spaces, such as parks and reserves. Parks and reserves reflect the industrial revolution distinction between work and leisure, space taken from indigenous cultures.