Otaki TodayAn old kaīnga on Te Waka Road, Te Horo, has been restored and reopened for whānau of Ngāti Kauwhata.
It was estimated to have been built in the 1860s by Mere Kaumatua and her whaler husband, James Silberry (AKA Jimmy Smith).
Mere worked at the whaling stations on Kāpiti Island. Through land entitlements of Ngāti Kauwhata, she had several blocks of land in Ōtaki. The whenua at Te Waka Road, known as Ngākaroro Te Tarata, is all that remains.
Dave Marino sits at the doorway of the kāinga where he used to visit his grandparents.
Photo Ōtaki Today
Mere and James had seven children but only two survived – Makareta and George/Hori. Makareta married the son of prominent local settler Hector McDonald and Te Kopi, a niece of Te Rauparaha. Te Kopi died young. and her daughter, Ani, was raised by Mere. Te Kopi’s son, Hugh Joseph, was raised with his father’s second family. Hugh also spent time with Mere. Hugh’s daughter, Agnes McDonald, was raised by Ani.
The original kainga was typical of its day – consisting of a sitting room with a big fireplace and two small bedrooms. A wharepuni (sleeping house) that was recently demolished was used to accommodate whanau and manuhiri. The kitchen/kauta, the washhouse, the bathroom and the wharepaku were all housed in separate buildings.
The old kainga has never been painted and retains original tōtara boards and batten walls. Originally water was obtained from a well nearby, then from a water tank outside the kitchen area of the added-on building (possibly built in the late 1800s or early 1900s). Flowers, including violets, daffodils and lilies were grown on the site and sold at markets. Large vegetables gardens fed the whānau and surplus produce was also sent to market. Chickens, ducks, turkeys and cows meant the whānau were largely self-sufficient. Watercress was accessible from the creeks in the swamp area of the property.
It was a place for family gatherings and celebrations. Many mokopuna were raised with the old people or visited during school holidays. Connections to the whenua were strong and extensive. The kainga nurtured enduring bonds between generations, especially grandparents and their mokopuna, intergenerational love and teaching.
Ngākaroro te Tarata Ahu Whenua Trust has been been part of managing the whenua (land) – as the kaīnga is part of the land the trust took on the project to ensure it was restored. Work began in 2006 to repile. Dave Wi Pauro Marino, Barry McLennan and Tony Broughton, who have strong ancestral connections to the kaīnga, have seen through the completion of renovations.
Trust chair Phil Gibb says the vision is for the renovation to enable whānau to reconnect to the whenua and each other.
“As an expression of ūkaipōtanga, the kāinga is the essence of our belonging,” he says. “It is the basis upon which our cultural heritage stands, an unbreakable tie to the land that nurtured our ancestors and sustains us still.
“The kāinga will provide a base for wānanga on our whakapapa, history, and wider connections.
“Our trust invites input and development of our strategic plan to strengthen the ability of the Kāinga to nurture the holistic well-being of the whānau and exploit the potential of our papakāinga to provide a foundation for identity and belonging.”
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