Tārewānga Marae in Ōtorohanga opened its new wharepuni – meeting house – on Saturday after nearly 80 years without one.
Ngāti Hinewai’s new whare tupuna is known as Te Rauatemoa Tuarua, and opening celebrations began at dawn.
The new design features a covered walkway between the wharepuni and other buildings, and a concrete marae atea. The design will help the meeting house stay clean, and keep visitors dry.
The previous wharepuni was dismantled during the Second World War era after suffering dry rot and borer damage, according to University of Waikato professor and kaumatua Tom Roa, who is a senior representative of the marae.
At that time, the old timber was buried in the family urupa just above the marae. “As time went by, they [marae whānau] didn’t have the resources to build another one. We’ve been two or three generations working on putting the wharepuni back onto that marae,” Tom said.
In recent years, funding from sources including Oranga Marae and the Ministry of Internal Affairs had allowed the new building’s construction to go ahead.
The new wharepuni was built using replacement materials, not the original timber. Prior to the construction, mauri stones were buried, which Tom described as “the heart” of the whare.
The old wharepuni was significant in the history of te rohe Pōtae and Maniapoto. “When the chiefs allowed the Māori Land Court to sit in Ōtorohanga, they would meet beforehand to discuss the evidence that that would go to the Maori Land Court,” Tom said.
“That was in the late 1800s, early 1900s.”
At that time, the meeting house was at a different location. It shifted to its current one after a land dispute between the tupuna Kite and one of his relatives around 1905, Tom said.
At that time, it was referred to as Te Whare Komiti.Tārewānga Marae in Ōtorohanga opened its new wharepuni – meeting house – on Saturday after nearly 80 years without one.
Ngāti Hinewai’s new whare tupuna is known as Te Rauatemoa Tuarua, and opening celebrations began at dawn.
The new design features a covered walkway between the wharepuni and other buildings, and a concrete marae atea. The design will help the meeting house stay clean, and keep visitors dry.
The previous wharepuni was dismantled during the Second World War era after suffering dry rot and borer damage, according to University of Waikato professor and kaumatua Tom Roa, who is a senior representative of the marae.
At that time, the old timber was buried in the family urupa just above the marae. “As time went by, they [marae whānau] didn’t have the resources to build another one. We’ve been two or three generations working on putting the wharepuni back onto that marae,” Tom said.
In recent years, funding from sources including Oranga Marae and the Ministry of Internal Affairs had allowed the new building’s construction to go ahead.
The new wharepuni was built using replacement materials, not the original timber. Prior to the construction, mauri stones were buried, which Tom described as “the heart” of the whare.
The old wharepuni was significant in the history of te rohe Pōtae and Maniapoto.
“When the chiefs allowed the Māori Land Court to sit in Ōtorohanga, they would meet beforehand to discuss the evidence that that would go to the Maori Land Court,” Tom said.
“That was in the late 1800s, early 1900s.”
At that time, the meeting house was at a different location. It shifted to its current one after a land dispute between the tupuna Kite and one of his relatives around 1905, Tom said.
At that time, it was referred to as Te Whare Komiti.
