Russell Armitage and Mary McNaughton beside the monument on SH3 commemorating the formation of the Kīngitanga. The monument, at a rest area equidistant between Te Kūiti and Ōtorohanga, is close to the sport where a meeting was held in 1857 which led to the decision to support Pōtatau Te Wherowhero as first Maori KIng.
A play called Wellspring of Tears, which recalls the formation of the Kīngitanga, and events leading up to the invasion of the Waikato in 1863, is being evaluated by On-Stage Te Kūiti Inc.
The author, Hamilton playwright Russell Armitage, met and delivered a copy of the script to On Stage president Mary McNaughton on Monday.
McNaughton said the prospect of performing the play in Te Kūiti was exciting and she was keen to discuss it with members of the group.
“This looks like an excellent project for us but were it to go ahead we couldn’t perform it till next year. Russell would have to shorten and adapt the script it to make it feasible for us to put on, but he’s prepared to do that for us,” McNaughton said.
Much of the dialogue is based upon verbatim newspaper reports of public meetings held in town halls and on marae during the 1860s.
The work has been accepted as a resource to be used in Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum.
It was launched in 2020 during the Pandemic, which severely restricted performances, and so far there have only been two, which have been readings rather than full productions.
“There’s no way I would have attempted to write of these events without the support of Māori,” Armitage said.
“I was mentored during the writing of the play by Dr Tom Roa of the faculty of Māori and indigenous studies at the University of Waikato. And Maniapoto leaders are among those who have also given their blessing.
“One of the reasons I have been encouraged to write and research this work is probably that I am a great great grandson of the Wesleyan missionary William Gittos, who was active at the time of the formation of the Kīngitanga.”
