Whakapapa and identity of Kāti Huirapa

"Timaru District lies within the traditional boundaries of Ngāi Tahu. Ngāi Tahu is the largest iwi in Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island) and comprises people who descend from the tribe’s five primary hapū (Ngāti Kurī, Ngāti Irakehu, Kāti Huirapa, Ngāi Tūāhuriri and Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki) as well as earlier Rapuwai, Hawea, Waitaha and Kāti Mamoe ancestors. The hapū who hold mana whenua in Timaru District are Kāti Huirapa. The rohe of Kāti Huirapa extends over the area from the Rakaia River in the north to the Waitaki River in the south, and today is centred around the tipuna marae of Arowhenua. The traditions of Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe and Ngāi Tahu are embedded in the landscape. According to this tradition, Te Wai Pounamu was the waka that carried four sons of Raki (sky father) to meet his second wife Papatūānuku (earth mother). The sons journeyed from the heavens and when they sought to return, the karakia failed, over-turning their waka which became the South Island. The brothers climbed on top and turned to stone and became the mountains that comprise the Southern Alps. Kāti Huirapa history with the land goes back more than 70 generations, when, according to tradition, Rākaihautū came to Te Wai Pounamu from Hawaiki in the canoe Uruao. The canoe landed at the boulder bank at Whakatū (Nelson). While his son Te Rakihouia took some of the party down the east coast, Rākaihautū led the remainder through the interior to Te Ara a Kiwa (Foveaux Strait). With his ko (digging stick) Rākaihautū dug Te Kari Kari O Rākaihautū (the southern lakes). Te Rakihouia proceeded south in Uruao down the Canterbury Coast where he placed eel weirs at the mouths of the rivers. The posts he left behind became known as Ngā Pou Pou o Rakihouia. The two parties met up at Waihao, then proceeded up the coast, making their headquarters at Akaroa. Rākaihautū was buried at Wai Kakahi (near Wairewa/ Lake Forsyth). Te Uruao lies as part of the Waitaki River bed near Wai Kakahi (near Glenavy)."

Historical and traditional use and occupation in and around Timaru District

It was the natural resources that attracted Māori people to Te Wai Pounamu, and the enjoyment of these is what kept them there. The distinctive flavours of birds, eel, shellfish, fish and other wildlife bound the people to the land and to the waters, and strengthened their will to hold on to them. Each district had its specialties. In Arowhenua, the specialties were tī -kāuru (a fructose rich cake made from the pith of the stems and roots of tī kouka (cabbage trees)) and aruhe (made from the root of the bracken fern). Tī -kāuru and aruhe were cooked in large earth ovens known as umu-ti. For Kāti Huirapa people, a way of life developed which was closely related to the natural environment. Natural resources were used to feed, clothe and equip people. Physical landmarks were often associated with atua (gods) and with the births, lives and deaths of tīpuna (forebears). The stories of the ancestor's journeys of exploration and creation and the shaping of the land also acted as "oral maps", with place names’ meanings woven carefully into them. Place names also reflected the history of occupation, travel and use of resources. Within Timaru District every mountain, hill, river and stream was owned and named. Natural resources were managed by strict kawa (resource management protocols and practices) and observance to atua. Due to the scarcity, localisation, and the availability of plant, bird, animal and fish species the typical mahika kai culture of southern Kāti Huirapa was simple enough to require only the basic extractive technologies and flexible enough to survive in the inevitable periodic failures (Anderson, 1998; Williams, 2003). Climate, fire and conflict all would have impacted the ecosystems that were accessed and the species gathered by mana whenua. Kāti Huirapa did not populate the catchments of South Canterbury with numerous towns and homesteads. Permanent settlements were located largely along the sea coast, but Kāti Huirapa also ranged inland on a regular seasonal basis to hunt, fish and gathered resources. This way of gathering and the cold climate made such a large territory necessary. Mana whenua history confirms a continued occupation through a network of settlements distributed along throughout the river systems of the Timaru District, from the source waters in the Southern Alps to the sea. 2 Timaru District Plan Review: Report on Sites and Areas of Significance to Māori Information documented in ‘Kāi Tahu 18801’ outlines the nature of some of the settlements utilised by Ngāi Tahu, and the main resources harvested there. Williams (2003) identifies four categories of settlement:  Kāika Mahika Kai were occasional camping places, which were not maintained continuously;  Kāika Nohoaka were regular seasonal camping places probably with rudimentary dwellings which would be maintained at each visit,  Kāika Nohoaka Tuturu were semi-permanent settlements, the most important of which were associated with urupā, thus committing the people to continuing residence. Some kāika nohoaka tuturu also had gardens, and/or tūāhu.  Pā Tuwatawata or palisaded forts were always with urupā. These were settlements where the folk spent quite some time, and where the old and the very young would have wintered over. The majority had gardens and tūāhu. All four types of settlement were found across South Canterbury. They varied in shape, size and materials. Many of these retain the status of wāhi taoka or wāhi tapu today. The principal Ngāi Tahu settlement in South Canterbury was at Te Waiateruatī pā, which was situated near the mouth of the Ōpihi River and was home to Te Rehe, the influential Kāti Huirapa rangatira (Norton and Revington, 2016). It was a place of marriages to link rangatira together and get access to mahika kai. Arowhenua, with its location between the junctions of the Ōpihi and Te Umu Kaha (Temuka) rivers, was traditionally one of the few remaining areas of lowland native forest on Kā PākihiWhakatekateka-a-Waitaha (the Canterbury Plains). The richer soils of Arowhenua, combined with the forest shelter, provided one of the few successful cultivations in the area. The coast of Timaru District was part of an important ara tawhito or travel route between lakes Wairewa and Waitarakao (Washdyke Lagoon), connecting the settlements of Te Pātaka-a-Rākaihautū (Banks Peninsula) with coastal kāika to the south, including Te Waiateruatī pā.2 Timaru itself was an integral component of the extensive network of kāika nohoaka, wānanga o tohunga and kāika mahika kai located throughout South Canterbury.3 In addition to the route along the coast, other ara tawhito led inland to provide access to mahika kai in Te Manahuna (the Mackenzie Basin) and the Rangitata catchment, and for the purpose of learning and conversing with tīpuna and atua in whare wānanga. Significant rock art sites provide enduring markers of points where a day’s travel ended and stories were told."

• AECL (2020) Report on sites and areas of significance to Māori (pdf, 2.1 MB updated 31-Oct-2022)
  https://www.timaru.govt.nz/services/planning/district-plan/proposed-district-plan/proposed-district-plan/supporting-documents/supporting-information