Tawatawa Reserve Te Rauparaha pouwhenua restored

As the weather improves, there’s no better time to explore both the outdoors and our city’s history – including the recently restored pouwhenua ‘Te Rauparaha’ near Tawatawa Reserve.

Ariki and Matahi standing next to the pouwhenua — Ariki and Matahi admiring the work they put in to restore the taonga of their ancestors

Tawatawa Reserve is surrounded on three sides by hills and is marked by a pouwhenua (land marker), a significant sculpture erected in 1981 and recently restored, that feels like part of the surrounding land mass.

Master carver Matahi Avauli Brightwell (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Huia, Ngāti Puhi, Te Āti Awa, Rangitāne, Kāti Huirapa, Ngāti Rauhoto, Ngāti Whakaue, Rongowhakaata, Te Whānau a Ruataupere) worked with his daughter, Te Whanganui-a-Tara based artist Taupuruariki (Ariki) Whakataka Brightwell (Rongowhakaata, Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Raukawa, Te Ārawa, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Tahiti, Ra’iātea, Rarotonga) in 2022, to restore the pouwhenua.

Ariki is a 27th generation indigenous artist. She follows in her father’s footsteps, ‘Taonga tuku iho’ being the words used to describe the genetic art handed down through the generations.

Ariki and Matahi carving into both Te Rauparaha and Rangihaeata — Ariki and Matahi working together to restore the pou

Matahi originally carved the monolith in Porirua and erected it at Tawatawa Reserve in 1981.

The carved stone pou was created by Matahi for Bruce Stewart, founder of Tapu-te-Ranga Marae and includes depictions of important Ngāti Toa rangatira Te Rauparaha and his nephew, Te Rangihaeata, and Te Ātiawa tipuna Wiremu Kīngi Te Kapunga.

The maunga upon which the pouwhenua stands is where they met, along with Mānga and te Tai Teraka, to discuss tribal boundaries. According to Ngāti Toa the place was ‘Wharangi, wāhi huihuinga’, a place of meeting of the four winds.

Matahi visualised the sculpture from the genealogies he was given.

In 2022, 41 years after the original sculpture was carved, Ariki joined her father to recut the statue and added the motif to remind them of their links to Hawaiki.

The cuts created on the monolith are on such an angle that when it rains, the water cannot pool in any crevice. Have a close look and you will also see the chisel cuts are there amongst the sanded parts of the stone, creating a negative positive effect.

Close-up of Matahi adding the new red and white patterns at the bottom of the pou to symbolise the connection betwen Aotearoa and the rest of the Pacific — The restoration of the pou has seen the addition of a painted base featuring the Tahitian motif niho mango to reference the connection between Māori and Eastern Polynesia

In the work, he is also celebrating Te Rauparaha as the composer of 'Ka Mate' and is bringing the monolith to help his community relate to each other in a peaceful manner, through the arts.

“The monolith is going to remind my people, that if you don’t recall the past in a positive way, you will lose your culture. It reminds you of who you are, and where you came from,” says Ariki.

Hear Matahi speak about his work, and working with Ariki to restore it here: