He Puna I Rawake, He Puna Whakat?t?

Abstract

In December 1880, a claim seeking an investigation of the land described as lying between Wair?kei Stream in the North and Waikato River in the east, the Waipuwerawera Stream in the south and the boundary of the Oruanui Block in the west, was confirmed as the Wair?kei Block. This land has passed through three significant occupation stages. The Manawhenua Landscape was the early settlement of the Taup? environs by M?ori voyagers and explorers. Descendants of those early arrivals are reflected in the whakapapa of the hap? who thrived in the area. They were the kaitiaki, living alongside and utilising the natural resources abundant across their whenua. In the 1870’s the Tourism Landscape was imposed; Victorian tourists arrived to experience the natural wonders of geysers, hot pools and fumaroles. Kaitiaki no longer had unfettered access to the whenua and its taonga. The third stage, the Energy Landscape, was ushered in with the construction of the geothermal power project. Understanding how these stages have impacted on the whenua and its kaitiaki is important for the restoration and rehabilitation of their mana i te whenua.