Pāpāwai is one of the most important marae in New Zealand. In the late 19th century it was the focus of Kotahitanga, the Māori parliament movement. Pāpāwai was established in the 1850s when the government set aside land for a Māori settlement near Greytown. It built a flour mill and the Anglican church opened a (short-lived) school, St Thomas’s.
The dominant leader of Pāpāwai was Te Mānihera Te Rangi-taka-i-waho of the Ngāti Kahungunu tribe. He supported pastoral leases and engagement with Europeans. Te Mānihera was succeeded in the 1880s by Hāmuera Tamahau Mahupuku.
Kotahitanga
Under Mahupuku, Pāpāwai experienced a growth spurt. Hikurangi meeting house was opened in 1888. A large T-shaped structure (the Aotea meeting house and another building, Te Waipounamu) was built for the Kotahitanga or Māori parliament. This sat at Pāpāwai for sessions in 1897 and 1898. It passed a resolution to end Māori land sales and was visited by Lord Ranfurly, the governor, and by Premier Richard Seddon.
In 1898 Pāpāwai hosted a large hui (meeting) to discuss government plans to administer Māori land. Mahupuku believed this would give Māori a degree of independence. He sided with the government, and split the Kotahitanga movement.
Mahupuku also began the newspaper Te Puke ki Hikurangi. Published intermittently until 1913, it was a mouthpiece of the Kotahitanga and a valuable record of tribal tradition and whakapapa (genealogy).
A symbol of unity
In 1911 the government erected a marble memorial to Hāmuera Tamahau Mahupuku at Pāpāwai, for his role in bringing Māori and Pākehā together. The unveiling by acting prime minister James Carroll attracted up to 4,000 Māori and 2,000 Pākehā. The accompanying banquet included 275 sheep, 20 bullocks, 45 suckling pigs, 48 tons of potatoes and several dozen geese and turkeys.
A palisade
Just before Mahupuku died in 1904, he built a palisade around the marae. It was later enhanced by 18 tōtara whakairo (carved figures). The male and female figures represented famous individuals, including the leader Nukupewapewa and the local Pākehā settler, William Mein Smith. Unusually, they faced inwards to represent peace between Māori and Pākehā, rather than looking outwards to confront enemies.
Fall and rise
From the 1910s Pāpāwai declined. Gales in 1934 damaged the Aotea and Te Waipounamu complex. The marae fell into disrepair. Despite calls by Sir Apirana Ngata in 1946 to preserve it, little was done until the 1960s, when conservation work began on the whakairo figures. In the late 1980s these were fully restored. Hikurangi was moved to become the new meeting house, behind a restored gateway. Today, the marae is a vital part of local life, with new buildings including apartments for elders. It offers courses, including t'ai chi and line dancing.
