The official exhibition opening of He Ara Roimata ki te Anamata - Takapūneke, our journey, our survivance, was a moving event, appropriate for the subject matter of the exhibition. Attendees enjoyed a light breakfast in the courthouse following the opening.

The magnificent Pou-tū-te-Raki-o-Te-Maiharanui and the Park of Reflection represent the completion of the first phase of work at Takapūneke Historic Reserve. They are a significant Ngāi Tahu-led reimagining of that whenua (land). The creative work in the landscape design and whakairo rakau (carving) responds to the nationally important history of Takapūneke and its cultural significance to the whānau (families) of Ōnuku.

In the 1820s, a kāika (village) was established at Takapūneke as a trading site by the great Ngāi Tahu chief, Te Maiharanui. Ships from Australia and further afield visited the bay to acquire harakeke (flax) used to make ropes. In November 1830 the brig Elizabeth arrived in the bay under the pretence of trade, but concealed below deck was the Ngāi Toa chief Te Rauparaha and a party of warriors.

When Te Maiharanui and his wife and daughter came on board to meet with Captain Stewart they were captured. On shore the local people were massacred. The events had repercussions in Britain due to the involvement of a British vessel and subjects in what appeared as mercenaries. Takapūneke became an urupā (cemetery) and a painful reminder of loss for hapū, who chose not to return there, settling instead at Ōnuku. Takapūneke had become tapu.

Fast forward several decades and Takapūneke had become known as Red House Bay and among other activities, the local Council used the bay for sewerage disposal, at first from a night cart, and then from a wastewater plant developed there in 1964. A dump was also added up the valley in 1979. Archaeological sites were destroyed in the process. There was no consultation with the local hapū.

The desecration and defilement of Takapūneke in 1964 and 1979 marked the beginning of decades of advocacy by Tangata Whenua for recognition of the cultural and historical significance of the site. Joined by a community of supporters and advocates the status of Takapūneke as an historic site and recognition of its cultural significance has steadily grown. However, it has taken generations of heartache and struggle to recognise this.

The recent transformation at Takapūneke was driven by past and present advocates and through successful collaborations with Ngāi Tahu artists and designers guided by traditional knowledge. They have reinscribed the whenua (land) as a place of memory, healing, revitalisation and learning.

In the Title of this exhibition “survivance” means an active Māori presence and the continuation of indigenous culture and memory, despite the shadow cast by the settler/colonial state. The story of Takapūneke exemplifies the persistence of the Ōnuku Rūnanga in their insistence on how Takapūneke is understood and approached.

They have educated successive councils, national bodies, and individuals, and now work in a co- governance arrangement with Christchurch City Council to achieve their vision for Takapūneke. It is, finally, an affirmative story.

The exhibition is a collaboration between Akaroa Museum, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Ōnuku

Rūnanga and the Takapūneke Reserve Co-Governance Group. Co-curators were Kelly Tikao, Debbie Tikao, Daniel Smith, Helen Brown and Pam Richardson with contributions from Ariana Tikao and Victoria Andrews, and many others.