Rangatira Marae Trustees in front of the Pou Whenua dedicated to their tipuna, Wi Haronga. From left: Amber Knight, Cory Adam Tautau, Himiona Taingahue, Dave Pikia, and Whitiaua Ropitini. Photo: LDR / Zita Campbell
A Tai Rāwhiti hapū unveiled a pou whenua over Matariki weekend, marking the beginning of its journey to relocate and rebuild its marae after it was destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle more than two years ago.
The waters reached 3 metres up the wharenui wall of Rangatira Marae when the cyclone struck Te Karaka on 14 February, 2023.
The water line marks are still visible on the wharenui mahau (entrance).
"There wasn't any other option but to relocate," the secretary of the Rangatira Marae Trust, Whitiaua Ropitini, said at the event on Saturday.
Ropitini said the destruction was "heart-wrenching", but the Ngāti Wahia hapū (of Te Aitanga a Māhaki) persevered.
The pou whenua is dedicated to tipuna (ancestor) Wi Haronga, who will act as kaitiaki (guardian) over the project and signal the start of construction, Ropitini said.
"We're here with Wi Haronga ... Watching over us and seeing us through our build ... bringing our people home, our whānau home and bringing our community together again."
The pou whenua was carved by local kai whakairo Eruera Brown. Photo: LDR / Zita Campbell
Many whānau had been up since the early hours attending the 4.15am dawn service, the karakia whakamoe, at the existing marae, which was followed by a karakia whakatapu (consecration) at the proposed new site and a pōhiri to unveil the pou whenua.
The pou whenua was carved by local kai whakairo (carver) Eruera Brown (Te Aitanga a Māhaki/Ngāti Porou), who teaches at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
"Through his strong whakapapa links to Rangatira Marae, Eru was approached by the marae trustees to design and carve the pou based on the kaupapa," Ropitini later told Local Democracy Reporting.
The marae is being rebuilt at the corner of Kanakanaia Rd and Paulson Rd, just a few minutes' drive by car from its original site at 66 Rangatira Rd.
Rangatira Marae whānau and friends attended the unveiling of the pou, with mayor Rehette Stoltz, National East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick, Labour MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, and the national president of Red Cross, John Dyer all present.
From left: East Coast National MP Dana Kirkpatrick, Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz and Labour's MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, Cushla Tangaere-Manuel attended the Rangatira Marae pou whenua pōhiri Photo: LDR / Zita Campbell
Millions for marae rebuilds from government
Kirkpatrick said when she first saw the destruction of the marae, there was an "absolute feeling of hopelessness". She was delighted the Crown was able to play its part in the relocation.
Last month, the government announced $136.2 million in funding for the Whenua Māori and Marae Relocation Programme, which supports Māori communities severely affected by North Island weather events, and includes Rangatira and four other Tai Rāwhiti marae: Puketawai, Ōkuri, Hinemaurea and Takipū.
Some of Cyclone Gabrielle's damage to Rangatira Marae. Photo: LDR / Supplied
It was the first time everyone was able to gather at the new site together, which Kirkpatrick noted was fitting: "At the time of Matariki, where it's time for us to honour what's gone before us, celebrate our successes, and look to the future."
Two months after the cyclone, in late April 2023, the hapū engaged Asher Nikora of Rotorua company Xcel Builders, which specialises in marae renovations and rebuilds, to direct the project.
According to a statement, from February to April 2023, the Marae Trust and Nikora conducted Conceptual Design Wānanga both in person and online, where whānau and hapū were asked to add to "the dream list" of potential designs and concepts.
In August 2023, the hapū received an Oranga Marae technical feasibility grant to carry out an assessment.
A year later, on August 12, 2024, the Rangatira Marae Trust secured the purchase of the whenua (land) for its marae rebuild.
At the unveiling, Nikora said his company will hire locals where possible, and he expects the build to take anywhere between a year and a year and a half.
"It is building effectively a marae from scratch."
They looked "long and hard" at the logistics of moving the wharenui but found that there had been "significant deterioration".
They want to maintain the essence of that wharenui, which includes transferring some of its key elements, Nikora said.
"The idea is that when you walk into the new wharenui ... it will give you the same feeling around the existing wharenui that, of course, many of you will have many fond memories [of]."
In January, the Rangatira Marae Trust received a Crown offer from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's Cyclone Recovery Unit, which the trustees signed in May, according to a statement.
Some of those at the beginning of the rebuild ceremony: From left: Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz, East Coast National MP Dana Kirkpatrick, Mihi Ruru (kaumatua), Thomas Pikia (kaumatua), Asher Nikora (project manager & director of Xcel Builders Ltd), and Dave Pikia (trustee). Photo: LDR / Zita Campbell
A revival journey
Before the cyclone, the marae and hapū had been undergoing "a revival journey" that started in 2016 and led to many whānau returning, the statement says.
The existing Te Whakahau wharenui opened on 5 November, 1926; however, over the years, "it fell dormant due to social, economic, and urban drift".
In 2019/2020, the marae trust secured funding grants, including from the Provincial Growth Fund, which enabled renovations valued at $200,000.
Ropitini said at the pōhiri that the trust had completed several works and the last job came in January, just before the cyclone.
"The floods came through and took over everything ... The carpet was only six months old.
"Today is about a celebration of our next stage.
"It's emotional for us because it is a long time coming."
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
