Rangiriri
By Sam Bourne
We find ourselves in an era of significant engagement with the past: the NZ Wars and Raupatu land confiscations of the 1860s are of particular relevance to how we reconcile ‘Difficult Histories’ in Aotearoa. This NZ War history, its narratives, places and events are being revisited over 150 years on. As a concept ‘Difficult Histories’ entails not only a confrontation with the less palatable aspects of the past, but also an attempt to learn and derive value (even empowerment) from this engagement. It should be no surprise that when people experience accounts of these ‘Difficult Histories’ they do react. Knowledge may trigger feelings of shock or shame, anger or denial, or even astonishment at what occurred, and remorse or empathy for the suffering of others. Negotiating and reconciling ‘Difficult Histories’ is also a powerful means for re-defining a sense of identity and revising the previously held narratives around the wars on home soil. It is not just the natural environment we need to restore in Aotearoa/New Zealand but these conflicted cultural landscapes. In this the landscape holds the key to revealing, retracing and restoring a sense of place around the battle sites of the NZ Wars, for all New Zealanders.
The battle of Rangiriri (November 1863) was one of the most significant battles of the wars and part of the British invasion of the Waikato/ the Raupatu of the 1860’s against the Kiingitanga. In his book ‘The Great War for New Zealand: Waikato 1800-2000’ historian Vincent O’Malley laments the historical amnesia of the general populas to the wars fought on our own shores. In stark contrast to the collective awareness of WWI and WWII, most New Zealanders would have known little about what took place at the battle sites such as Rangiriri and Orakau. The fight for Maori was against the vast area of land confiscations legitimated by the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863. The Rangiriri Paa and battle field trench line defenses have a connection to this stand against the colonial forces and the events which followed.
The battlefield at Rangiriri is located on a narrow strip of elevated land between the Waikato River and Lake Kopuera, next to State Highway 1 just north of Rangiriri Village. The geography surrounding the battle site and paa is a landscape of wetlands, the lakes, the river and flood plain. These features provided natural defenses in combination with the paa’s engineering, earthworks and architecture (inspired by the Northern Wars Paa at Ruapekpeka to withstand British attack). The paa was developed in anticipation of the British invasion of the Waikato and the Battle of Rangiriri is one of the significant events of the NZ wars.
Only a few years ago this waahi tapu site was hidden and isolated in the landscape with no connection physically or visually to the historic natural defense of the river and lake. It was instead surrounded by exotic trees, a small fenced off historic reserve and an apple orchard, cows grazed pasture on the flanks of the paa site, rabbits dug their burrows. The only visible trace of the wars being the efforts of Heritage NZ’s signage and the impressive Tohu Maumahara gateway to the reserve area. As recent as the 1960’s, under public works, the old/previous state highway alignment was built through the middle of the paa site, effectively bisecting the original Rangiriri defences and paa.
A project to revisit this damage and symbolically restore the paa was envisaged by Waikato Tainui as part of their partnership with the Crown through the NZ Transport Agency in the development of the Waikato Expressway state highway realignment. Now completed – this project provides a tangible example of what can be achieved by reconciling difficult histories in our landscape.
The Rangiriri project is within the Waikato Tainui Iwi rohe, Ngati Naho are the hapu, and there are also strong pan-tribal associations to the battle through the Kiingitanga movement. The whole design philosophy for the project was geared to be in service to the Rangiriri Paa, and its presence within the landscape. As noted the paa and battle site is recognised as Waahi tupuna (an ancestral site) and the mauri of this place was the starting point for the design. The infrastructure project provided a platform for this, not a re-creation but an ‘adaptive re-use’ of part of the Rangiriri Paa. The footprint of this significant NZ War site was put back into the landscape and a symbolic interpretation for a sections of the paa which had been lost symbolically restored. Through navigating these complexities in a co-design process, local-indigenous autonomy for Ngati Naho/ Waikato Tainui was protected, re-indigenisation and restorative work to this cultural Landscape were envisaged and the return of the paa to Iwi and other legacy outcomes achieved. The site is now a platform for education and outreach about the NZ Wars, as well as the events at Rangiriri.
A proverb from Waikato Tainui leader, Princess Te Puea:
“Ka moemoea ahua, ko ahau anake, Ka moemoea tatou, ka taea e tatou”
“If I dream, I dream alone, if we all dream, together it shall be achieved”
This proverb was embraced by the design team as an ethos for the project. The restoration of Rangiriri was Maori led and envisaged by Waikato Tainui, and the design of the paa was then a co-design process, a collaboration with the Project Landscape Architect, Heritage experts and artists. As only parts of the original paa earthworks remained, the footprint of the whole complex needed to be mapped and understood. Lead by principles set out in the ICOMOS New Zealand Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Heritage Value, the design focuses on the adaptive reuse recognising the evidence base, the cultural values and the layers of history on the site. The first step was for the co-design team to overlay the survey of the paa undertaken by the British Military after the battle. This was achieved through a combination of ground penetrating radar survey which picked up the original soil disturbances of the paa site and trenches. This historic survey map, site investigation information along with a contour model was combined to reveal the aspects of the paa which remained and those that had been damaged over time, including the section of the paa impacted by the highway development in the 1960’s. Through historic sketches, historic photos and drawings and archaeological information a 3 dimensional picture emerged.
The goal was to reveal and re-interpret this footprint of the paa as part of the landscape. The paa earthworks and trench systems, lines and scale of the paa earthworks re-emerged in this landscape design process. The use of low structures referenced the paa earthworks while avoiding steep earth embankments and safety issues. A series of artworks have been installed as part of the design package lead by Warren McGrath and his team of carvers to signify the whakapapa and connection to the Kiingitanga. Large pou line the battle field trench to create a “gateway threshold” at a landscape scale which can be read from the new highway. Six pou are currently positioned along the reinstated trench these represent the original designers/ engineers of the paa and those involved in the battle. These artworks complement the existing structure on site: the Tohu Maumahara ki Rangiriri, and the two pou that were revealed as part of the 150th commemorations of the Battle of Rangiriri in 2013. Through traditional carvings, the footprint of the paa and artworks represent the connection to the Kiingitanga, aspects of the battle, the role women and youth played, and the imprisonment of warriors on Kawau Island by Governor Grey. Future artworks are planned to provide a landscape scale line visible from the highway and paa.
The significance of Rangiriri is as a model for revisiting sites which have been degraded and damaged over time, as a Maori led process and as a model for co-design and collaboration for the remaining NZ War sites. The landscape architecture at Rangiriri weaves together the strands of cultural values, historic documentation, archaeological science and heritage, into the landscape scale context with the local people who are kaitiaki for the area. A subtilty in the Rangiriri work is that it seeks to acknowledge the footprint and architecture of the original paa without recreating it. The contrast between the eroded remnant of the original paa and the newly created works also acknowledges that at one point the paa was damaged. The landscape then reflects the old and newly created footprint to provide a creative way to express the damage done in the 1960s and the efforts being undertaken today to address this.
Out of this process the vertical artworks elements that provide a datum for the original height of the earthworks were developed as a series of Tewhatewha, a traditional chiefly weapon. These are positioned along the top of the low retained footprint of the original paa and rise to the height to indicate the 1863 trench in a symbolic way. The artworks provide a visual cue to the historic paa landscape, a connection to the Kiingitanga and are rendered in totara wood and steel, with brass accents, to represent the muskets technology used in the NZ Wars. The black steel support structures for the pou and Tewhatewha are in reverence to other significant NZ Memorials such as the NZ War memorial in Hyde Park, London. A series of panels through the main spine of the paa feature the names of the seven stars of matariki. These boards symbolise this insignia and its connection to the Kiingitanga movement.
The overall concept illustrates the spiritual dimension and matauranga maori through artworks. The bold design moves framing the symbolic restoration of the paa landscape were only made possible through the close collaboration with Iwi advisors, heritage specialists and artists, to research and work on every component to support the cultural values of this place. Even the access pathway to the paa seeks to ‘bridge’ the trench lines to evoke the interplay of the battle with the paa footprint.
Within the context of the Paa, the Rangiriri wetland is another example of the care taken to illustrate and reveal the cultural landscape and narrative of the wetland/ flood plain landscape to showcase the paa’s original natural defenses. This context celebrates the military thinking and auspicious location of the paa and trench defenses planned ahead of the 1863 British invasion. Parallel bunds flank the original trench line through the middle of the planted wetland. These earth bunds are to be capped with a series of pou which are part of the ongoing work to redevelop the trenchline, a landscape scale statement visible from the highway will also be a legacy outcome.
The character of this recent planting represents the vegetation cover at the time of the battle. Plantings around the project outside of the paa area were also selected for their value as Mahinga kai, and also including plants for weaving and medicinal species (rongoa planting). Around the paa site the concept of utilising plants was also expanded to include species which colonise disturbed sites as a metaphor for the ‘restoration’ efforts being explored.
“Rangiriri will be a significant site in New Zealand for continuing education about the battle and the Land Wars. It will also be a place for contemplation not only for our Iwi but for all New Zealanders. The roading and Paa projects together are an important symbol of the successful partnership between the Crown and Waikato-Tainui, realising a vision of the past while building for the future.” Waikato-Tainui tribal executive Te Arataura chair Rukumoana Schaafhausen
In 2016, at the annual koroneihana (coronation) of the Māori King Kiingi Tūheitia, the Crown returned the historic reserve land where the paa is located to Waikato-Tainui. The whole project was officially opened by King Tūheitia and the Minister for Crown-Māori relationships Hon Kelvin Davis in December 2017. Waikato Tainui now own and administer the land and this project is just the beginning of this restoration process. The project has been achieved through this close partnership, which spans from the governance level right through to the on the ground work and design over many years. The area is now open to the public, connected to the nearby village and the neighbouring historic sites (e.g. Te Wheoro’s Redoubt, Rangiriri Cemetery) are an easy walk to one another and to the Waikato River, including access to the Te Araroa trail/ NZ National Walking Trail (via the Rangiriri interchange). Local Waikato Tainui led business has come to the area including a unique Te Reo Maaori café experience, an education centre with a data show around the battle, and associated cultural tours of the Rangiriri Paa site. The project presents a vision for NZ War sites, and an opportunity for looking at these sites as part of a wider cultural landscape framework.
Over 150 years on since the NZ Wars, there are societal changes towards recognising and reconciling this history in the landscape. The site has played a part in this national conversation. In December 2015 students from Otorohanga College and their supporters acted and presented a petition signed by over 12,000 people to the NZ Parliament. The students behind the petition - Rhiannon Magee, Tai Jones and Leah Bell were inspired to this action following their visit with Kaumatua to the NZ War battle site of Ōrākau. The petition pushed for a national day of remembrance around the NZ Wars and the flow on efforts highlighted the gaps in our collective memory around the wars, as well as the gaps in the countries education system not having NZ history as a compulsory subject. The momentum grew and in September 2019 the Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Arden announced that all schools and kura would be expected, by 2022, to teach the country's history. Including the arrival of Māori to Aotearoa; first encounters and early colonial history, the Treaty of Waitangi and its history; colonisation of, and immigration to, Aotearoa; the New Zealand Wars; the evolving national identity of New Zealand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; and the country's role in the Pacific.
As public awareness grows around the events of 1860s, Rangiriri will be an integral feature marking the commemoration of the New Zealand land wars and the invasion.
The contemporary relevance of landscape based research and co-design in addressing ‘Difficult Histories’ gives rise to re-shaping a sense of place, a sense of identity, and constructing new narratives and alternate ways of viewing colonisation, decolonization and re-indiginisation in the everyday landscape and at sites of significance. This work is being undertaken by Landscape Architects and Rangiriri is just one tangible example and inspiration. There is further scope for acknowledgment of the role of landscape to facilitate both physical restoration and the ability to foster dialogue and prompt additional investigation. At Rangiriri this is generating new meaning through the direct involvement of the local people in sharing their understanding of the past events and educating visitors. This is now the basis for changing how we see the NZ Wars and their impact today.
The project and partnership has been acknowledged through the Te Puni Kōkiri public sector/ Institute of Public Administration award for excellence in Maori Crown relations 2018, and an Outstanding Award in the Culture and Traditions category at the International Landscape Architects World Congress in Singapore in 2018. Special acknowledgement must go to the co-design partners on this project the Kaumatua and Kuia of the Tangata Whenua Working Group, through the local Marae to the office of the Maori King, to Ngati Ngaho’s Brad Totorewa, Tim Manukau, and Reymond Kumar, Dean Whiting and Heritage NZ, Warren McGrath and the Waikato Tainui Carvers, the NZ Transport Agency project team, the construction team and their designs Fletchers, Stantec, Boffa Miskell, and landscape contractors Natural Habitat.
Sam Bourne, is a NZILA Registered Landscape Architect, and Trustee NZ Landscape Foundation. Sam was the principal advisor and landscape architect on the Rangiriri project during it’s design and construction.
