Amiria Tikao tells us about the battle for Takapūneke.

Carved into the rugged coastal hills above Akaroa Harbour is a site of profound significance to the political fabric of Aotearoa, a place indelibly woven into the history and identity of Kāti Irakehu of Ngāi Tahu. Established by Ngāi Tahu Ūpoko Ariki Te Maiharanui, Takapūneke was one of the many settlements on the Banks Peninsula, a main trading centre for dressed harakeke.^[1] In 1830, Takapūneke became the stage for events historians have described as “both shocking and complex”.^[2]

What became known as the Brig Elizabeth incident was a pivotal moment in the conflict between Ngāti Toa and Ngāi Tahu. Seeking revenge for the deaths of Ngāti Toa chiefs, Te Rauparaha enlisted the help of English captain John Stewart to hide a war party aboard the Brig Elizabeth and sail to Takapūneke under the false pretext of peaceful trade.^[3] Upon arrival at Takapūneke, Te Maiharanui and his family were captured, and the settlement was sacked. It is estimated that there were hundreds of Ngāi Tahu casualties.^[4] With no Crown jurisdiction over settlers, Stewart escaped prosecution, sparking moral outrage and fears that settler involvement in tribal warfare could damage British trading interests.^[5] The incident is widely regarded as a key catalyst for the British appointment of James Busby as Resident, marking an early step toward colonial governance.^[6] The events left Ngāi Tahu on the Banks Peninsula in a fragile state. The tapu nature of the site resulted in an exodus from the area, but the stories were never forgotten.^[7]

What happened to the land after the Brig Elizabeth incident will come as no surprise to those well versed in the colonial history of Māori land tenure. In 1848, Henry Tacy Kemp arrived at Akaroa, making promises the Crown would not keep and initiating the sales that would eventuate in Ngāi Tahu’s alienation from Takapūneke, and much of the rest of their takiwā.^[8] Reduced to an almost landless people, Ngāi Tahu spent the subsequent decades engaged in a sustained struggle for recognition, restitution, and the fulfilment of Crown promises.

In 1964, the local Council built a sewage treatment plant on Takapūneke. In 1979, a rubbish dump was established nearby.^[9] In 1990, the Council announced plans to subdivide the remaining land.^[10] The acts are described by historians as “the ultimate in modern cultural  oppression”.^[11]

The Ngāi Tahu settlement process of the 1990s saw “long and painful” discussions about a compromise. Relationships between the Council and the Rūnanga were fraught. In one letter to the Council, the Rūnanga wrote:^[12]

“[i]t is abhorrent to Te Rūnanga o Ōnuku that this bay, which was the site of occupation and a massacre, has been defiled by both a rubbish dump and a sewage treatment plant... Ōnuku cannot state strongly enough our grief at the past treatment of the site”.

Eventually, a heads of agreement was signed in 1998, and an apology by the Council was delivered that same year. Some land was gifted back to Ōnuku Rūnanga and the dump was closed shortly afterwards. The returned land was turned into a Local Purpose (Historic Site) reserve, becoming the first site in mainland Te Waipounamu to be a registered wāhi tapu with Pouhere Taonga in 2002.^[13]

In 2012, Christchurch City Council adopted the Takapūneke Conservation Report to guide the protection and development of the site.^[14] Informed by this report, the Reserve Management Plan was implemented to establish a framework for this development, creating the Takapūneke Co-Governance Working Group to represent the Council and Ōnuku Rūnanga.^[15]

The formation of the Takapūneke Co-Governance Working Group marked the beginning of a renewed relationship between the parties. The Working Group’s collaboration has been recognised as highly successful, producing the Takapūneke Reserve Master Plan in 2021.^[16] The Working Group has created a ten year plan to create a cultural reserve on the land; a place for learning, re-story telling, and healing.^[17] The first stage included a pou and takarangi pathway that was opened during Matariki in 2022.^[18] The second stage of the reserve is expected to open later this year.^[19]

Progress certainly has been made. But significant challenges lie ahead. The wastewater plant established in 1964 remains on the land. In 2011, the Council resolved to relocate the plant in recognition of its cultural sensitivity.^[20] Yet the path forward was marked by a series of setbacks. In 2015, Environment Canterbury granted consents for the Council to relocate the plant. The Council’s proposed system, however, discharged the treated wastewater into the Akaroa Harbour. To the Rūnanga, this was seen as a serious violation to the mauri of the Harbour, threatening the vitality of its waters and the sustainability of mahinga kai; the “backbone of Ngāi Tahu’s social fibre and culture”.^[21] Once again, the Rūnanga found themselves funnelling time and expertise into opposing the Council’s actions, presenting evidence at resource consent hearings to defend the cultural and ecological integrity of the Harbour. The consent was ultimately declined. The Council appealed the decision in 2019.^[22] Eventually, the appeal was dropped, and the Council had to find a new way to dispose of Akaroa’s treated wastewater.^[23]

Community consultation brought to light a number of concerns among peninsula residents. The Friends of the Banks Peninsula, an incorporated society representative of local residents, opposed the relocation for a number of reasons, largely centred on concern for property value.^[24] The Council resolved to establish a Community Reference Group in 2020 comprising representatives of the community, the Rūnanga and the Council to collaboratively explore and design alternative wastewater storage solutions prior to lodging a consent application.^[25] The Reference Group’s advice was provided to the Council in 2021 to be used for the renewed consents intended to be lodged in 2023.^[26]

The end, however, was far from near. In 2023, severe weather events hit Akaroa. Destruction caused to the land generated a series of new issues. Engineers concluded that the wastewater plant in a neighbouring settlement, Duvauchelle, would need to be incorporated into the new Akaroa system. As a result, two new resource consents are required, both of which are still being drafted.^[27]

And so, the struggle for Takapūneke endures, carrying with it both anguish and responsibility. As stated by the Rūnanga:^[28]

…with every step forward, it seems we face another battle. Ngāi Tahu has dedicated an enormous amount of voluntary time over a significant period to work alongside the council (via working groups) to investigate alternative land disposal options. In addition, we have also invested significant resources into resource consent submissions, hearing evidence preparation, and mediation at the Environment Court. We have also recently submitted on the CCC Long Term Plan to support the retention of funding for the new Akaroa wastewater system and funding for land disposal options.

It is most distressing for us to be standing here once again, stating once more how integral Akaroa harbour and mahinga kai is to our identity, and requesting once again a decision that puts the environment and our cultural values first.

These words were written in 2015. The consent for the current wastewater plant expires in 2030.^[29]

The people of Ōnuku Rūnanga, Wairewa Rūnanga and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu continue this mahi for all those who began it, and for all those who will come after it. Former chairperson of Ōnuku Rūnanga, Waitai (George) Tikao, spent his lifetime fighting for the mana of Takapūneke. Before his passing in 2019, he shared these words with the Working Group members:^[30]

“Tell the people, let them know what it is, why we have cried over this land.”

Ngā kupu āpiti - Notes

^[1] Ōnuku Rūnanga and Christchurch City Council Takapūneke Reserve Landscape Master Plan Report (2021) at 1.

^[2] At 4.

^[3] Christchurch City Council Takapūneke Conservation Report (2012) at 22-23.

^[4] At 24.

^[5] At 25.

^[6] Alan Ward An Unsettled History: Treaty Claims in New Zealand Today (Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 1999) at 11.

^[7] Christchurch City Council, above n 3, at 23-24.

^[8] Waitangi Tribunal “The Ngai Tahu Report” (Wai 27, 1991) at 56.

^[9] Christchurch City Council, above n 3, at 40.

^[10] At 43.

^[11] At 42.

^[12] At 43.

^[13] At 12.

^[14] At 8.

^[15] Ōnuku Rūnanga and Christchurch City Council Takapūneke Reserve Management Plan (2018) at 1.1.

^[16] Ōnuku Rūnanga and Christchurch City Council, above n 1.

^[17] At 6; Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu “Takapūneke: a place of healing and reclamation” (31 Oct 2024) <https://ngaitahu.iwi.nz>.  .

^[18] Radio New Zealand “Pou unveiled to mark significance of Takapūneke near Akaroa” (24 June 2022) RNZ <www.rnz.co.nz>.

^[19] Christchurch City Council “First look at the next chapter of Takapūneke” (26 November 2024) <www.newsline.ccc.govt.nz>.

^[20] Community Reference Group “Akaroa Reclaimed Water and Reuse Scheme Community Reference Group Commentary - A key step in addressing Community concerns and improving the Scheme” (2021) at 2.

^[21]  Statement of evidence of Ngaire Tainui on behalf of Ōnuku Rūnanga, Wairewa Rūnanga, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Akaroa Taiāpure Management Committee before the Independent Hearing Panel under the Resource Management Act 1991 (2015) at 12.

^[22] Christchurch City Council “Akaroa reclaimed water treatment and reuse scheme” <https://ccc.govt.nz>.

^[23] Community Reference Group, above n 20.

^[24] Submission of the Friends of Banks Peninsula Incorporated to the Akaroa Treated Wastewater Irrigation Scheme (2024).

^[25] Community Reference Group, above n 20, at 2.

^[26] Christchurch City Council, above n 22.

^[27] Christchurch City Council, above n 22.

^[28] Ngaire Tainui, above n 21, at 15.

^[29] Christchurch City Council “Akaroa Wastewater Treatment Plant” <https://ccc.govt.nz>.

^[30] Ōnuku Rūnanga and Christchurch City Council, above n 1, at 6.

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