Indigenous Researchers big day out!

Exhibition regarding places of "convicition" (spiritual in Mangere)

Iconic photos depicting protests throughout NZ in the last 100 years

Yesterday, my Indigenous Research class headed for a big day out on a fieldtrip to 4 different sites to view and observe as indigenous researchers.

The first site we viewed were the 2 exhibitions currently on show at the Mangere Arts centre. The first exhibition we viewed was called "Signs of Protest" and it featured many photographs that had been taken by leading NZ photographers over the past 100 years at significant protest events around New Zealand.

It also featured the iconic photo of Dame Whina Cooper and her moko (grandchild) as she lead the land march of the 1970s. There was much to see and a couple of students felt overwhelmed in bringing back memories of where they had been when some of the photographed events had taken place.

I was also able to view a photo of the "Polynesian Panthers" with Tama Iti (well known Maori activist) when he was young in the 1970s and Muruoa Atoll that I had been aware of as a Green Peace supporter back then.

Some of the photographs reminded me of the times, as a young student at Auckland Uni, I had also attended several protest marches i.e. a couple of anti-nuclear protests where we walked down to the US Embassy and lay down on the road outside (they cordoned off the traffic) and we had other students draw around us with chalk so that when we got up it looked like a lot of people had died there.

I also attended anti-nuclear frigates protests coming into the Auckland harbour in the 1980s before NZ took it's stance on being nuclear free and other protests arranged by various student groups at the University back then.

The second exhibition was one that religious icons in Mangere called "Conviction" (spiritual rather than physical) with pics taken of some of the religious churches around Mangere. It was interesting in identifying the Tongan Methodist church, the Evangelical "Life" South church that we current attend, the big new Mormon Chapel, a Hindu shrine etc. There was also the comment that in Mangere there is a church on almost every corner and particularly around the Town Shopping centre where there are several churches within a 2 km radius.

We then went to view "Crater Hill" (discussed in an earlier blog) from our van as we didn't have permission from the owners to view but were still able to see the quarrying that was taking place on one side of the hill and the lake area that looked relatively untouched.

It also brought up the question as to whether it had once been Maori land but with the land confiscation Act of the 1860s, Europeans may have acquired it and has been passed down to this present generation who are now ready to have parts of it developed.

In a current news article, it stated that an application was being made to change it's current zoning from light industry to residential. If the application is granted then someone/entity will be making a lot of $ in housing development due to the housing shortage/crisis that is currently plaguing Auckland. However, it doesn't take into account that there may be evidence of early Maori settlement in the area.

After that, we left on route to go to the Auckland Museum to view the Research library as well as the other exhibitions but in remembering that the "Portage Crossing" event was happening on the same day at Mangere Bridge, I discussed it with the students and decided to go to the event to "have a look" and see what it entailed as I had heard about it over the years but had never attended it.

When we arrived at the venue, the "Drums of the Pacific" Cook Island dance group were in full swing and the dancers were entertaining the audience with their drum dances in which one of our group were invited to dance in their "around the world" dances which is always fun to watch.

We continued to wait as we had heard that there would be waka (canoes arriving shortly after lunch) and so we decided to have our lunch there and listened to some of the local entertainment before the waka appeared and we were able to view eight 6 or 12 man canoes paddling across the sea as well as canoes for the single paddler. There was also a women's team a Cook Island team and other teams paddling in support of the event.

The significance of the event was in commemoration of the early Tainui waka (pre-European) that had paddled down the East coast of NZ and then "crossed" over at what is now known as Portage Road to get to the West side of the coast NZ and the smallest stretch of land between the two.

It definitely brought back memories of when I used to paddle and perhaps to consider for a future date.

First waka (outrigger canoe) to arrive at Mangere Bridge