St Peter’s School Māori teacher Karehana (Carlson) Wirihana, John Macaskill-Smith (St Peter’s School chair), Puhi King, Karaitiana Tamatea (Waikato University associate dean of Māori), Rev Haki Wirihana and Marcus Blackburn (St Peter’s School head of school). Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Ngāti Koroki Kahukura and Ngāti Hauā have gifted the name Arikirua for Cambridge’s newest suburb.
In a dawn ceremony on Monday, mana whenua spokesperson Karaitiana Tamatea said the name was not a new one, but it would bring it “back to life again” after more than a century.
Arikirua was a large Ngāti Koroki Kahukura and Ngāti Hauā pā site on the banks of Waikato River. It was at the centre of a major agricultural region and the hub of trading activity.
It was there manu whenua affirmed their support for Kingitanga. The land was confiscated in the 1860s and the first European owner was John Arnold, a member of the Third Waikato Militia.
Original site of the Arikirua pā.
The history of the site appears on two sign boards midway between the Gaslight Theatre and Velodrome on the Te Awa River Ride.
Arikirua is a joint venture between St Peter’s School and 3Ms developers on 32ha of what was part of the school’s 170ha farm.
Tamatea noted the wind was up, the birds were singing and through the clouds you could catch a glimpse of Maungatautari in the distance making the gifting ceremony an “auspicious occasion”.
Waikato River – the awa – was tūpuna’s (ancestor) equivalent of state highway one and was a logical place for pa sites. Arikirua was well known for its gardening and food crops, he said.
Bringing the name through into St Peter’s which provided food of knowledge was “walking the talk.”
“Arikirua reinstates the mana of the whenua and both iwi trusts support the gifting of the name,” he said.
Tamatea revealed a similar name and theme had been suggested for the new primary school currently under construction across the road from the Te Awa Retirement Village.
St Peter’s board chair John Macaskill-Smith acknowledges the name Arikirua for the new subdivision. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
St Peter’s Trust Board chair John Macaskill-Smith said the school valued the connection with manu whenua.
“For us, having a gifted name for this subdivision is just the beginning. We look forward to building a close relationship with mana whenua to help us bring the meaning of Arikirua to life by sharing more stories about the land and connection from the past, to the present and into the future,” he said in a statement.
Proceeds from the Arikirua subdivision sales will go into the school’s Endowment Fund to develop the school’s facilities and provide scholarships and grants.
The first of the sections will be available for sale late next year. Siteworks are already underway.
Mana whenua and guests gather looking towards Maungatautari and the Waikato River to the link with Arikirua. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
