Pāpāwai is a place imbued with the mana of its rangatira and tūpuna and is associated with the surrounding Pāpāwai papakainga. The whare tūpuna is Hikurangi, and the whare kai is Te Waipounamu. The marae is where the hapū and iwi of Pāpāwai, led by Ngāti Moe, Ngāti Kauhi, Ngāti Pateika, Ngāti Muretu and Ngāti Kahukura-awhitia, all of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, demonstrate kaitiakitanga, manaakitanga, whakapono, tikanga, and kawa. Historically, this was most evident in their hosting of the large multi-iwi Kotahitanga hui in the 1890s and early 1900s. These nationally significant events were attended by thousands of Māori and by leading Pākeha political figures in order to discuss critical social, political, and cultural issues.
In 1853 the rangatira of Pāpāwai gifted 400 acres land at Pāpāwai to Bishop George Selywn to endow a church boarding school for pupils throughout Wairarapa in order to foster their spiritual and educational advancement. A flour mill soon followed and a “Native Township” was planned, but suffered from a lack of investment from the church and government.
Te Manihera Rangitakaiwaho emerged as an early leader at the Pāpāwai township, to the extent that it was briefly known as Manihera Town. He promoted it as a being “mo ngā iwi kātoa inaianei” (‘for all the people today’) but after a dispute over control of the mill, Ngatuere and Wi Kingi Tutepakihirangi settled their people elsewhere. Te Manihera maintained the vision of Pāpāwai as a political, cultural, and economic centre, although this did not come to fruition until shortly before his death in 1885, by which time he had delegated his authority at Pāpāwai to Tamahau Mahupuku.
With Tamahau’s authority, and his whanau’s financial resources, Pāpāwai was transformed into a bustling cultural, political, and commercial centre with a population of several thousand. With the emergence of the Kotahitanga self-determination and resistance to land loss movement in the 1890s, Pāpāwai also had a national Māori newspaper, Te Puke ki Hikurangi (published from 1897 to 1913), which promoted Kotahitanga, Treaty of Waitangi issues, and a range of cultural and political matters. This newspaper was managed for a time by Niniwa-i-te-rangi, a mana wāhine who, working with her cousin Tamahau, played a leading role in Kotahitanga and at Pāpāwai.
The whare tūpuna Hikurangi was opened in 1888. The agreement aiming to settle disputes over Wairarapa Moana and lands around it was made at Pāpāwai by Ngāti Kahungunu and Native Minister James Carroll in January 1896 and celebrated with a feast. Larger buildings were put up beside Hikurangi in time for Pāpāwai to host Kotahitanga’s annual Paremata Māori in 1897 and 1898. The Kotahitanga movement was established by many iwi Māori to further self-determination. Notably, a resolution to end Māori land sales was passed during these hui, and those gathered were visited by Governor Ranfurly and Premier Richard Seddon.
The large purpose-built T-shaped structure at Pāpāwai comprised two whare: Aotea was a large meeting hall capable of holding 1,000 people, and Te Waipounamu was a two-storey building with sleeping quarters on the top floor and a wharekai below able to seat 300. The weatherboard buildings were, like the Kotahitanga Paremata, a fusion of Māori and Pākeha traditions.
Pāpāwai also holds a unique collection of whakapakoko. The 18 figures carved and erected in 1904 originally stood atop posts mounted around the perimeter and represented leading rangatira of the hapū, iwi, and wider district including Nukupewapewa, Ngatuere, and Te Wharepouri (of Te Ati Awa in Whanganui a Tara). One represented the early Pākehā settler William Mein Smith. Uniquely, the whakapakoko stood facing inwards towards the marae to represent peace and unity, rather than outwards in a defensive stance as is typical.
The unique whakapakoko reflect the unique tikanga of Pāpāwai. As early as 1853 it has been a centre of iwi efforts to establish a new tikanga of engagement with the Crown and with Pākeha during an era in which the hapū of Pāpāwai and the iwi of Wairarapa sought to adjust to te ao hou in a way that would benefit Māori and their new Pākeha neighbours.
After Kotahitanga fell into decline in the early 1900s, Pāpāwai rangatira and the Crown worked together to preserve what was already recognised as a nationally significant site. Pāpāwai Marae was set aside and vested in trustees in 1907, when one of the seven trustees was a Crown appointee. The mix of Crown and Māori trustees embodied the Crown’s long-standing relationship with Pāpāwai Marae and its commitment (at least in 1907) to work with hapū and iwi to preserve, promote, and manage Pāpāwai Marae. The marae grounds include a marble memorial to Tamahau Mahupuku, unveiled in 1911 by Acting Prime Minister James Carroll with 6,000 people in attendance.
The Crown’s role proved short-lived. In 1934, when the huge but decaying Kotahitanga Paremata buildings were severely damaged by hurricane-strength gales, Native Minister Apirana Ngata sought to secure funds for the repairs needed at Pāpāwai. After he resigned that year no further action was taken and the Paremata buildings collapsed. The whare tūpuna Hikurangi and the whakapakoko remain, and the marae and its community continue to carry its legacy today, led by the uri of Ngāti Moe, Ngati Kauhi, Ngati Pateika, Ngati Muretu, and Ngāti Kahukura-awhitia of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa.
In 1853 the rangatira of Pāpāwai gifted 400 acres land at Pāpāwai to Bishop George Selywn to endow a church boarding school for pupils throughout Wairarapa in order to foster their spiritual and educational advancement. A flour mill soon followed and a “Native Township” was planned, but suffered from a lack of investment from the church and government.
Te Manihera Rangitakaiwaho emerged as an early leader at the Pāpāwai township, to the extent that it was briefly known as Manihera Town. He promoted it as a being “mo ngā iwi kātoa inaianei” (‘for all the people today’) but after a dispute over control of the mill, Ngatuere and Wi Kingi Tutepakihirangi settled their people elsewhere. Te Manihera maintained the vision of Pāpāwai as a political, cultural, and economic centre, although this did not come to fruition until shortly before his death in 1885, by which time he had delegated his authority at Pāpāwai to Tamahau Mahupuku.
With Tamahau’s authority, and his whanau’s financial resources, Pāpāwai was transformed into a bustling cultural, political, and commercial centre with a population of several thousand. With the emergence of the Kotahitanga self-determination and resistance to land loss movement in the 1890s, Pāpāwai also had a national Māori newspaper, Te Puke ki Hikurangi (published from 1897 to 1913), which promoted Kotahitanga, Treaty of Waitangi issues, and a range of cultural and political matters. This newspaper was managed for a time by Niniwa-i-te-rangi, a mana wāhine who, working with her cousin Tamahau, played a leading role in Kotahitanga and at Pāpāwai.
The whare tūpuna Hikurangi was opened in 1888. The agreement aiming to settle disputes over Wairarapa Moana and lands around it was made at Pāpāwai by Ngāti Kahungunu and Native Minister James Carroll in January 1896 and celebrated with a feast. Larger buildings were put up beside Hikurangi in time for Pāpāwai to host Kotahitanga’s annual Paremata Māori in 1897 and 1898. The Kotahitanga movement was established by many iwi Māori to further self-determination. Notably, a resolution to end Māori land sales was passed during these hui, and those gathered were visited by Governor Ranfurly and Premier Richard Seddon.
The large purpose-built T-shaped structure at Pāpāwai comprised two whare: Aotea was a large meeting hall capable of holding 1,000 people, and Te Waipounamu was a two-storey building with sleeping quarters on the top floor and a wharekai below able to seat 300. The weatherboard buildings were, like the Kotahitanga Paremata, a fusion of Māori and Pākeha traditions.
Pāpāwai also holds a unique collection of whakapakoko. The 18 figures carved and erected in 1904 originally stood atop posts mounted around the perimeter and represented leading rangatira of the hapū, iwi, and wider district including Nukupewapewa, Ngatuere, and Te Wharepouri (of Te Ati Awa in Whanganui a Tara). One represented the early Pākehā settler William Mein Smith. Uniquely, the whakapakoko stood facing inwards towards the marae to represent peace and unity, rather than outwards in a defensive stance as is typical.
The unique whakapakoko reflect the unique tikanga of Pāpāwai. As early as 1853 it has been a centre of iwi efforts to establish a new tikanga of engagement with the Crown and with Pākeha during an era in which the hapū of Pāpāwai and the iwi of Wairarapa sought to adjust to te ao hou in a way that would benefit Māori and their new Pākeha neighbours.
After Kotahitanga fell into decline in the early 1900s, Pāpāwai rangatira and the Crown worked together to preserve what was already recognised as a nationally significant site. Pāpāwai Marae was set aside and vested in trustees in 1907, when one of the seven trustees was a Crown appointee. The mix of Crown and Māori trustees embodied the Crown’s long-standing relationship with Pāpāwai Marae and its commitment (at least in 1907) to work with hapū and iwi to preserve, promote, and manage Pāpāwai Marae. The marae grounds include a marble memorial to Tamahau Mahupuku, unveiled in 1911 by Acting Prime Minister James Carroll with 6,000 people in attendance.
The Crown’s role proved short-lived. In 1934, when the huge but decaying Kotahitanga Paremata buildings were severely damaged by hurricane-strength gales, Native Minister Apirana Ngata sought to secure funds for the repairs needed at Pāpāwai. After he resigned that year no further action was taken and the Paremata buildings collapsed. The whare tūpuna Hikurangi and the whakapakoko remain, and the marae and its community continue to carry its legacy today, led by the uri of Ngāti Moe, Ngati Kauhi, Ngati Pateika, Ngati Muretu, and Ngāti Kahukura-awhitia of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa.
