Giveaways
FROM Waitangi, the main subject of last week’s post, you can either drive or go on a 6 km coastal hike to Haruru Falls, at Haruru.
Here’s a video I’ve made of the interior of the meeting house on the marae at Waitangi, Te Whare Rūnanga, which was opened on the 6th of February 1940: the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. The video also shows a view of Waitangi and Paihia from the road to Haruru Falls as well.
As I also mentioned last week, Hōne Heke, who chopped down the flagpole at Kororāreka, now Russell, had an adversary in the person of Tāmati Wāka Nene, an older Ngāpuhi chief who had had a more traditional tribal upbringing in the days when there were hardly any Europeans in Aotearoa, and who then became a Methodist.
Though he too had some misgivings about colonisation, Tāmati Wāka Nene was more friendly to the British than Hōne Heke, and fought against Heke in the Flagstaff War.
Tāmati Wāka Nene was given a house in Kororāreka (Russell), on a site that has since become a park.
Wāka Nene lived to be about ninety and is buried in the churchyard of Christ Church, in Russell.
Hōne Heke, who was only in his forties when he died, was buried in a traditional Māori burial cave somewhat inland from the Bay of Islands. Heke’s bones were moved from the cave when it began to be encroached upon by development (is nothing sacred?) and reburied at a secret location in 2013.
On the eastern shores of Russell, there is a popular beach called Oneroa or Long Beach (which is what Oneroa also means in Māori).
There were some lovely flowers in Russell, a reminder of how subtropical this region is.
From Russell, you can return to Paihia and Waitangi by water taxi. Here’s a video I made, with scenes from the water taxi, of the interior of the Duke of Marlborough, of the famous flagstaff, and of Haruru Falls:
The last place I visited on this history tour (with hikes) was Kerikeri, where there is the excellent Kerikeri River Track and the Koropiro Heritage Park, which includes the Kemp House (1822), the oldest still-standing building in New Zealand, and some more walks.
The old stone store at Koropiro was erected between 1832 and 1836, and is the oldest stone building in New Zealand.
Before you leave these parts, it also makes sense to take in the Manginangina Kauri Walk in the Puketi Kauri Forest.
To round off, it is worth noting that while Darwin strongly disliked Kororāreka and indeed New Zealand in general, or what little he saw of the place, the captain of the Beagle, Robert FitzRoy, went on to become the second Governor of New Zealand, succeeding William Hobson, who had signed the Treaty of Waitangi. FitzRoy served as Governor from 1843 until 1845.
So there!
If you liked this post, check out my award-winning book about the North Island, available from my website a-maverick.com.
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