Nā Ranginui Walker tēnei atikara i tuhi i te 4 o Oketopa 2003 ki te whakaputanga o te New Zealand Listener, hai urupare i tā te kāwanatanga o Reipa whakanana ki te aukati i te kerēme i mua i Te Rōpū Whakamana i Te Tiriti o Waitangi ko te ture whakahaehae nā anā, Te Takutai Moana. Nāna i tuku ki ngā upoko o ngā pāti tōrangapū i rō Paremata ki a Helen Clark (Reipa) rātou ko Bill English (Nahinara), ko Richard Prebble (ACT), ko Peter Dunne (United Future), ko Jeanette Fitzsimons (Kākāriki), tae atu ki a Jim Anderton (Alliance). Nāna tonu te kōrero i te mutunga o te atikara, nāna i waiho a Winitana Pita ki waho, nā te mea he uri nō Mātaatua waka a Pita. Kua tāngia anōtia kia rite ki tāna anō whakaputanga tonu ki te Listener.

E te Karauna

He reta kohera ki a Helen, Bill, Richard, Peter, Janet [Jeanette] ki a rātou ko Jim

Nā Ranginui Walker

Kua kotahi mano tau tāku nā noho i konei. Nō nanahi noa iho nei koe. Ko taku takutai kai te 35km tōna ngāokotanga i Te Moana a Toi te Huatahi atu i Maraetōtara ki te taihauāuru ki Ōhope ki te tairāwhiti ki Tarakeha, ki Ōpape, ā, huri whakatetonga ki ngā pae maunga o te tuawhenua rā anō. Nō roto tonu mai i ngā pito-o-tai e takoto mai ana ko Te Moana a Tairongo, ko Ōhiwa, ko te nōhanga tērā o “Ngā Tamāhine a Te Whakatōhea” – ko ngā kuku, ko ngā tuangi, ko ngā ika o Te Moana nui a Kiwa ka hau mai ki roto rawa ki te whakawhānaunau. I whakapuaretia rā ki ngā iwi, ki a Tūhoe, ki a Ngāti Awa ki te tini a Ōhiwa hai kai. Nō te taenga maitanga a tō iwi, i whānagaitia anōtia koe ki Ngā Tamāhine a Te Whakatōhea. Nāku koe i whakaae, nā te mea he rawa wōhou, he kararehe hou wāhau me ngā taputapu hai tauhokohoko mai ki ahau nei. Hai whakamana i tō tāua mahinga tahitanga, nāku i tāmokotia ai he tiriti me koe ki Ōpōtiki i te 27 o Mei, 1840. Mō ngā tau e rua tekau, ina te kaha nui marika o taku tohetoa i te makurutanga i te hua i te kai i ngā māra, i te whakatipu i ngā kau. He mira parāoa puehu tōku me wētahi kaipuke hai mautanga atu i te putunga o aku hinu ki ngā mākete ki Tāmaki.

I hari nui taku koa i tāhau kawenata i mātua tiaki mārika tōku rangatiratanga ki runga ki taku whenua, anā ka hokona e koe ko ngā pihi whenua anake i pirangitia e ahau hai hoko atu. Ki te tairāwhiti o Ōhiwa ko Te Ahiaua, kai te pūwaha o te awa o Waiotahe, ko reira ngā iwi katoa o te motu, ko Ngāti Pākehā hoki tērā ka whakaaetia ai e owhau ki te mahi a te pipi, kei Te Karihi-Pōtae. Kai kō paku atu o Waiotahe ko te muriwai o ngā awa e rua, ko Waioweka tērā ko Ōtara tērā. Ko tērā wāhi i tapaina ki te ingoa ko Pākōwhai, koia tonuraka te wāhi i waihangatia raka ko te tāone o Ōpōtiki. Ko te pūtahitanga o ngā awa e rua raka ko Pākihikura, ko te tūtakitanga tērā ki a Tangaroa, he pātaka kai anō tērā i whakatūheratia ai hoki ki a Ngāti Pākehā i haramai ki te nohotahi me ahau. Ko wētahi o Ngāti Pākehā i mārenatia ki owahau, whāia ka noho hai whānau, hai hapū tonu māku. Ko wō rātou huanga ko wōku huanga, anā ko wāku, ko wā rātou hoki.

Ki te tairāwhiti o Ōpōtiki ko te awa o Waiaua, ko reira a Tapuikākahu i whakatauākī rā, “E te kai hoki i Waiaua!” He whare moenga nōu mō te tangata, he kumenga kupenga ki te ākau.” Kei paku kō mai i te rima kiromita ko te pito mutunga o taku rohe ki te tairāwhiti ki Ōpape. Kei wōna toka tipua he koura, he pāua, he kuku, he kina, he maomao, he tāmure. Ahakoa ko owahau te kaitiaki, te tino rangatiratanga o runga i wēnei taonga, kīhai rawa i tūtakina rawatia tētahi tangata kotahi ki waho. Ko tāku hai mana whenua he whāngai atu i te kaimoana ki te hunga matekai ki te kaimoana. Ko tāku noa iho ki a rātou he īnoi kia arohatia, kia tiakina hoki te taonga i tukuna mai e wōku tīpuna ki owahau nei.

Kāore hoki e te kino nei, ka nui ake tō iwi i ahau, me tōna apu whenua horohoro nui, horohoro roa, horohoro mata ki te pō. Ka tahuna e koe te ahi matawhāura o Tūmatauenga hai raupatu i te roi o taku whenua. Ko tāhau teka, hai kura takahi puni mō tō ope taua e 500 ki taku rohe whenua, ko te kōhuru a Kereopa Te Rau i te mihingare i a Sylvius Volkner i te Maehe 1865 he tauhou ia, he rāwaho, ehara i te whanaunga nōku. Mārama pai ahau he hara mate nui te kōhuru, ā, me mauherehere te tangata hara, ā, me whakawā e ai ki te ture me ngā tautika tāngata o ngā tāngata o Piritānia, anā i ōatitia ai e koe i te atikara tuatoru o te Tiriti. Waihoki, nāhau te whakauenga riri ki ahau i tīmata, anā i kōhurutia e koe tētahi o wōku rangatira, ahakoa tōna totohe ki tōna harakore, ā, i raupatutia tonutia e koe tāhau whānako ko te nuinga o taku rohe whenua.

Nāhau, rite tonu ki ngā Iniana o Amerika, i puru ahau ki te whenua rāhui e karangatia ana ko te Ōpape Reserve. Ko te whenua, nāhau i raupatu, mō ngā tāngata o te ope taua o tō iwi, 30km o taku takutai moana atu i Ōhope ki te awa o Waiaua. Kei te toe tonu noa iho ko te 4.7km atu i te pūwaha o Waiaua ki Ōpape. E ono tau kua pahemo atu nei, nāhau i tono mai ki ahau e $40 miriona tāra hai kamapeihana mō te whenua nāhau i whānako, nāhau i tāhae. Nāku tō tono i whakakāhore. Ko owahau anake kua pērātia, kua whiua atu hōmaitanga whakarihariha i raro i tō kaupapa here Whakataunga-Kerēme Tiriti. Ko te take i whakakāhore owahau i tō tono, he nui rawa nō tō tono mai i ahau. Kotahi noa iho tāku, ko te take raupatu anake. Engari rā ia tāhau mō te $40 miriona he hiahia nōu kia whakaae atu ahau ki ngā whakaritenga e kī ana ka ea waku kerēme katoa, mēnā ahau i tohua, i whakaatuhia ki a koe rānei i rangahautia e owahau wērā kāore hoki rānei.

Kua rima tau ahau e tatari ana kia karangatia he hui e tuwhera anō rā ngā whakawhitiwhitinga kōrero mō wōu hara nui ki ahau. Nōku e noho ana ki tōku paepae tapu ki tōku marae i Ōmarumutu, e mārama ana te titiro atu i taku ahurewa ki te moana, he aroaromahana kē. I te pae o te muri, mārakerake ana te kitea o te ahi tipua ki te Puia o Whakaari, te kāinga mahi tītī nāku nō te ōrokohanga mai rā anō o tēnei ao. Auē taukurī taku mamae, me taku hēmanawa i taku mōhio he utu $17 tāku kia tapuwaetia taku tapuwae ki taku moutere tipua, he utu i meatia ai, e te rangatira pākehā kua riro kei a ia te taitara mō taku moutere a Whakaari.

Mārama taku kite i te katoa o taku takutai moana 4.7km. I ngā puke oneone ko te pūwaha o te awa o Waiaua. I kō paku mai i te kotahi kiromita ko tō mātou urupā ko Te Rangimatanui. I whakaingoatia ko Te Rangimatanui mō Te Rangimatanui te tipuna tonu, he tipuna whakaiti koiaraka te tangata tuatahi kia tanumia ki reira. Nāna tonu te kōrero kāore ōna tapu kei te pai ki wāna tamariki me wō rātou uri me wā rātou hīnaki ki runga ki tōna rua tūpāpaku ina hoki ki te kāinga.  Ki te pito rāwhiti o Ōpape ko taku pā tawhito ko Taiharuru me tōna urupā kei kō paku tata atu. He tapu rawa tēnei takutai moana kua toe iho mai. Nōku, ā, kīhai rawa hoki ahau e tuku i tēnei ki a koe ki te kahohi o te Karauna. Ahakoa tō ture Tiaki i te Āhei o Tūmatawhānui me ngā Tika Tuku Iho, kei ahau tonu te tikanga ki te tono ki te Kōti Whenua Māori mō te taitara i tukua mai ki ahau e wōku tīpuna. E kore ahau e hokona he mirimita o taku takutai moana, engari ka whai tonu kia puare tonu kia whai wāhi tonu mai te tangata, pērā anō tāku mai i rā anō ki te hunga matehiakai ki te kaimoana pēnei i ahau nei. Ka pātai mai koe ko wai ahau? Ko Te Whakatōhea ahau nō Ōpōtiki.

(PS Kua waiho a Winitana ki waho i tēnei reta whai mana tapu nui, nā te mea he uri māua tahi nō runga i te waka o Mātaatua.)

Kua tāngia anōtia e te heretitamete o Ranginui Walker me Are Media. Kua whakamāoritia e Te Kahautu Maxwell.