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Takapūneke, with the location also known as Red House Bay, is a former
kāinga A kāinga ( southern Māori: ''kaika'' or ''kaik'') is the traditional form of village habitation of pre-European Māori in New Zealand. It was unfortified or only lightly fortified, and over time became less important than the well-fortified ...
—an unfortified
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
village—adjacent to present-day
Akaroa Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Ngāi Tahu, Kāi Tahu Māori language, Māori for "Long Harbour", which woul ...
, New Zealand. Takapūneke was a major trading post for the local
iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...
(tribe),
Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...
, as there was safe anchorage for European vessels. The site is of significance to Ngāi Tahu as their tribal chief, Tama-i-hara-nui, was captured here by North Island
Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, also called Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and the northern South Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of ...
chief
Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha ( – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira, warlord, and chief of the Ngāti Toa iwi. One of the most powerful military leaders of the Musket Wars, Te Rauparaha fought a war of conquest that greatly expanded Ngāti Toa south ...
, and then tortured and killed. The village itself was raided and subject of a massacre, with the events subsequently called the ''Elizabeth'' affair. There is a direct link from the massacre in 1830 to the signing of the
Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
in 1840, giving the site a status of national significance. That significance has not always been widely known, and part of the site has been used as a landfill, with any artifacts of the core of the kāinga destroyed in 1960 through the construction of a
sewage treatment Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...
plant. The site was declared sacred to Māori in 2002 by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Authorities have been working towards protecting the site and in 2018,
Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council (CCC) is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Ma ...
adopted a management plan and subsequently made a formal request to the Minister of Conservation to apply for
national reserve A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
status. The sewage treatment plant is about to be relocated away from this site.


History

The meaning of the
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
word Takapūneke is "a bay to drag in a fishing net". It was often used as the base by Tama-i-hara-nui, at the time the paramount chief of Ngāi Tahu. A large area of land surrounding the settlement was cultivated. The kāinga was a base for trade with Europeans as this was easily done in this location. Much of the trade was in food, timber and flax fibre (harakeke); the latter was collected from the area around
Akaroa Harbour Akaroa Harbour is part of Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. The harbour enters from the southern coast of the peninsula, heading in a predominantly northerly direction. It is one of two major inlets in Banks Peninsula ...
. Ngāi Tahu had got into conflict with Ngāti Toa in 1828 and an unequal war was being fought as Ngāti Toa had firearms but Ngāi Tahu had very few. Eight of Te Rauparaha's chiefs were killed after they had entered
Kaiapoi Pā Kaiapoi Pā is a historic pā (fort) site just north of the Waimakariri River in Canterbury, New Zealand. The pā was a major centre of trade and nobility for Ngāi Tahu in the Classical Māori period. Established around 1700, the pā was sa ...
under the pretence of trade. Te Rauparaha, who had remained outside Kaiapoi Pā, returned to his base on
Kapiti Island Kapiti Island (), sometimes written as Kāpiti Island, is an island nature reserve located off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand and within the Kāpiti Coast District. Parts of the island were previously farmed, but it is ...
. Two years later, in November 1830, Te Rauparaha returned on the brig ''Elizabeth'' under Captain John Stewart; the captain had been promised a cargo of flax in return for transporting a 100-strong Ngāti Toa war party. They anchored off Takapūneke and when Tama-i-hara-nui returned from collecting flax on 6 November, Captain Stewart enticed him and his family to come on board to trade flax for guns. Once on board, the concealed Ngāti Toa overwhelmed Tama-i-hara-nui, his wife and his daughter. That night, they then raided Takapūneke and either killed or enslaved those who were present. Different sources give different numbers for the casualties; a 2010 press release by
Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council (CCC) is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Ma ...
states that 150 people were killed (which is a lower number than most other sources give). On
Kapiti Island Kapiti Island (), sometimes written as Kāpiti Island, is an island nature reserve located off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand and within the Kāpiti Coast District. Parts of the island were previously farmed, but it is ...
, Tama-i-hara-nui was handed to some of the wives of the eight chiefs killed at Kaiapoi Pā, who tortured him to death. The attack led to Takapūneke being abandoned. The survivors either went to the
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
(a fortified Māori village) on
Ōnawe Peninsula The Ōnawe Peninsula is a volcanic plug inside Akaroa Harbour, on Banks Peninsula in Canterbury, New Zealand. It is the site of a former pā (a fortified Māori village). It is part of the Banks Peninsula Volcano. The New Zealand Ministry ...
or to the nearby
Ōnuku Ōnuku, also known as the Kaik, is a settlement and marae near Akaroa on Banks Peninsula, New Zealand. It was the first of three places in the South Island at which the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by Ngāi Tahu. The marae is home to the Ngā ...
. The next user of the land was William Barnard Rhodes, who in 1839 built himself a house which he painted bright red; this gave the locality its European name of Red House Bay. Captain Stewart was charged with murder and appeared before a Sydney court in May 1831 but was discharged without conviction over a variety of legal questions. In May 1832, the
Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...
overruled the Sydney Crown Solicitor and provided legal arguments by which Captain Stewart could be tried, but the captain had left Sydney in October 1831 and had apparently died on the journey near
Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...
. The massacre at Takapūneke resulted in the
Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...
,
Ralph Darling General Sir Ralph Darling, GCH (1772 – 2 April 1858) was a British Army officer who served as Governor of New South Wales from 1825 to 1831. His period of governorship was unpopular, with Darling being broadly regarded as a tyrant. He introd ...
, appointing
James Busby James Busby (7 February 1802 – 15 July 1871) was the British Resident in New Zealand from 1833 to 1840. He was involved in drafting the 1835 Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand and the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. As British Residen ...
as the inaugural
British Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of in ...
in New Zealand. There is a chain of events that eventually led to the 1840 signing of the
Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
. Christchurch City Council's management plan for Takapūneke Reserve states:


Later developments

Council records show that a
sewage treatment Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...
plant was constructed at Takapūneke in 1960. In 1964, Akaroa County bought land from the western corner of Takapūneke Reserve where this plant had been built. The plant occupies the area that was the core of the kāinga. When it was built, many of the
midden A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human oc ...
s from Takapūneke were dug up. The council acknowledges that the construction of the plant in this location "was an act of particular cultural insensitivity". A landfill was located in one corner of the reserve; the landfill was capped in 1999. In 1992, a residential development was discussed for the land. After the Ōnuku
rūnanga In tikanga Māori (Māori culture or practice), a (runaka in Southern Māori dialect) is a tribal council, assembly, board or boardroom. The term can also be a verb meaning "to discuss in an assembly". An iwi (tribe) can have one governing rū ...
(a tribal council) raised concerns in 1995 about inappropriate uses of the reserve, an agreement was signed between the rūnanga and Banks Peninsula District in 1998. On 30 May 2002, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now
Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...
) declared Takapūneke a Wahi Tapu Area, a place or site sacred to Māori; the list number of the site is 7521. Shortly before amalgamation with Christchurch City Council in March 2006, the Banks Peninsula District Council resolved to apply for National Reserve status, for which it is necessary to develop a management plan. In 2009, the Minister of Conservation, Tim Groser, changed the classification for the three land parcels that form Takapūneke Reserve to Historic Reserve to reflect the location's significance to Ngāi Tahu. Christchurch City Council adopted a management plan on 7 June 2018. The city council subsequently asked the Minister of Conservation to declare Takapūneke Reserve a
national reserve A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
.


Proposed development

Takapūneke is approximately south-west of the centre of Akaroa. There are three land parcels that form the historic area, with Britomart Historic Reserve itself not proposed to be included: * Green’s Point (4.0611 ha), where the British flag was raised in 1840 to claim sovereignty ahead of the French; this is the site of the Britomart Monument, unveiled in 1898 * Beach Road Park (0.1741 ha) * Takapūneke Reserve (9.6087 ha) There is one building on the reserve, the Immigration Barracks relocated to here in 1898, and it is proposed to be kept. The reserve surrounds a privately held section where the red house used to stand and the city council has had a longstanding desire to buy this property if it came up for sale. The property was purchased in December 2020 for twice its ratable value. The capped landfill, which provides a level site, is proposed to be turned into a car park for visitors. In 2015, Christchurch City Council obtained consent for a new wastewater treatment plant just north of Akaroa (Takapūneke is south of Akaroa). The discharge consent for the existing plant expires in October 2020 and the proposed plant does not have a discharge consent yet. Further consultation on options was to start in "early 2020" but as of May 2020, this is yet to happen.


Notes


References

* * * * * {{Banks Peninsula Akaroa History of the Canterbury Region Massacres in New Zealand Ngāi Tahu Parks in Christchurch Sewage treatment plants in New Zealand