Reflections on Rongomaraeroa, Te Papa’s marae from Arapata Hakiwai
November 30, 2022, marked the 25th anniversary of the opening of Rongomaraeroa, our marae. The opening was supported by mana whenua leaders and included the attendance of iwi leaders from throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Rongomaraeroa opened three months before the grand opening of the rest of Te Papa in February 1998 because it was an important tikanga dimension in relation to preparing and opening the wider Te Papa.
Our Head of Marketing and Communications Kate Camp asks our Kaihautū | Māori Co-leader Dr Arapata Hakiwai about some of his memories and reflections about the main designer of the marae and wharenui within, Cliff Whiting, the opening blessing, and memorable events on Rongomaraeroa.
Kate: When you think of Cliff during that period is there a particular time that you, can picture him here in the building or a particular thing you remember him doing?
Arapata: Yeah Cliff had a really nice style. He was an artist, he was passionate at heart, you know, and I don’t know whether he really enjoyed the corporate meetings and so forth, but I know that he was very comfortable with his toki, his brush, his creating and making.
Cliff Whiting carving part of Te Hono ki Hawaiki, the wharenui at Te Papa, 1997. Photo by Norm Heke. Te Papa (MA_F.003958/50)
I think he just loved being involved in the marae – I know there were really heated discussions about all sorts of things for the marae from the kawa and the operations.
Cliff knew that the museum would have challenges and the marae itself created challenges. Cliff was deliberate in having Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga as the tekoteko of our Rongomaraeroa marae. Māui the Challenger – because in our Māori world, te ao Māori, he challenged the gods, he challenged all sorts of things, and he thought it was fitting that our new National Museum would also encounter many challenges.
It was quite different, I can recall when our marae was ritually opened. Some of the tohunga who opened it, recalled in their speeches in Māori, “This is very interesting, you know we’re reciting the karakia which binds certain parts together and I’m looking at this meeting house saying is this the door and is this taonga bound to that.”
Construction of Te Hono ki Hawaiki, 14 October 1997, 2017. Photograph by Jan Nauta. Te Papa (113222)
So you know it was innovative, it was creative, and that’s what Cliff wanted. He wanted, I suppose, an expression of Māori art to reach into the new Millennium and, well, he got it. Cliff openly said that the marae should make a strong statement of Māori art for the new millennium. Well, it certainly did this with the strong reactions and kōrero made by many at the opening.
Just as Cheryll [Sotheran, Te Papa's founding Chief Executive] openly championed Te Papa as a museum ‘for the people, by the people’ so too did Cliff believe that Māori must have active participation in our new national museum. In everything he did, he emphasised the need for strong and active relationships with Māori regarding the exhibitions and activities of the museum. Our Rongomaraeroa marae was supported by mana whenua as a marae for all peoples and cultures.
Kate: Absolutely and now manuhiri from around the country have embraced it.
Arapata: Yeah, absolutely.
Kate: You’ve been to so many services at the marae, from the saddest to the happiest to everything in between. Is there a particular memory that you have of events on Rongomaraeroa?
Arapata: Yeah. I’m really happy because of how we’ve used the marae. I know that Cliff and many of the leaders in Te Papa’s creation like the late Api Mahuika – would be really really happy. We've used the marae in a living way to celebrate culture and identity and most importantly to welcome home our ancestors.
And all those occasions, they’re really, really, special because we know that our ancestors have been overseas for many many years.
Natural History Museum Vienna Repatriation pōwhiri at Te Papa, 2022. Photo by Abbie Dorrington. Te Papa (217459)
When our former CEO Seddon Bennington passed away that was a really sad time. When he lost his life everyone at Te Papa was in shock. With the family’s support and permission, we brought him on to the marae, so you know, to farewell your leader. I was the acting Kaihautū with Seddon for about 10 months or so, but to farewell a colleague in those situations on the marae, it was quite surreal, reflective, and emotional. None of us were expecting our Tumu Whakarae to lie on our marae and be farewelled.
The cloaks that covered his coffin were also significant as these were returned to the nation by the Seddon family in 2006, one hundred years after the passing of our former premier R.J.Seddon. The handover ceremony on our marae at this time was also special as our former CEO was named after the former premier.
But look, that’s how we have used the marae, in all sorts of ways. We just know that it gives life to the marae and I think that’s great. This was always the intention.
Kate: I wonder if there’s anything that we haven’t touched on that you wanted to add, or anyone that you wanted to acknowledge, or that you think of when you think of those days?
Arapata: Oh yeah, I will actually, yeah, Sid Mead once said, and he continues to say that ‘You're here and you can only make a contribution.’ I think there are great people who have made immense contributions here, and it's really how we can honour their legacy, and contribute to that, and it's really just paying respect to all those people who created this taonga for the nation.
Look we've had so many people, Cheryll, Cliff, Api Mahuika, Te Aue Davis, Tipene O’Regan, Sandy Adsett; Darcy Nicholas, Kura Te Waru Rewiri, and the list goes on, who have contributed and put energy, heart, and soul into this place. So to honour that legacy really is to ensure that we continue to be the best that we can be, not for our own sake, but for the people and communities we serve.
Kaihautū Arapata Hakiwai, 2021. Photo by Daniel Rose. Te Papa (174685)