Human Rights Commission

Purpose

To acknowledge ngā tūpuna o ngā tāngata whenua and to preserve an important archaeological site that would otherwise have been lost.

Background

Three ponga structures, believed to be the remains of the original Te Aro Pā, dating from the 1840s, were unearthed during development work for an apartment complex in Taranaki St, Wellington in December 2005. Te Aro Pā is a recognised wāhi tapu of Taranaki Whānui and is noted as a site of significance to tāngata whenua on the Wellington City District Plan.

The find was unique, not only in that excavations rarely uncover the remnants of Māori structures but also because there were no real protocols to deal with such a situation.

Ngā Tekau o Pōneke (also known as The Wellington Tenths Trust), has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), drawn up in 2006, as well as a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the Wellington City Council. Both parties agreed to preserve the Te Aro Pā site as part of the Bellagio Ataahua Apartments development.

Roles

Ngā Tekau o Pōneke, on behalf of Taranaki Whānui, the tāngata whenua, built relationships with a number of stakeholders to ensure their taonga was respected and kept safe.

The Crown party consisted of the Wellington City Council, the Historic Places Trust, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and Washington Ltd, the developers of the land.

What happened

Regular site visits and cooperative meetings took place between the developer, Wellington City Council, New Zealand Historic Places Trust and the Wellington Tenths Trust and at the foremost of the minds of everyone involved was the protection of the site.

However, this was not the only thing that had to be considered – a multi-million dollar development, with resource consent, was to be completed. The parties involved had to consider and work to building contracts and contractors, bank agreements, tenants and city plans, and figure out how best to house the historical and cultural significance of the find.

Various options for preserving the whare ponga were discussed, including preserving the whare on site or moving them off site during construction and returning them to the new building. Iwi members expressed a strong preference to preserve the whare in place.

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is relevant to the work of the Tenths Trust and Crown agencies in this situation. Article 11 says that “Indigenous peoples have the right to practise and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites.”

What worked well

The Tenths Trust was able to create strong and influential partnerships with all involved to ensure the iwi was heard. Liz Mellish (CEO, Tenths Trust) said “We had to put rights in at the very beginning. We could not do what we needed to do until we told the Government we have the right to do this.” The Ministry for Culture and Heritage stood beside the Tenths Trust and were able to try and make these rights work within the legislation.

The Trust were clear that in this instance the first rights were those of tāngata whenua to make the site and the process as culturally safe as possible. However not far from their minds was the right of the landowners to develop their property. Working in cooperation with them, the City Council and the Ministry, they were able follow a process that was comfortable for all. The Tenths Trust believed it was their responsibility to set a good precedent, remove some of the “fear factor” and make sure the developers were clear on their rights so they could “go in with their eyes open”.

The site now belongs to the Tenths Trust. It was sold to them by Washington Ltd, the developers, for what it was originally sold for in the 1840s: a gold coin, a shirt and a broken gun.

Looking ahead

This story is a great example of organisations with very different interests – private developers, the state and tāngata whenua – working together to achieve a positive outcome for the community.

Today, Te Aro Pā is open to the public, free of charge, seven days a week from 9.00am – 5.00pm. The preserved foundations of the whare ponga are encased in glass under the floor of the apartment building.

Liz says “This project is of huge significance for Wellington and Aotearoa, New Zealand, not just because of its cultural, historical and economic significance, but because it is a practice that can be emulated in other places. The process the Tenths went through with the Crown shows how the Resource Management Act (RMA) can work to protect and manage our environment.”

Documentation

More information about the Wellington Tenths Trust and the Wellington City Council.

10 July 2009