Julie O’Donnell presented the 200-year-old anchor at Te Wainui marae on Saturday. Video / Zoe Mills
Early Matariki celebrations got underway in the Gisborne District over the weekend with a presentation of a 200-year-old taonga.
Julie O’Donnell (Ngā Ariki Kaiputahi, Moriori) presented the 13kg sandstone anchor to Te Wainui marae on Saturday.
“[The anchor is] one of the anchors of Rāwiri Tumunui, our rangatira oNgā Ariki Kaiputahi, who fought against Whakatōhea and won the battle. It’s just to celebrate him and our iwi and spreading the history and sharing with our people so that a legacy is left,” O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell also presented the community with a research presentation on the community’s tangata whenua connection to the land.
She hopes presenting her research and the taonga will give her community “a better knowledge of who they are”.
“The main point of focus is to leave behind a legacy for our people. It’s something that can be shared forever and a day.”
She based her research on her father Edward Mokopuna Brown’s writings, who based his onMāori Land Court minutes. Putting the research together was “exciting”, she said.
“Every bit of knowledge that I’ve gained, I’ve wanted to share.”
Her research will contribute to an ongoing land claims case that is before the Waitangi Tribunal.
O’Donnell said presenting the taonga before Matariki was an intentional choice.
“It was to celebrate a new year of this taonga that the whānau have never ever heard about or seen. It was just timing … And we just felt that it was the right time to do it.”
Julie O'Donnell has had the historic taonga in her family for about 200 years. Photo / Zoe Mills
O’Donnell is a retired te reo teacher of 30 years, having taught at Motu School, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori ō Whatatutu and Waipaoa Station School. For the past 13 years, she has been teaching “thousands” of students te reo through Kōtui Ako – Virtual Learning Network Aotearoa.
The taonga will remain in her family. She hopes her research will inspire young people in her community.
“When I was growing up, I had role models all over the place. You know, I had the nanny who knew how to do harakeke [flax] work, I had the nanny who knew how to cook … I’ve carried those skills on through my children and my grandchildren.
“That’s the legacy that I want to leave behind, that they carry that on to make a better future for our people.”
