Te puna wai kōrero

Rights Information
Year
1978
Reference
45383
Media type
Audio
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Rights Information
Year
1978
Reference
45383
Media type
Audio
Duration
00:19:00
Taonga Māori Collection
Yes
Credits
RNZ Collection
Rickard, Eva, Interviewee
Ngata, Whai, Announcer
Biddle, Purewa (b.1930, d.1984), Interviewer

Chief protagonist for the return of tapu land at Whāingaroa, Eva Rickard talks about the origin of Raglan's name, of the land's historical ties to the Tainui canoe and the controversy surrounding the Raglan Golf Course.

Eva describes the thriving community she grew up in 45-50 years ago as the eighth of fifteen children on a large marae, Miria te Kakara. She says they would eat whitebait like porridge, people were proud of their home grown kai and grandmothers shared ancestral stories and imparted spiritual wisdom.

At the age of twelve Eva attended Raglan District High School in Hamilton but was taken out of school at forteen to make bullets for the Second World War. When she returned to Whāingaroa at the end of the war the land had been taken by the New Zealand government. Eva talks about the documents she has proving the Native Affairs Department demolished the meeting house in 1940, a year prior to consultation.

Eva would like to know why the Crown signed the land's Title deed over to Raglan County Council in 1970. In 1941 it was agreed the two urupas would be respected and the Tainui Awhiro people were allotted four acres for cultivation. Eva says in 1968 the Ministry of Works cancelled the rights of Māori and leased the land to the Japanese after which it became the Raglan Golf Course.

Eva talks about how she felt about being arrested during the land protest of 1975 and wonders how the next generation will be able to stand up to the government systems. She concludes the interview by saying she has asked for a public meeting with the Raglan Council in July to share her knowledge with pakeha friends and request that harmony is once again restored inthe town.