Research Overview

Whenua Rangatira lies adjacent to Okahu Bay, occupying a dominant headland near the mouth of the Waitemata Harbour. The headland and surroundings are the ancestral home of Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei. Under the Ōrākei Act 1991, several parcels of land, including Whenua Rangatira, were returned to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to be co-managed as a reserve with Auckland Council for the benefit of all Aucklanders.

The purpose of this project is to examine the Māori and Pacific archives in the Hocken Library pertaining to Tangaroa, the ocean and the sea. The intern will undertake archival research specifically within the Hocken Library and this will form part of the initial stages of the Māori programme of research within the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge.

Wānanga are iwi located and managed events whose purpose is to share knowledge, create knowledge and to foster community identity, cohesion and wellbeing. Wānanga are conducted regularly by every iwi community in the country and are highly valued by those communities. Wānanga are critical events in the development of iwi/Māori communities and are perhaps only eclipsed by tangihanga as the pre-eminent event of our communities.

The research questions for this project are; - How can active management enhance the economic performance of Māori land trusts? and, - What models of collaboration can Māori land trusts use to enhance economic performance? The aim of the project is to identify sustainable and scalable models of ‘active’ management that will enhance the economic performance of Māori land trusts by 2020. The objectives of this project are to not only identify the key success that will enhance the economic performance of Māori land trusts, but also identify potential models of collaboration.

Māori are more likely to be assessed and treated by a health practitioner trained within a western cultural system that pays little attention to Māori worldviews. Māori continue to experience misdiagnosis, non-voluntary admissions, inappropriate psychometric testing, high suicide rates, limited choices, differences in medication regimes and poorer treatment outcomes.

Whangapoua Harbour is within the Ngati Huarere rohe and they are kaitiaki for the harbour which is considered a taonga. Ngati Huarere are concerned about the effects of the Matarangi Wastewater Treatment Plant discharge on the mauri of the harbour, swimming, the gathering of seafood and the wider cultural relationship that Ngati Huarere enjoyed with the harbour. This research project has been initiated by Ngati Huarere to investigate the impact of the Matarangi Waste Water Treatment Plant on the mauri of Whangapoua Harbour and the ecosystem.