Te Parapara Garden at Hamilton Gardens

Peter Sergel

Each major development in the evolution of civilisation has generally led to the emergence of a different form of garden and at Hamilton Gardens it’s proposed to develop thirty of those different garden forms. ⁽¹⁾ So Hamilton Gardens won’t just tell the story of gardens but a wider story of civilsation. One of humanity’s earliest developments was agriculture and the Hamilton Gardens site provided an ideal example of this. The pre-European gardens along the Waikato riverbanks are considered to have been the most extensively cropped lands in Polynesia. They were also ideal because traditional Maaori gardens weren’t just productive gardens, they included spiritual and aesthetic dimensions. ⁽²⁾ So the original intention was to re-create a garden that might have existed on these riverbanks in pre-European times. However, for various reasons the garden became more of a modern artwork, inspired by those early gardens. Pre-European gardens were a form of swidden agriculture, planted in patches of cleared, burnt over land rather than permanent gardens set within elaborate fencing and palisades. Carved features also looked very different before the introduction of metal tools. However, while this can’t really be called a pre-European garden, there are still many aspects that are significant and the garden itself has been referred to as one of the ‘treasures of Tainui’.

The Polynesians who reached Aotearoa some time between 1250 and 1275 must have been well prepared. ⁽³⁾ It’s unlikely to have been the grim survival depicted in the paintings of Goldie and Steele. (4) However, for a tropical culture to survive in the colder temperate climate, a lot of rapid adaptation and innovation was required, particularly since New Zealand cooled significantly with the Little Ice Age just after the Polynesians arrived. That story of settlement and exploration is told in Te Parapara Garden, primarily a symbolic garden rather than an example of a garden design tradition.

According to oral history, the great Tainui and Te Arawa craft sailed to Aotearoa together from east Polynesia, both arriving when the poohutukawa were in full bloom. ⁽⁵⁾ Near the entrance to Te Parapara Garden a pou represents Hoturoa, the captain of the Tainui waka. His figure is carved in the Tahitian style of ancestral Polynesia. The Tainui waka first made landfall at Whangaparaaoa, then moved on to Toorere, Whitianga and Waitemataa. At Waitemataa it was placed on rollers and pushed across the isthmus from the Waitemataa Harbour to the Manukau Harbour. The log rollers were said to have been cut from Pomaderris apetala that had been part of the floor of the waka. When the Tainui waka made its final landing at Kaawhia, the Pomaderris apparently sprouted and was later used for a variety of medical conditions. ⁽⁶⁾ A Pomaderris is planted just inside the entrance to Te Parapara. There is also a poohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) beside the entrance representing Tangi te Korowhiti, the name given to the poohutukawa the Tainui craft was tied to at the end of its voyage at Kaawhia. ⁽⁷⁾

The path into this garden is called Te Ara Whakataukii or ‘Path of Proverbs’, which showcases uncultivated food from the forest and grassland. Plants along the walk are associated with fifteen whakataukii (traditional proverbs or sayings of ancestors) about the journey through time and the significance of Maramataka. ⁽⁸⁾ The first proverb, ‘He purapura i ruia mai i Rangiaatea’ (‘The seed scattered abroad from Raiatea’), refers to Raiatea in the Society Islands as the origin of the Maaori people. A second, ‘Te iti oneone i kapunga mai i Hawaiki’ (‘A little bit of earth from Hawaiiki in the hollow of the hand’), refers to the soil brought to Aotearoa by the first voyages to ensure their crops would be successful. That seems to have worked, and no more so than along the fertile banks of the Waikato River.

Hamilton Gardens is located in an area settled by the Waikato Tainui iwi, who take their name from that famous waka. The general area was primarily a Ngaati Wairere settlement with many paa and settlement sites along the banks of the Waikato River. The only part of my Maaori introduction that I could ever remember without notes was ‘He piko, he taniwha, He piko, he taniwha‘ (‘At every bend in the river there was a chief’). Taawhiao, the second Maaori king, is reported to have described this district: “I whakawhiti aru ai te koopuu mania o Kirikiriroa, me oona maara kai te ngawhaa whakatupu ake te whenua moomona” (“I cross the smooth belly of Kirikiriroa, its gardens bursting with the fullness of good things”). ⁽⁹⁾

Central Hamilton was known as Kirikiriroa but the biggest nearby Paa site was Te Rapa, located between the river and the present Waikato Hospital. These areas alongside the Waikato River were renowned throughout Aotearoa for the quality of their gardening skills. Hamilton Gardens was the site of Te Parapara Paa, which in pre-European times was home to Hanui, a famous Ngati Wairere chief and one of the figures carved on the whatanoa gateway of Waikato Stadium. Like other gardens from the ancient world, they were often closely associated with rituals and spiritual beliefs. According to oral tradition, a site at or near the present Te Parapara Garden was associated with sacred rituals concerning the harvesting of food crops and the collection of berries from the forest. There was said to be a tuahu (sacred altar) called Te Ikamauroa there associated with these rituals. The gods being acknowledged were similar to ancient Polynesian ones: Pani, the female goddess who according to oral history gave birth to the first kuumara tubes, and Rongo, the male god of gardening and peace, who was summoned by the priest at planting time to take up residence in the small stone statue at the head of a garden. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Special gardens like Te Parapara had mauri (stone objects) planted within the garden as a talisman for sacred rituals associated with gardening.

For a culture highly skilled at navigating by the stars, garden orientation may have made reference to astronomical observation, like most other gardens of the ancient world. There are certainly references to the use of the phases of the moon to guide planting. ⁽¹¹⁾ Particular prominence is given to the Matariki constellation that rises in the predawn sky during June and July. It’s a star cluster recognised in other ancient cultures and known by different names including Pleiades, Messier 45, the Seven Sisters, and Subaru. ⁽¹²⁾ For Maaori, when Matariki is seen rising, it’s the sign of a new year and a time to celebrate, mourn the dead, and anticipate new life and the planting of a new harvest. Each year Matariki is celebrated at Hamilton Gardens with hundreds of people gathering at dawn to hear a karanga, waiata and a koorero about Matariki. Rangihaeata (the new dawn) is the appropriate time to hold such an event.

In Te Parapara Garden, the poutumu (heavy posts) in the palisade bear the names of the stars in the Matariki constellation. The smaller uncarved pouhimu depict the stars and ancient local deities. Pouwhakarae are posts that represent specific ancestral figures important in Ngaati Wairere whakapapa and special locations. Lines of pou along a palisade fence would sometimes show lines of descent and various ancestors and deities. Poutakitaki (structural support posts) are named after phases of the moon.

The waharoa or entrance marks the separation between the entrance path Te Ara Whakatauki (path of proverbs) and the area of the garden enclosed with a palisade. While the entrance path features plants indigenous to Waikato, the enclosed garden beyond the entranceway features five introduced plants. Early Maaori seem to have quickly worked out ways to use the indigenous plants they found and in some cases deliberately cultivated, like the flax and karaka. Some of these useful plants are listed in the footnote.⁽¹¹⁾ Examples include the Mamaku pith and cabbage tree roots and the karaka kernels that had to be cooked continuously for a day or two. Bush was burned to encourage growth of bracken fern, and the root of the fern was pounded into flour that was baked as cakes. ⁽¹²⁾ Other plants had medical benefits and these are marked with numbers in the Valley Walk area of Hamilton Gardens.

Adaption to the new environment is said to have occurred in three stages that transformed the old East Polynesian island culture. The Maaori settlement period was primarily about hunting and gathering, with seal rookeries, moa and other ground-dwelling birds being major sources of food. In the second phase gardening became increasingly important, and some native plants also started to be cultivated like the karaka, cabbage tree and bracken fern. As populations and competition for resources increased, larger tribal communities and alliances formed in settled areas. ⁽¹³⁾

Early settlers and missionaries frequently wrote about the neatness and precision of the planted crops. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Like earlier Polynesian cultures, Maaori put a lot of effort into the modification of local soils, terracing, stone or wooden boundary walls, pest control by fumigation, weeding, cultivation, drainage ditches and storage pits. Fourteen types of specialist garden tools have been identified, made from pounamu, argillite and tora (albatross bone). ⁽¹⁵⁾

Gardening could have involved six hour days from the whole community for half the year. To get some idea of the work involved, you only have to look at 1950s aerial photographs of the Waikato River terraces that were covered in tapaahi depressions or borrow pits. ⁽¹⁶⁾ They were a distinctive feature along the Waikato riverbanks that became more obvious when the land was cleared for farming. It’s not until you stand in these holes that you realise how many thousands of baskets of pumice sand were removed over a very long period. ⁽¹⁷⁾ Pumice was added to the soil to increase aeration, improve drainage and make cultivation easier. Charcoal was also added from burnt over forest and you can still see these modified ‘Maaori soils’ along some sections of eroded riverbank. Modern experiments have shown the soil warms sooner with these modifications to the soil. ⁽¹⁸⁾

Like earlier Polynesian gardens, stone walls were often used to define family boundaries and provide wind shelter in exposed areas of Aotearoa. But stones were also useful for holding radiant heat because they faced a challenge no other Polynesian culture had: a short growing season and frosts, particularly during the Little Ice Age (1300-1850).

There’s a general assumption that the first settlers in Aotearoa would have brought their full stock of useful plants, like banana, breadfruit, pandanus, sugarcane, coconut, arrowroot, giant taro, ginger, turmeric, kava, Polynesian bamboo and Malay apple. ⁽¹⁹⁾ However, there is only evidence of five surviving for any length of time in the colder climate.

• Ti Pore or Pacific Island cabbage tree (Cordyline fruticosa) had been used throughout the Pacific. It was used for garlands, skirts, roofing thatch, sandals, baskets, rain capes, rope and fishnets. They have a carrot-like rhizome and through selective breeding a sugar-laden rhizome variety was developed.
• Taro (Colocasia esculenta) was grown for its edible tubers and leaves that were cooked.
• Hue or bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) produces a fruit that was dried and used as a storage vessel.
• Aute or paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) was regularly cut when it was two to four metres tall to produce fibrous inner bark. This was used to make tapa cloth for kites and loincloths.
• Uwhi or winged yam (Dioscorea alata) was grown for food in the north.
• Kuumara or sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) was the most valuable staple crop. Heritage varieties are used in Te Parapara garden, two of those DNA-tested to the 13th century and the others possibly introduced by the early sailors and whalers. ⁽²⁰⁾

Kuumara were treated with great care according to traditional methods, which involved making a puke-ahu or mound in which the tuber was planted. These mounds improved drainage, generally preventing the tuber from rotting. But it also increased the surface area around the tuber, which increased the temperature and extended the growing season. The worst pest to damage the pre-European kuumara crops was the Kumara Caterpillar Moth. ⁽²¹⁾ This could be picked off by hand but early European visitors reported the kuumara fields were often fumigated with the pungent smoke from fires in which kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum) leaves had been placed. ⁽²²⁾

Kuumara would grow continually in tropical Polynesia but in the colder Aotearoa climate it was essential to safely store kuumara for long periods. They were often stored in sunken huts with a thatched roof and side drains. But the Maaori had invented specialised underground chambers called rua that could keep the kuumara dryer and cooler. ⁽²³⁾ These sometimes had ornamental carved entrances, like the example at Hamilton Gardens, ⁽²⁴⁾ but many were cut into banks with doors to keep out rodents and entrances hidden to avoid theft. ⁽²⁵⁾ The one in our garden has a massive concrete roof and would probably make a good nuclear fallout shelter.

Like most populations in the ancient world, life was short and brutal and analysis of bone fragments ⁽²⁶⁾ suggest there was often a seasonal shortage of food. Kuumara crops and kuumara stores needed to be protected from theft and invasion. That meant settlement in tribal districts and fostering strong tribal alliances. Where this provided security and an abundance of food, it also encouraged the development of ancient crafts and arts. Ancient Maaori had an eastern Polynesian cultural aesthetic that could produce fine works of art. It’s unclear if there was any ornamental gardening on any scale, but the productive gardens were very carefully laid out. Most followed a quincunx pattern: the ‘five’ side of a dice repeated to form alternating rows. Best also described garden paths bordered with neat rows of stones.

Some of the Maaori craft can be seen in the carvings in Te Parapara Garden. The carved figures on the Waharoa (entrance portal) represent the story of Ruarangi and his battle with the Tahurangi. The pou whakarae (carved posts on the taaepa or palisade) represent specific ancestral figures important in Ngaati Wairere genealogy. The magnificent paataka (four legged storehouse) and the whataarangi (two legged storehouse) were used to store a range of food, tools and other possessions, and were designed with an overhang to keep out rats. ⁽²⁷⁾ The structures are covered in kokowai or red ochre prepared in the traditional manner on an open fire. ⁽²⁸⁾

Te Parapara Garden was developed from 2005 to 2010 in association with Nga Mana Toopu O Kirikiriroa. The fundraising and oversight of the garden’s development was the responsibility of Te Parapara Garden Trust. The Trust’s patron, Harry Puke, played a particularly valuable role in ensuring all of the many different organisations and interests were consulted. Most of the design and research was done by his son Wiremu Puke, who was partially inspired by the discovery of pre-European garden sites during the excavation of the Wairere Drive in northern Hamilton. Much of the funding for this garden was provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs through a lottery grant. The project was managed by Parks Manager Bill Featherstone. Other key people in the development of this garden included Piri Poutapu, Dante Bonica, carvers Sam Roa, Shane Tamaki and carvers of the Te Puia Maaori Arts and Crafts Institute at Whakarewarewa. The garden was officially opened in December 2008 by the Governor General His Excellency Anand Satyanand, witnessed by the Maaori King Te Arikinui Tuheitia Paki and Hamilton Mayor Bob Simcock.

References

1. Peter Sergel, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Hamilton Gardens, Phantom House, 2023
2. The Maaori language in this article uses double vowels instead of macrons, in accordance with the practices of Waikato Tainui.
3. Andrew Crowe, Pathway of the Birds- The voyaging achievements of Maaori and their Polynesian ancestors, Bateman, 2018, p.180
4. James Belich, Making Peoples, A History of the New Zealanders from Polynesian Settlement to the End of the Nineteenth Century, Penguin Books, 1996, p.38
5. Andrew Crowe, Pathway of the Birds- The voyaging achievements of Maaori and their Polynesian ancestors, Bateman, 2018, p.178
6. Wiremu Puke, conversations recorded by Geoff Doube, 2005 -2009
7. Wiremu Puke, Notes made over several years
8. Venetia Sherson article in Heritage NZ Journal, Issue 161, winter 2021. P.31
9. Wiremu Puke, conversations recorded by Geoff Doube, 2005 -2009
10. Helen Leach, 1,000 Years of Gardening in New Zealand, Reed, p71 *
11. Mere Roberts & Frank Weko, Maramataka: the Maori Moon Calendar, Research Report 283, 2006
12. Venetia Sherson article in Heritage New Zealand Journal, Issue 161, winter 2021. P.35
13. Plant list in appendix 4 of the Time Traveller’s Guide to Hamilton Gardens.
14. Photos of archaeological sites by W. Gumbley show the footprints of ancient kuumara puke laid
    out in a perfect grid.
15. Elsdon Best, Maori Agriculture, Te Papa Press,1925,p.32-34 *p.47 *
    Wiremu Green, Carving a Contemporary Replica of the 1769 ‘Joseph Banks’ Panel Using Pre-Steel Tools – Reviving a Traditional Maaori Carving Technique, Journal of Material Culture, 2019, p. 13
    Caving tools ranged from toki haruru (wide bladed greenstone adze) and toki matariki (an adze made from package) to toki panekeneki (a small finishing adze)(16)
16. Old aerial photographs taken by K. Jones held in Hamilton Public Library
17. Walton and Cassels 1992-166 and map by C. Edkins
18. Helen Leach, 1,000 Years of Gardening in New Zealand, Reed, p35 & 71 *
19. Helen Leach, 1,000 Years of Gardening in New Zealand, Reed, p49 *
20. Seven varieties of kuumara are currently grown in this garden: parapara, poukena, rekamaroa, taputini, mahina, rekarawa and huti huti. Poukena was thought to have been introduced by the early whalers and sealers from the 1800s. Venetia sherson article in Heritage New Zealand Journal, Issue 161, winter 2021. P.31
21. Moth caterpillar (Agrius convolvuli)
22. Wiremu Puke, Notes made over several years.
    Wiremu Puke, Conception, construction and the cultural significance of Te Parapara Garden in Hamilton, Aotearoa, Journal of New Zealand & Pacific Studies, Vol 9, No.2 Aug 2020, p.179 – 198
23. Helen Leach, 1,000 Years of Gardening in New Zealand, Reed, p61 *
24. Roger Neich, Tradition and Change in Maaori and Pacific Art, Auckland Museum, 2013, p.182
25. Elsdon Best, Maori Agriculture, Te Papa Press,1925, p.92 *
26. Helen Leach, 1,000 Years of Gardening in New Zealand, Reed, p60 *
27. Elsdon Best, Maori Storehouses and Kindred Structures, A.R. Shearer, Government Printer, 1974, p.92
28. Ochre or iron oxide gel called mineral ferrihydrite was gathered from several sites around the district and heated on an open fire to oxidise and dehydrate to bring out the red colour. The source and heat determine the final colour but red usually needs 750°C. After burning the ochre is ground and mixed with vegetable oil.