Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui has an environmental world -view of Wharepapa strongly based on traditional cultural beliefs, knowledge, concepts and values. These traditional concepts and values, derived from traditional Māori knowledge (mātauranga Māo ri), have been maintained as fundamentally important in the way Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a- Māui view our relationship with Wharepap a. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui has maintained unbroken ahi kaa roa over Wharepapa. Te Ātiawa o Te Wa ka-a-Māui arikitanga of Wharepapa gives our iwi responsibilities and gives meaning and effect to the customs of kaitiaki and manaakitanga and the obligations we have as tangata whenua of Motueka. WHAREHUNGA BAY RECREATION RESERVE (ON ARAPAOA ISLAND) Wharehunga is extremely significant to Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui. Strategically placed in Tōtaranui, the Pā was defended by a ditch and wal l system. The Wharehunga area has been occ upied by Te Ā tiawa o Te Wa ka-a-Māui sinc e raupatu and is the site of numerous wāhi tap u. Wharehunga Bay was used as a Pā, as well a site for gathering kai and other resources within the Bay. There once was abundant birdlife, including shags, pied stilts, pied oyster catc hers and godwits, and penguins were frequent visitors. The Pā site has an impressive series of pits located on its spur, including forty-four terraces and a large grassed area. There is also evidence of argillite working areas, as well as middens at the bay. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui whānau have a long standing tradition of gathering kai and other taonga, and utilising the resources of the whenua, moana and motu by Wharehunga. All elements of the natural environment possess a life force and all forms of life are related. Mauri is a critical element of the spiritual relationship of Te Ātiawa o Te Waka - a-Māui with th e area. The mauri of Wharehunga represents the essence that binds the physical and spiritual elements of all things together, generating and upholding all life. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui is connected to Wharehunga by our long standing association and cultural values that reinforce Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui whakapapa, associations and history within Te Waipounamu and especially Tōtaranui. WEST OF SEPARATION POINT / TE MATAU Kia mau koe ki ngā kupu o ou Tūpuna Te Matau (Separation Point) is a strategic landform - a physical marker that is steeped in ancestral history. Te Matau defines the various takiwā within our rohe. Te Matau lies northwest of Nelson on the northern coast of the South Island, and separates Tasman Bay from Go lden Bay. Wakatū, Waimea, Motueka, Mōhua, Te Tai Tapu have been broken into two areas - Wakatū to Te Mat au, to Te Tai Tapu and the West Coast. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Mā ui had rights in all o f these regions at 1840 through raupatu. Today the Mōhua whānau and Motueka/Wakatū whānau use Te Matau as their takiwā indicator. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui o Te Waka -a-Māui, by geographical choice and necessity, are coastal dwellers who have placed high cultural and historical values upon the foreshore, seabed, and coastal and maritime waterways. Te Ātiawa o Te Wa ka-a- Māui view the coastline as our gardens, and the kaimoana are the fruits of our gardens. The lands in the bays around Separation Point and the abundance of natural resources all contribu te to its significance. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui occupation sites can still be fo und around Te Matau t oday and are an indicati on of the decades of Māori traditional and cultural history. Te Tau Ihu Statutory Acknowledgements Page 118 of 163