POUWHAKAREWAREWA (STEPHENS ISLAND) Pouwhakarewarewa is also known as Takapourewa in Ngāti Kuia korero tuku iho. This wāhi tapu incorporates our cultural values of take kitea and take tupuna. It is a place which our tupuna discovered, named and used. Kupe pursued Pani and his wh ānau, who had deserted his crew, from Nukuwaiata along to Takapourewa where they came to a tragic end nearby. Their names are immortalised in the petrified form of rocks. Whakapapa Tatai hikohiko Ngāti Kuia korero tuku iho states that the island Kupe is likened to a formidable haka, hence the name. Ngāti Kuia continue to name generations Hine of their men Pouwhakarewarewa to this very Matuahautere day. Matuakuha Tukauae The name Takapourewa refers to the matapourewa trees which once grew right down Kuia to the shoreline and gave the island the Mihinoa dramatic appearance of a floating forest. Pouwhakarewarewa Pouwhakarewarewa / Takapourewa incorporates our cultural values of take ahi ka. The island contained Ngāti Kuia kainga and has revealed many archaeological sites associated with our iwi. Ngāti Kuia tupuna had considerable knowledge of places for gathering kai and other taonga, ways in which to use the resources of the m oana and tikanga for the proper and sustainable utilisation of resources. All these val ues remain important to Ngāti Kuia today. The is land, which overlooked a wha le migr ry rich in mahinga ation route, was ve kai, including tītī and other birds, and the surrounding sea was abundant in kaimoana. Pouwhakarewarewa / Takapourewa is one of the islands which is home to tuatara and other lizards (mokomoko). These animals are incorporated into Ngāti Kuia korero and our iwi were not afraid of them as other iwi hou were. Ngāti Kuia are iwi karakia and refer to the karakia as being as old as the tuata ra. In Ngāti Kuia korero wairua our tupuna Tawhaki was a tohunga who was consid ered a role model to other tohunga. Hi s mokai (pet) was a tuatara. Islands like Po uwhakarewarewa / Ta kapourewa an d Tīī were places where karakia was learnt. This place incorporates our cultural value of take ahi ka and is a core part of our cultural identity. We are identified as tangata whenua here. The island contained Ngāti Kuia kainga and has revealed many archaeological sites associated wit h our iwi. The island was within the tukuwhenua of Tutepourangi, an important Ngāti Kuia rangatira tupuna. Tutepourangi agreed to share the resources of the lands gifted by means of this tuku, which stretched from Separation Point (Te Matau) across to and including Rangitoto and Takapourewa, with another iwi hou. Pouwhakarewarewa / Takapourewa was included in the Te Hoiere areas identified by Ngāti Kuia Tupuna in 1883 as a place of their lands. Takapourewa / Pouwhakarewarewa symbolises for Ngāti Kuia people the intense nature of their relationship to their environment, and the mauri or life force that is contained in all parts of t he natural environment and binds the spiritual and physical worlds. Takapourewa / Pouwhakarewarewa incorporates the cultural value of Ngāti Kuia maur i. Ngāti Kuia have mana, whakapapa associations and history here. We have tikanga and kawa which involve tapu and noa at this place. We have a responsibility and obligation Te Tau Ihu Statutory Acknowledgements Page 30 of 163