building and carving purposes. Tūpuna gathered berries and other materials from these forests and hunted the manu associated with the forests. The Maitai River and its tributaries provided Ngāti Kōata with a natural pathway or Ara through the rohe. The main route to Whakapuaka and to Marlborough was via the Maitai Valley. The Whakapuaka Ara followed the Maitai upstream as far as the Waitarake (Sharlands and Packers Creeks), before joining the route over to the Lud and Teal Valleys. The Marlborough Ara followed the Waitarake, before dropping over a small hill to rejoin the Maitai. After passing a camping area at Mill Creek, the Ara ascended Maungatapu on the Dun Mountain side. Argillite, known to Maori as pakohe, found along the Nelson Mineral Belt including the Maitai Valley formed an important resource for nga iwi of Whakatu. Traditionally, it was a highly valued taonga - a mineral of great hardness and strength, which could be manufactured into all manner of tools and weapons, such as adzes. The tools fashioned from this taonga were used to collect and prepare kai, and other natural resources gathered from the land and sea. Archaeological finds, in the vicinity of the Maitai Valley, contain a range of stone tools and evidence of their manufacture. These taonga include; fishing gear, drill points, adzes, chisels, hammer stones and ornaments. Of great significance is the matauranga used to create the array of tools and the patterns and styles developed by Ngāti Kōata iwi. TE HOIERE / PELORUS RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES The Pelorus River Valley was occupied for generations prior to the tuku to Ngāti Kōata and subsequent peaceful settlement. Therefore, the traditional history associated with the river an d its resources spans hundreds of years for the Pelorus River. Pa sites, cultivation areas, waka landing sites and urupā are all associated with this sacred awa. Te Hoiere, at the mouth of the Pelorus River, was where Te Rauparaha and his war party from Kapiti landed. This taua included Ngāti Kōata chiefs, Te Whetu and Te Mako. Since their arrival in Te Tau Ihu o te Waka a Maui, Ngāti Kōata have harvested resources from the Pelorus River and surrounding valleys. Ngāti Kōata exercised kaitiaki over water in the Pelorus area. The protection of the water as a resource is culturally and spiritually important to Ngāti Kōata. Cultivations and traditions associated with the Pelorus River were extensive for Ngāti Kōata. For example, the pa and kāinga sites, areas of cultivation, places where harakeke was gathered and water birds hunted. Ngāti Kōata has maintained customary practices associated with the Pelorus River until the present day. The wāhi tapu and mahinga kai intertwined with this awa are plentiful and remain central to the cultural identity of Ngāti Kōata. The Rai River is an important tributary to the Pelorus River and is closely linked with the Pelorus in Ngāti Kōata‘s view. Ngāti Kōata have a close association with the Rai River through mahinga kai such as eeling and birding. WAIMEA RIVER, WAIROA RIVER, AND WAI-ITI RIVER AND THEIR TRIBUTARIES The fertile plains of the Waimea have a long and rich Māori history, reaching back to the earliest tribes known to have lived in the South Island. The name Waimea was originally “Waimeha”, which means brackish or “insipid water”. This name relates to the nature “ ” of the river as it passe s swamp s and mudflats on its way to sea. The significance of the Waimea River theref ore relates to the entire catchmen t, from the waters flowing from the mountains, Ka hukura (Gordon Range, Eastern slo pes of the Kahukura (Richmond) and Bryant Ran ges and the Dun mountain) through the flood plains to coastal waters and out to se a. The Waimea River and the region as a whole features in a large number of accounts relating to the period known as the Great Migration from Hawaiki to New Zealand, the period which spanned the 13th and 14th centuries. Rakaihautu, an early explorer from Te Tau Ihu Statutory Acknowledgements Page 62 of 163