The wāhi tapu and mahinga kai associated with the Anatori and Paturau Rivers link present day Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu physically and emotionally with their tūpuna. The maint enance of the customs and traditions associated with these awa is therefore para mount to the wellbeing of Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu. WEST OF SEPARATION POINT / TE MATAU Te Matau (Separation Point) is a strategic landform, a physical marker that is steeped in ancestral history. In the 1800’s Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu war party and allies left Motueka, roun ded Te Matau and entered Go lden Bay (Taitapu). The participation of Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu in the conquest around Te Matau and subsequent settlement cemented our rights and rangatiratanga. Te Matau is an important marker and it def ines the various takiwā within the Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu ro he. Te Matau lies northwest of Nelson on the northern coast of the South Island, and separates Tasman Bay from Golden Bay. Wakapuaka, Whakatū, Waimea, Motueka, Mōhua, Te Tai Tapu these have been broken into two areas - Wakapuaka to Te Matau, to Te Tai Tapu and the West Coast. Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu had rights in all of th ese regions at 1840 th rough raupatu and settlement. Today the Mōhua whānau and Motueka/Wakatū whānau use Te Matau as their takiwā indicator. Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu have shared rights with our allies to lands in the bays around Se Our occupation of these sites and the abundance of natural resources paration Point. al l contribute to its significance. Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu oc cupation sites can stillbe found around Te Matau today, and are an indication of the decades of Māori traditional and cultural history with these waterways and lowland forests. Te Matau has a mauri of its own. This life force binds the spiritual world with the physical world. All elements of the natural world have a life force and it is this life force that connects the people with this maunga. Mauri is therefore the basis of the spiritual relationship of Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu with Te Matau. The area had abundant moss animals, or lace corals, which were thought to provide habitat for juvenile finfish such as snapper or terakihi. Fur seals were, and still are, found along the coast, particularly on granite headlands. Traditionally at Separation Point, the nearby beach provided a plentifu l number of seals for harvest and a number of small caves sheltered tūpuna as they cleaned and sewed up sealskins. Blue penguins (kororā) feed at sea during the day and return to burrows at night. Bellbirds, fantails and kererū (wood pigeons) feed on the berries and were an important resource for Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu. Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu whānau and extended whānau gatherings occurred frequently, depending on seasonal resources available for harvest from land and sea. Each season of the year brought different resources to fruition for harvest. These harvests were an opportunity to renew social and familial ties, but many people were also needed to carry out the jobs associated with the harvest. The traditions associated with the area and its resources have been integral to the expression of kaitiakitanga. The mātauranga and wāhi tapu associated with Te Matau are taonga Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu wish to protect for future generations. The relationship of Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu with Te Matau is as important to present day whānau as it was to our tūpuna. TE HOIERE / PELORUS RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES The Pelorus is an important and sa cred awa for Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu. Te Hoiere, at the mouth of the P elorus River, was where the Northern Allies from Kapiti landed. This taua included a number of Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu chiefs. The attack on Pelorus began in the Sounds and ended with a war party pursuing up the Pelorus River. Te Tau Ihu Statutory Acknowledgements Page 95 of 163