|
I taua tau anō, ka whakahaua e Te Whenuanui kia hangaia he whare nui tonu, hai whakamaumaharatanga mō ngā tūpuhi i pā ki a Tūhoe i te wā o te pakanga. I te mea kātahi anō ka weto te ahi, ā, tērā pea ka mura anō, ka hangaia tēnei whare ki te tihi o Manawarū, he maunga whakataukī, he tūranga ka taea te wawao, he pā hoki nō Tūhoe i Ruatāhuna.
|
|
During 1872 Te Whenuanui began building a house to commemorate the hardships Tuhoe had suffered during the war. Because of the uncertainty of the peace, Manawaru, a hilltop pa near Ruatahuna, was chosen as a defensible site. However, growing confidence in the peace led the people to occupy the flats, and the house was not finished. It was termed 'te whare tihokahoka', the incomplete house. Te Kooti sent word to Te Whenuanui to complete it: an unfinished house carried grave portents for Maori. Te Whenuanui enlisted the assistance of Ngati Kotore, who were experts at building houses. His kinship with Ngati Kotore, and with the celebrated Tuhoe composer, Mihi-ki-te-kapua, helped to make this possible. Te Whenuanui intended the dimensions of the house to be a symbol for restoring Tuhoe pride. The house, opened in 1888, was named Te Whai-a-te-motu, memorialising Te Kooti's flight and pursuit by government forces.
|