Rā Maumahara New Zealand Wars Commemorations
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TE PŪTAKE O TE RIRI, HE RĀ MAUMAHARA
The flags lining Cambridge’s main streets mark a national day of remembrance – held on 28 October – when we to acknowledge the lives lost during the New Zealand Land Wars.
The flags lining Cambridge’s main streets mark a national day of remembrance – held on 28 October – when we to acknowledge the lives lost during the New Zealand Wars. In te reo Māori this day is called Te Pūtake o te Riri, He Rā Maumahara. Te Pūtake o Te Riri means the reason or source of anger or rage, a reference to the lasting importance and disastrous impact these wars and conflicts had on Māori.
Find out more about the New Zealand Wars with Te Ara Wai Journeys
The Waipā region was and continues to be shaped by events that occurred during the New Zealand Wars: the British Crown invaded the Waikato in 1863-4, then confiscated 1.2 million acres of Māori land. Our story is of a journey of two peoples through a landscape, ruptured by war, and now undergoing processes of healing and reconciliation. Learn more about the events of 1863-4.
To find out more and tour areas of local interest, visit the Te Ara Wai website
The flags
Designed by local artist, Henriata Nicholas, they show four takarangi representing the four rivers that flow within the district: Waipā, Mangapiko, Waikato, and Pūniu. The takarangi pattern depicts a momentum of force that is forever moving – the bringing together of knowledge in its centre, flowing outwards disseminating that knowledge. The kape (seed pod) pattern is representative of generational connection to the whenua in this district and beyond.
The colour choice is also symbolic. As explained in the Waipā District Council’s Facebook post,
Facebook post by Waipā Council
“White – the spiritual connection Māori have with the whenua. Red – loss of lives, the blood scorched land taken by colonists during and after the wars. Black – te pouri, the mourning of lives lost, land lost as a direct impact of the Land Wars.”