In its first year, the Pūtōrino e Rua Project has already yielded positive results, exploring both the causes and the resulting social, cultural and environmental impacts of the 1855 landslide flood in the Rangitīkei River valley. The event was a reminder to local residents, Ngāti Hauiti, of the on-going need to adapt to the changing natural environment. Whakauae Research has been making steady progress in recovering historical information on how such events were mitigated.
The Pūtōrino e Rua Project is a partnership between Massey University, Whakauae Research (representing Ngāti Hauiti) and Te Rūnanga o Ngā Wairiki Ngāti Apa and is funded through Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund. With the support of Horizons Regional Council and in Site Archaeology, the project team is exploring the social and environmental implications of the 1855 landslide dam outburst flood in the Rangitīkei Valley near Rātā. This work involves complementing Rangitīkei mātauranga-ā-iwi with Western science to extend our record of natural hazard events beyond the scope of written history.
Earth and environmental scientist and lead researcher from Massey, Dr Callum Rees explains that the team is focused on identifying how to navigate similar future events.
“We see evidence of this event preserved in the landscape, the geology, the soils, and in the stories passed down from those who lived in the area at the time. Māori have lived in this valley for generations, constantly adapting and responding to natural disasters and major floods. Their oral histories provide crucial insights for modern society, helping us to extend our limited written records of these events and informing decisions around where to place new developments,” Dr Rees says.
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The Whakauae team includes Utiku Potaka, Ben Barton, Luke Enoka, and summer student Liam Barclay. The team are tasked with collecting Ngāti Hauiti kōrero tuku iho (traditional tribal narratives) and historical whakaahua (images) of the central Rangitīkei River valley to describe the tribal mātauranga (knowledge) surrounding the event, people and place.
The Ngāti Hauiti component of the research began in October 2024, when Ben was tasked with creating a comprehensive index of historical material and information required for the project. This also served as the framework for the digital document bank of primary source material, including Māori Land Court Minute books, and relevant images and maps.
In November 2024, Liam began transcribing handwritten Māori Land Court Minute Books, which contain material evidence related to the project. This was a challenging process that required patience, skill, a keen interest in the material. The first part of the transcribing is complete, which focused on ‘evidence in chief’ of witnesses.
During his time, he has been able to find records of burials for two of Hauiti's children, an unexpected treasure found among the minute books he spent the summer reading.
Of his time with Whakauae, he says, “the exciting thing about these kinds of discoveries, and where this may link to the broader aspirations of Whakauae, is that these findings might be found in the tari but eventually shared in the wharepuni.” Liam now goes to Te Rūnanga o Ngā Wairiki Ngāti Apa to complete the second part, focusing on ‘cross-examination’ of witnesses.
The team also went on a field trip into the Rangitīkei River valley to connect sites recorded in the minute books with the actual places. This process of ‘takahia te whenua’ or tramping the land helped give context to the material being transcribed and will eventually add to the mātauranga being compiled.
