LEWIS WILLIAMS, PHD

commonly referred to by mainstream
society) and in essence a whole way of life
had changed. Increasingly the Mount
became viewed as a desirable place to live
as well as being a popular holiday
destination for people out of the area and
abroad. A campground and swimming
baths were installed at the base of the
mount. Undoubtedly the port of Tauranga,
which can now accommodate passenger and cargo ocean liners hastened this development. The
1950 and ‘60s saw the influx of modernity including many more motorized vehicles. In
summary: ‚There were more people living at the mount, more houses, more shops‛ (Brian Dickson).
Reflecting on these changes Ngaroimata Cavill comments:
` “I always thought if it (Mauao) as something that belonged to us. And suddenly it was slowly
being taken away from us. I always thought of it as ours. Cause we were able to go there and go
fishing and diving for Kina and all that sort of thing......But then I grew up.......and this sort of
thing started happening and I thought ow what a shame...... I left in 1947. I don‟t think [it] had
started then. It was soon after that......I knew that they had done something [and] that we‟d lost
something for ever. To me we had lost a way of life”.
For Ngaroimata and many other local residents development in the area has obscured
the view of Mauao – something which has always been part of a continuing connection
with the Maunga:
“We are about the closest marae and we can‟t see it. That‟s really sad, really sad.......... It was
something I had and it was taken away from me....... That‟s how I feel about it........like I‟m saying
it‟s our tūpuna .........It‟s just a feeling one has when you grew up with him from a little child and
always looked up at it like being a part of one‟s life”.
Mauao: A Ngāi Te Rangi, view of wellbeing
“In relation to Mauao being whakapapa, it‟s actually another dimension that we‟re talking about
in terms of spirituality. That goes back to various atua [gods] and that‟s part of our makeup.
Whakawhanaungatanga and Kaitiangatanga are values of how we relate to the waters, the sea”
(Brian Dickson).
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