Nor'West News: December 20, 2016
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6<br />
Tuesday <strong>December</strong> <strong>20</strong> <strong>20</strong>16<br />
Our People<br />
NOR’WEST NEWS<br />
Tasman Gillies<br />
Environmentalist follows in the<br />
Tasman Gillies, 27 of Ngāi Tahu (Ngāti Wheke), is a third<br />
generation tāngata tiaki and guardian of Lyttelton Harbour.<br />
Annabelle Dick talked to him about his work and how he<br />
almost followed a completely different career path<br />
You work for Ngāi Tahu, can<br />
you tell me about what you do?<br />
I’m an environmental advisor<br />
– mahinga kai monitoring and<br />
enhancement for Ngāi Tahu.<br />
You’re also tāngata tiaki –<br />
what does that mean and what<br />
do you do in that role?<br />
Tāngata tiaki are guardians<br />
responsible for managing fisheries<br />
resources. In regards to<br />
my role as tāngata tiaki, it’s an<br />
ongoing thing. It’s the legislative<br />
side so it’s a ministerial appointment.<br />
Effectively we manage<br />
the mātaitai (an identified<br />
traditional fishing ground with<br />
special status) and issue customary<br />
fishing permits for the ngāti<br />
wheke area. In the harbour, ngāti<br />
wheke is a representative on the<br />
Whakaraupo/Lyttelton Catchment<br />
Management Plan so I’m<br />
the science advisor for that.<br />
You’re a third generation<br />
tāngata tiaki, can you tell me<br />
about your family and their<br />
involvement?<br />
My pōua was involved in<br />
the establishment of the first<br />
mataitai reserve at Rapaki. The<br />
whole purpose is a recognition<br />
of rangatiratanga and the<br />
relationship with the traditional<br />
fishing grounds and customary<br />
fishing management within the<br />
mataitai. They were made the<br />
first ever tāngata tiaki.<br />
Did having the family connection<br />
prompt you to follow it<br />
as a career?<br />
It definitely influenced it, but I<br />
didn’t go to university intending<br />
to study it or come out involved<br />
in this area. My Dad’s a GP so<br />
I went down to study medicine<br />
and in the first year I knew it<br />
wasn’t for me. I’m not sure if I<br />
would’ve got into my second<br />
year, but regardless, I didn’t want<br />
to do it. Funnily enough, I told<br />
my dad and he laughed and said<br />
“good, because I didn’t think<br />
you wanted to do it, but I didn’t<br />
want to influence your decision.”<br />
I laugh at that because I could’ve<br />
saved myself a year but, at the<br />
same time, I had to realise it.<br />
I changed course and ended<br />
up gravitating towards marine<br />
LEGACY: Tasman Gillies is continuing his family legacy as a<br />
third generation tangata tiaki.<br />
PHOTO: NGĀI TAHU<br />
science and work associated with<br />
mahinga kai.<br />
Did you learn a lot about your<br />
family in the process?<br />
Yes. You start to run into<br />
people that used to know my<br />
pōua and talk to them. The<br />
people I work with now at Ngāi<br />
Tahu worked with him when<br />
he was alive and, being an iwi,<br />
some of them are related to him<br />
as well so you hear stories. You<br />
definitely learn the technical<br />
things like dates and specific<br />
legislative parts and what<br />
mātaitai is and taiapure.<br />
Considering the involvement<br />
your pōua had, do you feel any<br />
pressure to live up to his name?<br />
Not at all – if anything it’s<br />
more understanding about what<br />
he wanted. The process that him<br />
and Henry Couch were involved<br />
with, and what they did to get<br />
the mātaitai in place, it was a<br />
lengthy process. For me, it’s<br />
about understanding what he<br />
wanted to achieve because Ngāi<br />
Tahu always uses the saying<br />
“Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri, ā muri<br />
ake ne,” which means “for us<br />
and our children after us.” It’s a<br />
pretty straightforward concept.<br />
Knowing my pōua was involved<br />
in that whole process, and being<br />
third generation tāngata tiaki, it’s<br />
quite a literal thing for me. In his<br />
mind, he wanted to sustain the<br />
fisheries and have management<br />
over it so our generation could<br />
too. It comes back to the concept<br />
of kaitiakitanga, or kaitiaki,<br />
which means guardianship<br />
or stewardship over the<br />
environment. Ngāti Wheke<br />
is my hapu, so that’s Rāpaki.<br />
Our area is Lyttelton Harbour<br />
or Whakaraupo and because<br />
I whakapapa back to there,<br />
kaitiaki or guardianship is also<br />
a responsibility – so our world<br />
view is we have a responsibility<br />
to take care of it as well.<br />
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