A Cultural Impact Assessment
of the Matata Wastewater Scheme.
The senior Ngati Rangitihi Chief Tangihia Tionga (1778-1870)
Produced by Tangihia Consultants and Associates Ltd
11 Pakeha Street, RD4 Matata, Whakatane 3194. Phone (07) 3222075
Email: joos@xtra.co.nz
in regard to
the Whakatane District Council’s
Resource Consent Application # 67708 for
the Matata Wastewater scheme
March 2014
Ko Tarawera te Maunga
Ko Te Awa o Te Atua te Awa
Ko Te Arawa te waka
Ko Ngati Rangitihi te Iwi
INTELLECTUAL_PROPERTY
The Ngati Rangitihi Raupatu Trust Incorporated retains all intellectual property rights over
information and material gathered for and included in this report. This report is available to the
Whakatane District Council and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council for reference in the planning of
and applications for resource consents for the Whakatane District Council’s Matata Waste Scheme in
relation to which the Whakatane District Council has applied for Resource Consents under
Application number 67708. The use of this report by the Whakatane District Council or any other
party in any other circumstances (e.g. subsequent resource consent applications for other projects)
shall be subject to the written approval of the Ngati Rangitihi Raupatu Trust Inc.
An Assessment of the Cultural Impact of the Matata Wastewater Scheme
By Tangihia Consultants and Associates Limited
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Introduction
This report is an assessment of the cultural impacts of the proposed the Matata Wastewater scheme
and how these impacts could be lessened.
It has arisen because the Whakatane District Council has applied to the Bay of Plenty Regional
Council for Resource Consents under the Resource Management Act for a proposed pressure
Wastewater Water scheme for Matata.
By declaring Matata a “Maintenance Zone” The Regional Council have placed Tangata whenua in a
bind where we either have to pay for expensive upgrades to our septic tanks or else opt for the
proposed Wastewater scheme being proposed by the Whakatane District Council.
Given the level of deprivation in Matata the majority of Tangata whenua are being forced to opt for
the proposed Matata Wastewater Scheme.
The Whakatane District Council has applied for Resource Consents for a “pressure” type Wastewater
Scheme for Matata in which:
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Each household is to have a grinder pump inside a holding tank with a 24 hour holding
capacity; and
The grinder pump will be connected by a small diameter pipe to a plastic road side sewer
main ; and
The sewer mains will carry raw sewerage to a treatment plant that will be located on Oniao
land to the East of Matata; and
Partially treated Wastewater is to be pumped from the treatment plant to a Wastewater
Disposal Area located on sand dunes East of the Tarawera River mouth.
However there are major aspects of the Wastewater Scheme proposed by the Whakatane District
Council which are culturally unacceptable to Ngati Rangitihi as documented in this Cultural Impact
Assessment Report.
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Whakapapa
We whakapapa to our environment and our environment is part of our culture that forms our inner
stream of consciousness that defines our identity as a people.
Matata is our Turangawaewae and the site of our only Rangitihi marae.
Our Tupuna always maintained Ahika (occupation) in the Matata Coastal area since the arrival of the
Arawa waka although it was often at great cost because we vulnerable to attacks by Northern tribes.
Today Ngati Mahi, the Tangihia Hapu (Ngati Tionga), Ngati Ihu and Tewareiti are the four Hapu of
Ngati Rangitihi that are recognised by the Crown.
Our Arawa Tupuna (ancestors) arrived on the first voyage of Te Arawa Waka and they first made
land fall on the beach just to the East of Matata (Otamarora) in 1350 AD.
The landing place of the Arawa waka was named Kopua Kuku which denoted the muscle power it
took to re-launch it for voyage along the coast of Tai-a-Paniwhaniwha to Maketu.
We are the descendants of the Tainui Chief Tangiharuru, the Mataatua Chiefs Toroa and Pukeko and
the Arawa Chiefs Tamatekapua and Tuwharetoa.
The Mataatua Whakapapa of David Potter is typical of the Tangihia Hapu of Ngati Rangitihi.
Totora
Wairaka
Tamatea Kitehuatahi
Wimua
Tapui
Tamate pihiorehua
Tauru o-te-rangi
Irapeke
Awatope
Koira
Pukeko
Tutehoenga
Tawari
Tamakaitawhiti
Te Amo
Whaeateao
Tamakoe
Tewhareiti
Rotokohu
Tionga
Tangihia Tionga
Tangihia Tionga
Ngatiira Tangihia
Ngatiira Tangihia
Amelia Savage
Amelia Savage
Thomas Tangihia
Thomas Tangihia
David Potter
David Potter
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While we have strong Mataatua descent lines we are principally Arawa because when it comes to
intertribal marriages traditionally all things being equal the male line is regarded as being the
strongest.
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Matauranga
Around three centuries ago the number of our Ngati Pukeko Tupuna had out grown the available
food resources in the Rangitaiki River Valley so they relocated to the coast East of Matata.
As was the Custom they brought the bones of their dead with them and they reburied them in the
area of sand dunes between Otara-o- Muturangi and Wahieroa (at the end of Walker road).
They built the Matata Pa which was described John Wilson who visited the area in 1839 “as
singularly situated on a small island surrounded by the most extensive swamps.”
The Matata Pa had an area of several acres and building it involved mining thousands of cubic
meters of sand from the inside toe of the adjacent sand dunes and transporting it by waka to the
construction site.
The most extensive swamps as described by John Wilson are gone today but the earth works of the
Matata Pa site remain on the corner of Thornton and Grieg Road. The Pa site and the fan of
undulations on the inside edge of the adjacent sand dunes where the sand was mined are quite
discernable in satellite photographs of the area.
The Wastewater disposal area is Tapu because the bones of our Ngati Pukeko ancestors and fifty
Kingites including several Ngati Awa Chiefs were buried in that stretch of sand dunes behind the
beach.
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The Ngati Rangitihi Raupatu Trust.
The Ngati Rangitihi Raupatu Trust Inc. (the Trust) has a data base of about two thousand members.
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The Trust represents the Wai 996 cluster of seventeen Historic Ngati Rangitihi Whanau,
Hapu and Iwi Waitangi Tribunal claims that include the coastal area affected by the Matata
Wastewater Scheme. The trust also has three contemporary claims represented by legal
counsel for urgent hearing currently before the Tribunal.
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The Trust also represents the Tangihia Hapu who the Crown has accepted as applicants for
the Recognition of Customary Practises and Customary Marine title under the Takutai
Moana Act 2011.
The Customary Marine area of the Tangihia Hapu extends along the coast from Otamarakau East to
Otara-o-Muturangi and twenty five miles out to sea.
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The Tangihia Hapu (Ngati Tionga)
From the late 1700s it was the Tangihia Hapu who maintained Ahika on the coast from Otamarakau
to Otara-o-Muturangi whereas Ngati Mahi ,Tewhareiti and Ngati Ihu the other hapu of Ngati
Rangitihi were based inland on the shores of Lake Tarawera.
The Tarawera eruption in 1886 changed everything and forced Ngati Mahi, Tewhareiti and Ngati Ihu
to join the Tangihia Hapu on the Coast in the Matata area.
While we are all Tangata whenua today a Wastewater Scheme will impact on Wahi Tapu areas which
are sacred to the Tangihia Hapu.
In our Culture our Wahi Tapu (sacred places) have particular cultural worth and deep spiritual
meaning.
This presents us with a dilemma because for strong spiritual reasons the significance of these places
is part of our heritage and the knowledge about them belongs to the Tangihia Hapu and not to the
public generally.
The Tangihia Hapu has carefully maintained a culture of silence about the location of our Wahi Tapu
sites and Tapu areas, particularly about where the bones of our ancestors are buried. This is why we
have deliberately avoided registering our Wahi Tapu sites with the Historic Places Trust and why we
have not had a silent file with the Whakatane District Council.
Silence is used as a protection mechanism so our sacred areas are not desecrated by archaeologists,
by artefact hunters and by the public in general.
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Wahi Tapu (sacred places)
While there are many Wahi Tapu in the Matata area these are the sacred areas that will be
desecrated by the Matata Wastewater Scheme:
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The Wastewater disposal site which is in the area where is where the bones of our Ngati
Pukeko Tupuna were buried and where fifty Kingites including several Ngati Awa Chiefs were
buried in the area in the aftermath of the battle of Kaokaoroa; and
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Section 4 on the corner of Heale and Mair Streets is a Wahi Tapu site that is vested in the
Otamarora Trust ; and
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The Tapu site marked with a white cross on the roadside verge in Heale Street (on the
Western side of the Waitepuru Stream: GPS co-ordinates -37.890079, 176.759886); and
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The Wahi Tapu site on the corner of Arawa Street and St John Street is where the Tionga
Wharenui (the house of Tionga) was located from the mid 1700s until 1928 and it is where
many of our ancestors are buried.
6.1 Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Te Tiriti is relevant to the Whakatane District Council’s application for Resource Consent for the
Matata Wastewater Scheme because under Te Tiriti o Waitangi the Crown guaranteed to protect our
absolute authority over our lands and all possessions including taonga as long as we wish to retain
them.
6.2
Legislation
The Resource Management Act 1991(RMA)
The RMA enshrines the Crowns obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the Resource Consent
process where cultural issues such as Wahi Tapu are concerned. Section six and eight of the RMA
include specific reference to Wahi Tapu:
6.3
Sec 6:
In achieving the purpose of this act, all person exercising functions and powers
under it, in relation to managing the use, development and protection of natural and
physical resources, shall recognize and provide for the following matters of national
importance:
(e)
the relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands ,
waters, wahi tapu, and other taonga (Parliamentary Counsel Office 2008).
The Takutai Moana Act (2011)
Furthermore under the Takutai Moana Act (2011) applicants for Permits or Resource Consents
affecting our Customary Marine area (in this case the Whakatane District Council) are required to
consult with the Tangihia Hapu.
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Consultation
The Whakatane District Council has been consulting with the Tangihia Hapu Takutai Moana
Applicants on the proposed Matata Wastewater Scheme as required under the Takutai Moana Act
(2011).
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In order to be fully informed we have been conducting inquiries about existing pressure
wastewater treatment installations and about alternative types of Wastewater Schemes:
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We have studied a report by engineers on the problems that have arisen with the operation
pressure Wastewater Systems that was installed in the State of Victoria in 2001; and
We have investigated the viability of Vacuum Wastewater Schemes; and
We have investigated the functioning of the Maketu Pressure Wastewater Scheme; and
We have consulted with Sustainable Matata Inc, a significant Matata Community
representative entity; and
We have consulted with the Ministry of Heath on the alternative of composting toilets; and
We attended a meeting of the Kahui Kaumatua on the Matata Wastewater Scheme ; and
We have consulted with the pollution control officer for the BOP Regional Council on a
pollution problem we have identified with the proposed pressure Wastewater Scheme for
Matata; and
We have applied to the Electricity Authority to have households with sewerage pressure
pumps recognised as a sub set of vulnerable consumers; and
We have consulted with the Tangihia Hapu on the cultural issues and solutions.
As a result of engaging in consultation, our inquiries with the Department of Health and together
our other investigations we believe we are now in a fully informed position to assess the cultural
impacts of the proposed Wastewater scheme.
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Cultural issues identified
The proposed Matata Wastewater scheme raises significant cultural issues for Ngati Rangitihi:
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The reticulation of the town will desecrate Wahi Tapu and this is culturally unacceptable.
Disposing of partially treated wastewater in our environment is culturally unacceptable.
The disposing of partially treated wastewater in a Tapu area where the bones of our Tupuna
were buried is culturally unacceptable.
To simply rely on the accidental discovery of koiwi and archaeological artefacts in this
technological era is culturally unacceptable.
Locating the Wastewater Treatment Plant in proximity South East of our Rangitihi Marae is
culturally unacceptable.
The effect of the rates increase and higher electricity bills on Ngati Rangitihi is culturally
unacceptable.
A “pressure” Wastewater Scheme where sewerage overflows will occur once our electricity
is disconnected is culturally unacceptable.
A pressure Wastewater scheme that can leak raw sewerage into our environment is
culturally unacceptable.
The increased contamination of our customary Marine area by Matata’s partially treated
Wastewater is culturally unacceptable.
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8.1
Wastewater treatment
The disposal of partially treated wastewater containing pathogens in our environment is culturally
unacceptable.
Ultra violet light (UV) treatment could be used to kill the pathogens in the wastewater however UV
light treatment has not included by the Whakatane District Council in the proposed Matata
Wastewater Scheme and this is culturally unacceptable.
Whakatane District Council Engineers have indicated the maximum estimated cost of UV treatment is
two hundred thousand Dollars which seems to us to be an inconsequential amount given the Matata
Wastewater scheme will cost several million dollars.
8.2
The Wastewater disposal area
Disposing of partially treated wastewater in an area where the bones of our ancestors are buried
is culturally unacceptable.
Ground Penetrating Radar exists in our technological era and we know it was used to find unmarked
graves in the sand on the Otago Peninsular.
Like in the Otago Peninsular instance the bones of our ancestors were buried in sand and therefore
we believe it should be possible for the Whakatane District Council to locate them for removal in the
Wastewater disposal area by using Ground Penetrating Radar.
Also Archaeological artefacts are very significant cultural items.
The old Whakatane Road used by travellers for hundreds of years skirted the inside toe of the sand
dunes in the wastewater disposal area. We have been told by a prominent historian that it could be
a treasure trove of archaeological artefacts.
Likewise the Treatment Plant area could also be a treasure trove of archaeological artefacts because
British troops were stationed there for many years in colonial times. The treatment plant area it was
part of troop’s parade ground and their shooting range.
We also believe it is possible that burials took place in the treatment plant area during the 1918 flu
epidemic.
Then later during World War 11 the American Army was stationed at the Rangitihi Marae and they
Americans also used the Treatment plant area as part of their parade ground (Bull Ring) and for their
rifle range.
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Our ancestors bones and archaeological artefacts are very vulnerable to destruction by earth moving
machinery and it is not cultural acceptable for ground work to begin without the Wastewater
disposal area and the treatment plant first being scanned with GPR to locate any Koiwi and
archaeological artefacts for safe removal.
8.3
The accidental discovery protocol.
The accidental discovery protocol is culturally unacceptable to the Tangihia Hapu.
It was the Tangihia Hapu who were the Tangata whenua of the Matata Coastal area and it was not
until 1886 that Ngati Mahi, Tewhareiti and Ngati Ihu permanently joined us on the coast.
Therefore as the original Tangata whenua of the Matata coastal area any Koiwi discovered during
the Matata Wastewater project will be the bones of our Tangihia ancestors.
The person employed by the Whakatane District Council to recover Koiwi under the “accidental
discovery protocol” is not a member of our Tangihia Hapu and this is culturally unacceptable.
There are appropriate members Tangihia Hapu who are available to recover the bones of our
ancestors and archaeological artefacts when they are discovered by accident or when they have been
located with Ground Penetrating Radar.
8.4
The proximity of the Treatment Plant to our Rangitihi Marae
It is culturally unacceptable to locate the proposed Sewerage Treatment Plant South East of our
Marae.
There are times on our Marae when a South East breeze carries the odour from Harry Burt milking
his cows. This means there will be times when the odour discharge from the Sewerage Treatment
Plant will affect our Rangitihi Marae and this is culturally unacceptable.
Where the Whakatane District Council’s application for a Resource Consent to discharge odour is
concerned locating the Treatment plant on the sand dunes at the Wastewater disposal area (as
originally proposed) would be more culturally acceptable.
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8.5
The economic impact on Ngati Rangitihi culture.
The economic impact of the Matata Wastewater scheme on Ngati Rangitihi is culturally
unacceptable.
Matata is deprived community that in around 2008 was designated nine out of ten on the New
Zealand Deprivation Index, ten being the worst with people on fixed incomes and no jobs.
There has since been a global economic recession, food, electricity and insurance costs have
increased substantially and rates in Matata have more than doubled therefore a survey is not
needed to show that the level of deprivation in Matata is now much worse today.
Because of the high level of deprivation in Matata there has long been a trend of Ngati Rangitihi
moving away from their Marae to the cities where they soon become disconnected from their
culture.
The increase in rates and the higher electricity bills because of the Matata Wastewater Scheme will
only have the tendency to drive still more Ngati Rangitihi to the cities and this is culturally
unacceptable.
8.6
Our health and wellbeing
Sewerage overflows are a public health hazard and are culturally unacceptable.
The level of deprivation in Matata is such that many households struggle to pay their electricity bills.
Although at present because we have septic tanks our health and wellbeing is not immediately
affected when our electricity is disconnected.
However with the proposed Matata Wastewater Scheme there is only a 24 hour reserve which
means once the electricity is disconnect in future over flows will soon occur and public health and
our well being will be quickly affected and this is culturally unacceptable.
Maketu has a pressure wastewater system and our inquiries have revealed that households there
have experienced sewerage overflows and that the fire brigade has had to be called out to clean up.
The best solution to the problem of electricity disconnections would be for the Whakatane District to
change a Vacuum Wastewater system for Matata which does not require grinder pumps.
Failing that the solution to overcoming the problem of electricity disconnections with the proposed
pressure system (suggested by the Regional Council’s Pollution Control Officer) is to install solar
panels to power the grinder pumps.
Furthermore installing Solar panels would be a fixed cost and could prove a lot less expensive for rate
payers than the unknown cost of wiring all the households in Matata for grinder pumps.
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8.7
Raw sewerage leaks
Raw sewerage leaks in our environment are culturally unacceptable.
Our inquiries reveal that Engineers for a “pressure” wastewater scheme in Victoria report that
sewerage leaks can and do occur in pressure wastewater systems due to various component failures
and to the failure of the welded joint where the property connection line joins the main sewer.
The leakage of raw sewerage into our groundwater is much less culturally acceptable than the
partially treated wastewater seepage from our current septic tanks.
Our inquiries also reveal that that “Vacuum” Wastewater schemes require half the water of a
pressure Wastewater scheme.
Changing to a Vacuum Wastewater system in Matata would eliminate raw sewerage leaks and
would also save the District’s rate payers the huge cost of upgrading the Matata water supply which
only just meets the current demand.
8.8 Telemetry controls
The proposed Matata Wastewater Scheme does not have Telemetry Controls and this is culturally
unacceptable.
A report by Engineers for a pressure Wastewater scheme in Victoria that was installed in 2001
recommend that Telemetry control of the individual household grinder pump is necessary for
efficiency and ease of maintenance so those operating the system are able to monitor alarms
without relying on customer feedback and to control pumps remotely for start ups and systems shut
down for maintenance.
From our cultural stand point Telemetry Controls are essential with a pressure Wastewater scheme
because they enable the remote monitory of the alarms for the grinder pumps which means
operators do not have to just rely on customer feedback to prevent overflows.
8.9
A district wide scheme
The level of sewerage contamination and dairy effluent entering our Customary Marine area is
culturally unacceptable.
Unfortunately is evident from our reading of the USR Report that the Matata wastewater disposal
area is likely to further contribute to the contamination of our Customary Marine area via the
Tarawera River.
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The amount of sewerage from the Edgecumbe treatment plant and dairy farm effluent this is
entering the Tarawera River is already culturally unacceptable and the disposal Matata’s wastewater
will only add more contamination.
A review of the Regional Council Tarawera River Plan is due in eighteen months time and given the
level of contamination that is entering our Customary Marine we believe the Matata Wastewater
Scheme should be considered in the light of the upcoming review because it is clear that a district
wide wastewater scheme is called for.
9.
In conclusion
Unfortunately there are major aspects of the Whakatane District Council’s proposed Wastewater
Scheme for Matata that are culturally unacceptable as has been documented in this report.
Never the less the proposed Matata Wastewater scheme could be made more culturally acceptable
if the Whakatane District Council were to amend their Resource Consent application as follows:

By including the use of Ground Penetrating Radar in the Resource Consent Application to
locate the bones of our ancestors buried the Wastewater disposal area so they can be safely
removed before any ground begins; and
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By the Whakatane District Council employing members of the Tangihia Hapu to remove the
bones of our ancestors and any Archaeological Artefacts when they are discovered by GPR or
by accident; and
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By the Whakatane District Council altering the reticulation of Matata to avoid desecrating
the Wahi Tapu sites identified in this report; and
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Preferably by the Whakatane District Council changing to a more culturally acceptable
“Vacuum” Wastewater scheme for Matata that does not require grinder pumps; and
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By installing solar panels to power the grinder pumps if the Whakatane district Council does
not change to the much more culturally acceptable Vacuum Wastewater system; and
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By the Whakatane District Council relocating the Sewerage Treatment plant to a more
culturally acceptable location on the sand dunes at the Wastewater disposal area as was
originally proposed by Council Engineers; and
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By the Whakatane District Council treating the wastewater with UV light to kill pathogens in
order to make its disposal in our environment more culturally acceptable.
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This Cultural Impact Assessment Report produced by Tangihia Consultants and Associates Limited on
the proposed Matata Wastewater scheme will be published having been endorsed by the Tangihia
Hapu.
Tangihia Consultants and Associates Ltd.
11 Pakeha Street,
RD4 Matata,
Whakatane 3194
Phone (07)3222075
Email: joos@xtra.co.nz
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