Franklin married and started up a general store in Opotiki, then about 1907 moved to Waimana and built the local store. He and his wife ran it, then one of their sons Henry, took over, followed by his sons Allen and Ray. The family owned the store for 96 years. Franklin also bought dairy farms, part of which I now own.
Further up our fertile valley into the Ureweras a future Tuhoe prophet was born in 1869. Rua Kenana was described at 37 as having exceptional leadership qualities and being highly intelligent. He established himself as a faith healer and also had a dream of self-reliance and leading the Tuhoe people.
He built an octagonal two-storied building on the very remote slopes of Mount Maungapohatu where he lived with his seven wives and prophesised that a similar octagonal building would be built in the future. Some believe he meant the Beehive in Wellington.
Spurred on by his enthusiasm, hundreds of Maori sold up their possessions and gave up their jobs to follow him into the heart of Te Urewera forest where they cleared bush and seeded the land, raising crops and cattle and selling the maize and grass seed at the local Bells’ store.
When Rua came once a month to the local store a forerunner would announce his coming. As Rua wouldn’t enter the shop everything had to be taken out onto the street on trestles. Rua’s arrival would be announced as, “Bell, Bell, Rua coming get ready”.
If one of Rua’s wives liked some material he would buy the whole bolt for her, along with a ton of flour, half a ton of sugar, sacks of mutton birds and mussels to be delivered half-way by truck. Then Rua’s men would transfer it onto five or six pack horses, taking one and a half days to return to Maungapohatu.
These goods were often paid for by blackened half crowns. It was rumoured Rua had convinced his followers that money was filthy and because of that they threw the coins into the fire.
Sadly Rua passed away in 1937 and the settlement wound down.
Imagine my delight when I read last year that milling had begun on long-dead native trees for Tuhoe’s new $15 million headquarters in Taneatua, known as the gateway to the Ureweras. I was fortunate to have a personal tour of the most advanced sustainable building in NZ. Recycled matai and rimu covered the floors, totara cladding was used and even the glues were arsenic-free. Beeswax was used for internal finishes, wool carpet was used sparingly and the architects had found a matting used on dairy farms made from recycled tyres.
The insulation was made from used coke bottles and 5000 clay and hay bricks were handmade by 1000 volunteers while pine structure beams were sourced from Kaiangaroa Forest, winning an international award last year. Even the tables were made from matai that had been submerged for 100 years.
Named Te Uru Taumatua (translated as Grove – the strongest tree in the Te Urewera forest), the exterior was just as wonderful as the interior. The roof was covered with more than 300 photovoltaic solar panels generating electricity, with surplus electricity being fed back in to the national grid. One day in March these panels made enough electricity to power the whole building as well as seven houses.
Rain water is captured and diverted into one of two 25,000 litre tanks, treated with a UV filter then fed back into the building for re-use. Grey water is used to keep the many native and fruit trees watered.
On opening day many of Rua’s and Franklin’s descendants gathered, only with seven wives Rua’s had a head-start on the Bells. More than 2000 people attended, some arriving at dawn and staying until 9pm.
I think Tamati Kruger summed it up when he said, “This building is where we work from and where we will convert dreams into reality”.
