Otumoetai Rail Reserve
Kimberley Cleland
Kimberley Cleland
Waste Minimisation Programme
Leader
Tauranga City
Council
Ph 07 577
7066
From: Ellen Andersen [mailto:eand...@historic.org.nz]
Sent: Wednesday, 2 June 2010 3:58 p.m.
To: Kimberley Cleland
Subject: Otumoetai Rail Reserve
Kia ora
Kim,
It was great to catch up with you last week and take some time to
talk about the Let’s Get Growing project happening at the Otumoetai Railway
Reserve. We discussed the history of the area, and who might be the
appropriate tangata whenua to contact in order to keep the right people
involved.
As I mentioned, the people to be in contact with in regards to
the cultural heritage of the area is Ngai Tamarawaho. Des Tata will be a
treasure trove of information for you, but I recommend that you speak to
Mererina at the council as she will be able to co-ordinate the right time and
place for you to be in touch with him. He keeps himself very busy but has
a close working relationship with the council. Let me know and I will come
along.
Another contact that I would like to recommend as someone who might be interested in the project on a hands-on level is Kylie Willison. Kylie is also from Ngai Tamarawaho and works for the Western Bay council. She is a very talented wahine who comes to the Mauao planting days on a regular basis, and is about our age, and she might be interested in being a part of the kaupapa. Her contact details are Kylie.W...@westernbay.govt.nz
Another thing we discussed is the proximity of the Rail Reserve to Otumoetai Pa. The Pa is a Historic Reserve owned by TCC and as well as being a Pa site, it was the location of the Matheson homestead, who had an orchard for many years in this area. This Reserve contains vegetation identified for its historic, cultural and botanical values, and I have seen peaches, plums, bananas, and potatoes all growing there which should be considered some of Otumoetai’s “heritage” varieties. All of the species have been recorded, dated and catalogued by Kate Brunning, and are included in a Planting Report (April 2004). Kate Brunning has surveyed all vegetation on site and documented the history of significant specimens based on discussions with Alister Matheson. I do not have a copy of this report, but apparently it is available from TCC.
The Pa Reserve is especially relevant as I see that In 1925 8 acres of land was purchased from the Matheson family for the Otumoetai Railway Station Yards which I would guess is this reserve if you look at the location of the two on this plan I have taken from the Otumoetai Pa Reserve Management Plan:
As I
mentioned during our meeting, Alister Matheson is a very regular visitor to our
offices and would no doubt be interested in hearing about the project when
things are a bit further along. There is a report about a history of the
Otumoetai Rail Yards in the NZ Room at the Library which he wrote which might be
useful background reading.
I would say the Brunning Planting Report would
be the next key step, and perhaps talking to someone at council who knows where
they are up to with the Pa. The management plan states that they
plan to eco-source all the future plantings on the site, but I am unsure if
anyone has approached them about using cuttings or seeds elsewhere. In my
view it would be a great way to enhance the values of the site, bringing in the
history of the area, as well as continuing the growth of these heritage plants
that have been shown by the Mathesons to thrive in the area.
Just to
summarise, some of the things I would love to help work on if it is wanted as
part of the Rail Reserve Project are:
- Interpretation and signage that includes an acknowledgement of tangata whenua and their early associations with the area, developed with Ngai Tamarawaho
- Interpretation that also covers the earlier use of the area as part of the Matheson Farm – expressing that idea of this area as having been a food basket for Tauranga people for a long time
- Eco-sourcing of heritage food plant varieties from the Otumoetai Pa Reserve as part of a way of celebrating sustainability, conservation, local produce and heritage
I hope this covers the main things we talked about, and I look forward to helping however I can on this project.
Nāku iti
nei,
Ellen Andersen
Māori Built Heritage Advisor
Te Tira o te
Pouhere Taonga
New
Zealand
Historic Places Trust
PO
Box
13339,
Tauranga
Waea: 07 578
1281
Waea
Pūkoro: 027 242
5603
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