TE WHANGANUI-A-TARA PHOTOGRAPHY 2022

I have explored the important historical connection between the Maori people and the Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington Harbour) through photography. I studied the ongoing rift between the original landowners and the sacred waterfront due to colonisation. Te Whanganui-a-Tara was once home to a thriving Maori iwi Te Âti Awa. The Harbour was used for many cultural and spiritual practices and traditional ceremonies occurred. When Europeans came, they found that Te Ätiawa had settled in the inner harbour area, that the settlements were thriving, and had a healthy water-based trade and communication system. With the arrival of the first English settlers in the area, many important sites were lost in the pressure for land. Today, the once-sacred waterfront waterways are extremely polluted, further illustrates the disrespect for the culturally significant areas. New Zealand society has been historically moulded around Maori culture, colonisation and how humans interact with one another and the land, consequently shaping my Mihimihi. The ongoing disrespect and racism toward Maori culture and sacred historical sites such as Te Whanganui-a-Tara must be brought to light and erased from our society.