- Hokianga, NZ
And yet, it is perhaps the most culturally significant area in the whole of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Landing place of the legendary ancestor Kupe, it is thought by many to be the place Māori first arrived in New Zealand. With the population being approximately 80% Māori, it is a place steeped in Māori culture and history. The largest signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document, occurred here. Famous activists such as Dame Whina Cooper come from here. It is known for its historically close Maori-European relations compared to other areas. Even today, many New Zealand Europeans living here are well versed in Maori cultural practices, and greeting others in Maori language is more common than other regions. Local hapu (sub-tribes) hospitality towards settlers here has always been generous. This makes Hokianga the perfect backdrop for ethical, authentic exchange between any and all cultures.
Nestled between mountain and sea, Hokianga is also home to a pristine natural environment. Neighboring the famous Waipoua Forest and New Zealand’s oldest tree Tane Mahuta, today some of the last remnants of the endangered kauri tree can be found here. Landscapes include deep bush, mist shrouded mountains, giant sand dunes, and seas ranging from rough, green-blue surf to still, silver colored waters. Compared to other regions, this land has a distinct feel to it described as sacred, raw and wild.
Most tourism websites romanticise our country, showing the beautiful landscapes and cultural practices still alive today. While we want to celebrate these, we also want to acknowledge the realities. We believe in giving visitors a truthful, balanced understanding of this place.
Among countries classed as “developed”, New Zealand has comparatively high levels of economic inequality. As of 2019, the top 1% of New Zealanders owned 16% of our country’s wealth, while the top 5% owned 38%.
New Zealand is a colonised land, and colonisation has hit populations like ours in Hokianga harder. Unemployment is high, and the local average income is about half the New Zealand average of $41,500. 96% of registered patients at the local hospital are classified as “high needs” due to poverty and other factors.
Due to a lack of employment and other opportunities, many of our young people leave. Our current population density is low at less than one person per square kilometer.
These factors make it challenging for us to develop the infrastructure needed for locals, let alone for tourism to thrive, and we have remained a lesser known spot on the map.
But we’re not telling you this because we want you to feel sorry for us. Nor because we need your help (the ones who know how to help us best are our own people). While we may lack monetary resources, we are rich in spirit. Despite everything the Hokianga has been through, our community remains close-knit and inter-cultural, loving and open. Despite having less visitors than neighboring regions, many comment on the warmth they experience from locals here. Whenever anyone is in trouble, we always pull through for each other. This is the true meaning of community.
What we have to offer here is worth far more than any sum of money – and we know it.
That’s why, as a participant in our workshops, we don’t want you to be just another visitor. We ask you to be a piece of the story. Rather than having you bring money, observe our community as an outsider, and leave again, we ask for your active contribution, beyond the monetary. We ask you to walk alongside us, as one of us, in community gardens and other spaces which contribute to Hokianga. Together, we will build a community resilient to the current challenges, and make Hokianga a place where our children can stay on and thrive.
Your culture, your experiences, and your spirit are unique, and with the right intention, you will come away from your time here not only having left a meaningful contribution behind, but taking home with you the undeniable sense of having become a part of something greater; a thread weaved into the basket that will feed generations to come, physically, mentally and spiritually.
Last but not least, let us leave you with this: Hokianga means “returning place” in Maori. While this refers to the story of ancestor Kupe, it is also applied to all who visit Hokianga – it is said that if you visit here once, you are destined to return. So, don’t blame us if you find yourself a little attached to this place! We will be happy to welcome you back again, as a part of our extended whanau (family).