The company refuses to hear us, so we now call on them to rehab the whenua, to give her back, and to leave. Te Wāotū is an area on the edge of our awa, the Waikato River, and within the rohe of Ngāti Huri, Raukawa, and Tainui Waka. This area is rich with history, archeological sites, wāhi tapu, (sacred sites like pā), and is an area deeply treasured by the people who connect to the whenua, either
by whakapapa or location. In 1957, the quarry at Te Wāotū was established to supply metal for the Arapuni Dam - one of eight dams now in our awa. In 1986, J Swap bought the lease to the quarry and carved away at our lands for 35 years. In 2014, they came to Ngāti Huri to request to destroy our pā site to make their quarry compliant with health and safety legislation and extend the life of the quarry – we said no! Then in 2020, they applied for consent to continue for another 35 years. They have no heritage management plan, no rehabilitation plan, no accidental discovery protocols, and no cultural understanding of the significance of this place. For seven years, we as Ngāti Huri have tried, repeatedly, to engage in respectful and generous ways, but they have refused to learn. We have hosted them at Pikitū and genuinely done our best to engage with them. We have repeatedly called for the protection of our pā sites and to have access to them. We have stated our opposition to any destruction of the pā sites and to insist works cease in and around the areas that are already at risk. Despite all our attempts, they continued. On July 18th, 2021, a slip occurred on the side of Pirauiti pā. We only found out about the slip from a landowner nearby who advised Ngāti Huri. We are grieving deeply because, for Ngāti Huri and Raukawa, the worst has happened. We are now talking about a pā site that was, a site that will now only be remembered in stories. Following several hui, and under the direction of our kaumātua, Ngāti Huri has arrived at a unified position where we will now fully oppose J Swap Ltd. and all of their actions at Te Wāotū Quarry. There are many avenues we seek to do this:
1. Legally via opposition to consents and other possible court action,
2. Through respectful and peaceful protest, and
3. Reaching out to others to join us. Ultimately we want four things:
1. For J Swap to immediately stop works,
2. For J Swap to rehabilitate our whenua that they have destroyed,
3. For J Swap to return our whenua back to us, and
4. For J Swap to permanently close all quarry operations and leave Te Wāotū. J Swap refuses to hear us, so now we are asking you to help us hold them to account, to be so loud that there is no way for them to not hear us. Join us as we carry this kaupapa and fight to Protect Te Wāotū.
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