Pōneke

"Pōneke is a modern love letter to place, space and time within a post second-migration world. When I first moved to Pōneke (Wellington) in my late teens, I felt a deep connection with this place. I believe deeply that one can feel a history before it is known, that one can sense that they are walking backwards into the future, looking into the places of their ancestors. It was years later that I delved back into taonga puoro, a connection with our ancestors that had been present during my childhood. I realised that these feelings I had in spaces, these messages from my tūpuna that were stored within my DNA could be played as rangi; as tunes of place and the events and feelings that had occured within them. Pōneke is an album that allows the listener to hear and experience the histories of a place, allowing us to journey together." [Ruby Solly of Kai Tahu and Waitaha tribes of Aotearoa New Zealand] This video was made together with Sebastian J Lowe and Victoria Baskin Coffey and is a collection of three of the locations within Pōneke that exist within both te ao Pākeha (the European world) and te ao Māori (the Māori world). (Karaka - Tau) Recorded in one of the old karaka tree plantations of Kati Māmoe people amongst ancient trees that still stand. This aims to be a quiet tribute to a beautiful, sheltered bay. On a hikoi (walk) with Tipene O Regan, he spoke of how karaka do not grow naturally by the coast, so when we see them planted there we know they were planted by our tīpuna (ancestors); their impact still on our landscape today. (Matairangi - Mt. Vic Tunnel) Legend has it that while the Mt Vic Tunnel was being built in the early 1930s, tunnel worker George Coatts murdered his 17 year old girlfriend, Phillis Symonds who was carrying his child, dumping her body in the foundations of the tunnel. Commuters now toot in part to pay tribute to Phillis, and in part to ensure their safety from her ghost that is rumoured to haunt the tunnel. Some say that Phillis committed suicide, including George whose last words were; “I am innocent. I trust in the lord”. However, her body which was found in a hunched position suggests that she tried to climb out of her grave. (Karaka – Wana) Our tupuna Ruawharo, tohunga (priest) of the Takitimu waka (canoe), is associated with bringing the karaka seed to Aotearoa New Zealand. Karaka bay was once a thriving metropolis for Māori including Kāti Māmoe, and was a part of mahinga kai practices. The bay has been referred to as “whale bay” at different points throughout its history. During the 1800s, one settler complained that the whales “cavorting” kept him awake all night. Now we see a very different landscape, though the wairua of these whales and tīpuna (ancestors) can still be felt.