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Two controversial Endeavor models in Gisborne symbolize “pain and trauma” for some, while for others they mark a point in history that they say should not be “suppressed.”
The Gisborne District Council’s Sustainable Tairāwhiti committee heard presentations on the future of the Efforts on Thursday, which were built to replace the old wooden ones found on large poles in the city.
Many oral presenters used the models as symbols to discuss different versions of history, colonization, Maori versus Eurocentric worldviews, and a shared cultural future.
Tāmanuhiri Tūtū Poroporo trustee Te Aorangi Harrington, who has whakapapa Tupuna ancestors “killed” by Cook and his crew when they arrived at Tūranga Gisborne, said there were already statues, monuments and places dedicated to him in the area.
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The Gisborne District Council received more than 1000 individual submissions on the future of two controversial Endeavor models.
“Why should we honor and celebrate this man by re-erecting his ship, instead of honoring our Tupuna who were killed?” Harrington said.
“What about the story of Ngāi Tāmanuhiri? Putting replicas of the Endeavor ship that symbolizes so much pain and trauma for many of our whānau and iwi here in Tūranga is not the right thing to do. “
He welcomed the idea of a double-hulled waka as an alternative to replicas and suggested that the best way to tell the story of Endeavor is to relocate them in a museum.
“Ngāi Tāmanuhiri believes that the Gisborne District Council underestimated the feelings and thoughts of our people towards the aftershocks before making its decision,” he said. As Treaty partners, they sought “active partnership” and “joint governance” to take the next steps for the models.
Gisborne’s attorney, Gordon Webb, questioned how Tairāwhiti could build a shared future if the Endeavor models were not re-erected. Despite the “unpleasant” events that took place at the first meeting between Cook and Tangata whenua in October 1769, it marked an “important transitional date” in history that should be commemorated.
“History is history. It may not always be nice, but it can’t be changed, ”Webb said.
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The first Endeavor models were commissioned by the Cook Bicentennial Committee in 1969.
The first Endeavor models were commissioned by the Cook Bicentennial Committee in 1969 and were not expected to last more than a year, but were refurbished and rebuilt three times over the next four decades.
In 2016, they were pulled after material from one began to fall on the road and two years later, the council allocated $ 19,000 to new models.
The community raised funds for the new construction and the project was overseen by a group concerned to ensure that they were replaced. Once they were finished, the existing posts were found to be not strong enough for the new models and would cost $ 29,000 to replace the posts.
The council voted to reinstall the models at the existing locations in May, but after much criticism, the decision was reversed.
The council conducted a consultation and participation process on the future of Endeavor models in July and August, which included three hui-a-iwi, formal presentations of three Tūranga hapū and iwi, and more than 1,000 individual presentations.
Of the individual submissions, more supported the reinstallation than not, while Tangata whenua said they did not support the consultation approach or the installation of the models on their rohe. Tangata whenua was not included in the decision to restore the models in early 2018 or when they were first assembled.
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A large crowd gathered in front of the Gisborne District Council building in June to protest the restoration of the models.
Some said there were already too many monuments dedicated to Cook, and the discussion was “deaf” to the pain and sorrow of tangata whenua, while others said they missed the “joy” of seeing the ships on their way into town.
The participants gave suggestions such as erecting a waka next to the Endeavor or making sure there was an explanatory plaque next to the models. Some offered locations for the models, such as near Cook’s landing site, the slipway, or the south end of Butlers Wall.
The director of the Tolaga Bay Area School, Nori Parata, offered a place for one of the models in Uawa, where they had long promoted the vision of “dual heritage, shared future”.
For nearly 50 years, their school logo had been made up of manaia and Endeavor symbols, and they had tried to represent a “complementarity” of these symbols through their learning.
“It requires us to think deeply and work hard to continue a legacy that educates, broadens perspectives, appreciates diversity and reduces division,” he said.
A report with options will be provided to the GDC operations committee for decision on November 12. The staff were collaborating with tangata whenua to enable their participation in the decision-making process.
