April 28, 2016
Plough serves as memorial to war challenge
A south Taranaki hapu has used Anzac Day observances to remember not just the wars of the 20th century but also the sacrifices of their tupuna in fighting for their lands.
The new memorial unveiled at Waiokura Marae in Manaia on Monday is a farm plough dating back to the 1860s, when roads and fields were ploughed as a way to disrupt the surveys being done to enforce the confiscation of Taranaki land.
The names of 20 Ngati Tu men who fought in the First and Second World War were inscribed on a plaque next to the plough, along with an explanation of its significance as a tool for peace.
Marae spokesperson Omahuru Robinson says it's a bit of history that needs to be preserved.
"These were no ordinary ploughmen, they were rangatira so they were making a political message to the crown. When they were arrested, other rangatira would step up until 400 of our tupuna swelled the goals down there in the South Island," he says.
The plough has deliberately not been designated as a wahi tapu but as a place children can play in the hope it inspires them to ask questions about their history.
FULL INTERVIEW: OMAHURU ROBINSON
Copyright © 2016, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com