Whare Taonga -Ōrākei

I have many desires for the marae and the iwi. Firstly, to maintain the mana of our ancestors. Don't trample over them. I hope our descendants preserve the mana of Ngāti Whātua on our marae. Secondly, our podium is filled with orators well versed in te reo and tikanga to welcome guests visiting the marae. Thirdly, to hear the language; to hear our noble language spoken on the marae...

– Kaumātua Hone Taumanu on his hopes for the Ngāti Whātua hapū and iwi

That was known as the day New Zealand cried...people couldn't believe the force from the Crown. I couldn't believe it was actually happening. I thought it was the day that I was going to die. They had to carry a lot of us off, the way they did that was to drag us. But there was no retaliation by the protesters. The whole tactic was to keep them busy. If they were going to take us off, make their job hard by going limp.

– Excerpt from an interview with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei protestor Sharon Hawke about the 1978 Bastion Point evictions, The NZ Herald, 24 May 2018

On the 25th of May 1978, the government sought to expel the protesters. That was the start of the occupation. That is another subject and I'll leave it there. However, it was still a difficult time to complete the project.

– Kaumātua Hone Taumanu on how the late 1970s iwi land occupation at Takaparawhau slowed progress in rebuilding the marae