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PAKU VIEWS
ISSUE 5 SPRING 2012
Your local watering hole -
864 9370
Main Road in Tairua next to the Chemist
available for gold
coin donation
fare
This children’s fantasy tells the
legend of Paua, a sea creature
with no shell. And how very sad it
was. One day Tangaroa, the God of
Sea, noticed and would offer Paua
a gift to cover its back (see legend
previous page).
Tangaroa’s Gift, by Maori scholar, Mere Whaanga-Schollum, is a lovely story,
written in both Maori and English. It was shortlisted for the prominent Russell Clark
Medal and the AIM Picture Book Award in 1991. Suitable for children in nursery and
kindergartens, it makes a favourite bed time story.
This tale can be used as a teaching story for young ones, similar to
Ugly Duckling
.
Have faith in your inner beauty, in spite of what others say or how you look, with the
additional implication that being too beautiful on the outside may bring attacks of
jealousy. Moral—it’s your inner worth that matters, just like the enduring shell.
Available at Pauanui & Tairua Info Centres—great gift idea and easy to post overseas.
Here a charming retelling and redrawing of the story by the Nelson Central School kids:
See other Children’s books from Scholastic Publishing at
Both Pauanui and Tairua Information Centres are “Paua
Central” offering one stop destinations for a variety of
actual shells (boxed and unboxed), crafted items and
paua related gifts.
Stop by and check out their selections.
Pauanui: Adjacent to Pauanui Service Station. 07 864 7101,
Tairua: 223 Main Road. 07 864 7575,
by Tovi Daly
Most would guess that Pauanui got its
name from the Maori because of the
large size and abundance of paua found
along its rocky shore. (
Nui
means big,
abundant, etc.) We asked Moana Jones,
our local Maori elder, if she had any other
paua lore to share.
“When I was a child, my family would
often visit the Pauanui shore to collect
paua and kina”. They collected only
medium size Paua. Moana says, “We
were told not to touch the big ones – they
were to be protected because they are
the breeders, so we left them alone”.
On one of their trips, Moana remembers
her brother asking, “Why aren’t the
paua so big anymore?” Her mum and
dad replied to wait till that evening, and
they would tell the story. “The time after
dinner was always considered ‘family
story time’”.
That evening, their mum shared that
years before, a passing ship had left five
dead bodies on the flat rocks along the
Pauanui coast. The poor crew members
had reportedly died of scarlet fever.
Her parents went on to say that since
the bodies had not had a proper burial,
the paua sensed this disturbance in
the energy and chose to move away.
Even if small paua hatched there, once
grown, they shifted to other waters.
Leaving the area with no
paua nui
.
Many years later, Moana’s children
asked to go to Pauanui to dive for paua,
but when they got to the area, Moana
was not surprised when her 15-year-
old son said straight away, “I don’t like
this place. I don’t want to dive here”.
The
tapu
energy still lingers.
Note: It didn’t sound quite right, but I had
read an article that said Maori would bury
paua for two weeks to tenderize it. I asked
Moana who laughed and, with a sour look
on her face, said, “Bury the shell with the
meat! Whew! The stink!” (Whew is right,
and let’s hear it for fact checking!)
Moana added, “My father would bury the
shells to soften the outer crust for removal.
He often made fishing lures from pieces of
the shell which the fish liked too”.
No description does justice to the powerful presence
of nature at Te Moata. Set in 344 hectares of
native bush just north of Tairua, this sanctuary
hosts a variety of residential retreats, community
events and workshops. A network of walking
tracks leads to streams, waterfalls, and beautiful
stands of native trees including ancient Kauri.
Experience Te Moata for yourself. Enrol in a
retreat, book a stay in one of our cottages or remote
bush huts, or schedule a casual visit.
Enjoy breathtaking views, a walk in the labyrinth
and checking out some of our tracks.
For details of upcoming events see the PakuViews
Calendar on pg13 or visi
t
Visitors are welcome by arrangement.
Phone Jessie or Dave at
07 868 8798
or email
The Old Mill Café
VERANDAH DINING WITH ESTUARY VIEWS
at the Base of PAKU
Boutique Shop/Licensed Café & Deli
Phone 07 864 9390
1 Esplanade at the base of Paku, Tairua
Breakfast & Lunch 8-4 Thurs–Sun
Evening Dining from 5:30pm Fri & Sat
Open 7 Days/Evenings over Summer
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