Meeting Rangimaria

In June 2024, we welcomed some very special visitors to kindergarten. Ari, Hollie and Alyssa, from the Patuharakeke te Iwi Trust arrived, bringing with them very special taonga to share with our tamariki. They arrived at whānau time, and we greeted them with a Mihi whakatau, welcoming them into our whānau for the day and sharing our pepeha with them. Ari responded, telling us they and the taonga they had with them share a connection with our pepeha and us, through the name of our harbour, Whangārei te terenga Parāoa.

After sharing kai we moved outside, where Ari told us more about the taonga they had brought. Waiting in their vehicle, were some very special bones of whales who had once swum in our harbour. Two bones from a Parāoa, or sperm whale, and a complete skeleton of a pilot whale, or Upokohue, who was named Rangimaria.

In November 2006, Rangimaria had become stranded on the beach outside the refinery at Marsden Point, along with many of her pod. Some of them were re-introduced back into the ocean but a number of them stranded themselves again at Uretiti Beach. Many people came from DOC, the local community and surrounding Hapu; first to try and return Rangimaria and her whānau to their ocean home, and then later to share stories, knowledge and customs around the right thing to do with the remains of those magical creatures who could not be saved. The valuable resources she provided were removed e.g. the blubber, from which precious oil is obtained. Then she was buried in the sand, just under a metre deep, for a whole year. This gave the bugs time to clean her bones naturally. After this they were brought out of the sand. This skeleton was then named, and gifted by her guardians in Te Kao to the Patuharakeke te Iwi Trust, for the purposes of educating people about the amazing Upokohue.

First we were shown the Parāoa vertebra and tooth - and they were so big!

Finally it was time to meet Rangimaria. She was carried in to kindergarten in many containers, and we gathered around to look at the pieces that made up her body. We were lucky to have the expertise of Ari, Hollie and Alyssa with us, to explain what the different bones were and how they fitted together, making up the skeleton of her body. We then worked together to assemble all the parts of her body like a giant puzzle. We needed to be careful in handling these special bones, because as they age they become more fragile. After working in groups to construct three sections of her body, we then joined those sections together, and finally we could see how truly amazing she was. We talked about her size, what her colour had been, and what she used to eat when she was a living whale in the sea.

When  you compared the vertebra of the Parāoa with one from the Upokohue, you could imagine just how huge a Parāoa is! We learnt about the connection of these whales to our Mairtown Kindergarten pepeha and the name of our harbour ‘Whangārei te terenga Parāoa’.

The next day at whānau time, we revisited our visit with the pilot whale Rangimaria. Having gained an understanding of her size, how her body was made up, and the events that happened around her death, I shared some information about her life. When she was alive she used to live in a group of mostly female and juvenile whales, and she used to dive really deep and catch squid and octopus to eat. (Parāoa love eating squid too!). Upokohue are actually members of the Dolphin family – the second largest dolphins, with the Orca being the biggest. When Rangimaria’s babies were born, they were already 6 feet long! We watched a short YouTube video of a man swimming with pilot whales, which showed us what she looked like and how she swam, and how she used to roll into a vertical position to sleep!

https://youtu.be/YT8yLzC-9MM?si=DaJheuV8Ob41HCQZ

I had found an article about the event in 2006 which caused her death, and the people trying to save her, and we wondered if Rangimaria was one of the Upokohue in the photo!

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna15652544

We are so grateful to Ari, Alyssa and Hollie for sharing the precious taonga of Rangimaria and the Parāoa they care for with our kindergarten. Thanks to them, we have had the privilege of building our own special connection with these awesome creatures. They are a special part of our environment, history, and with our support, our future too.

Through exploration and discovery, tamariki develop their knowledge, language, care, and creativity. Hands-on experiences such as our tamariki enjoyed today, support a growing connection with and sense of belonging in their own environment and community. They inspire an emergent sense of tiaki for the wellbeing of the amazing creatures living alongside us in te taiao. In time, our tamariki will become the decision leaders and change makers, nurturing the physical and social environment of our places, our communities, and our world.”         

   Nga mihi mahana, Anne Bawden