The Kuranui Waka and the Story of Te Pakakohi by Airana Ngarewa is a powerful historical non-fiction text that weaves together archaeology, oral history, and lived memory to tell the story of an ancient waka uncovered on the banks of the Kuranui Stream in South Taranaki. The discovery becomes a gateway into the history of Te Pakakohi and neighbouring iwi, revealing the deep impacts of the New Zealand Wars, land confiscation, imprisonment, and resilience.

Through clear explanation, maps, historical images, waiata, and contemporary voices, the text explores whakapapa, taonga, and the responsibilities of caring for cultural heritage. It invites students to consider how history is remembered, whose stories are told, and how communities reclaim knowledge, identity, and pride. This text strongly supports inquiry into Aotearoa New Zealand histories and critical reflection on justice, peace, and remembrance.

The three lesson overviews focus on:

1. Comprehension and inferencing, supporting students to locate information, make meaning, and draw conclusions from the text;

2. The author’s use of language and structure, exploring how word choice, sentence structure, and text features shape meaning; and

3. Author’s purpose and themes, encouraging students to think critically about ideas, messages, and viewpoints.

 

Curriculum Phase: Phase 3

Year Level: Year 8

Curriculum Coverage:

English – Reading: key ideas, structure, vocabulary, integrating visual and written information, making connections, author's purpose, text structure

Social Sciences – Aotearoa New Zealand Histories: New Zealand Wars, colonisation, land confiscation, historical perspectives, continuity and change

Health and Physical Education: wellbeing, identity, belonging, community healing

Text Type: Non-fiction / historical report

 

Key words include: Airana Ngarewa, ancestors, ANZ histories, archaeology, Aotearoa New Zealand histories, belonging, colonisation, community, community memory, confiscation, conservation, conservator, culture, cultural heritage, hapū history, historical inquiry, historical non-fiction, identity, imprisonment, iwi history, justice, Kuranui, Kuranui Stream, land confiscation, museum studies, New Zealand Wars, Ngā Rauru, Ngāruahine, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāwaka Taurua, non-fiction text, oral history, Pātea, Pātea River, peace, reconciliation, remembrance, resilience, resistance, South Taranaki, Taranaki, Taranaki War, taonga, Te Pakakohi, The Kuranui Waka and the Story of Te Pakakohi, Tītokowaru, tūpuna, waka, waiata, whakapapa, whenua.