Living his childhood dream

Tapunga Nepe is the new Tairāwhiti Museum director. He previously worked there as a kaitieki Māori but now he is stepping into the top role. He spoke with kaupapa Māori reporter Matai O’Connor.

new Tairāwhiti Museum director Tapunga Nepe hopes to make the museum a marae — a place for everyone to feel connected to the collections in its care.

A graduate of Te Kōhanga Reo movement, 39-year-old Nepe has whakapapa connections to all iwi of Tairāwhiti.

“My goal is to make the museum a marae, a space that is welcoming for everyone, and where the community feels at home alongside the collections and taonga housed in its care,” he says.

“The museum is a representation of the community. It’s the stronghold for our taonga and mātauranga. So how do we come together as a community with all the challenges facing us today?

“How do we in Tairāwhiti continue on the pathway that we have been doing so well, but foster that leadership and mindset of coming together collectively for the betterment of our tamariki and mokopuna of tomorrow, so we can stand strong as a community?”

Tapunga has worked at the Tairāwhiti Museum previously as a kaitieki Māori, which saw him looking after the taonga in the museum from 2013 to 2021. He starts in the role as museum director in early February.

Taking the step to apply to become the director was something he naturally felt was right for him.

“Before I saw the advert for it, my mother, Erena Nepe, had sadly passed. That feeling in my heart is still warm from her passing. When the job arose, I had a natural instinct. I could hear her saying to me ‘go for it’.

“My mother was my motivation and my previous experience there meant I could foresee the opportunities for this role.”

His connection to museums and in particular taonga began when he was a young child at Te Kura o Manutūkē and was a part of his upbringing in different ways.

He was told the story of the naming of Rongowhakaata Kōhanga Reo was due to the restoration work that was being done at the meeting houses in the early 1980s by Cliff Whiting. The Manutūkē marae was getting restored, uncovering the original paintings and designs that had been painted over by newer designs.

At the time, the marae whānau were supporting each other and Whakatō had requested help with some of the carvings, including the tekoteko on the meeting house. However, there was an accident while removing it — the rope snapped and the tekoteko fell on the ground, Fortunately, no damage was caused.

They asked the kaumatua if there was ever a tipuna who could fly.

That was when they shared the story of Rongowhakaata, who was able to transform into a bird to follow his wife who departed to Ōpōtiki, to go reach her in the Waioeka.

“What we were told as kids was that it had glided down and landed nicely on the lawn,” Nepe said.

“These were parts of the stories we were often told as kids at kōhanga and kura.”

That was when his interests in taonga mātauranga were ignited.

Another early connection to taonga in his life was during his time at Manutūkē School. They often travelled with the iwi to the Wellington Dominion Museum to reconnect with Te Hau Ki Tūranga.

Te Hau ki Tūranga is a whare whakairo that dates back to the 1840s. It belongs to the Gisborne iwi of Rongowhakaata and their ancestors.

It was forcibly confiscated by the Crown in 1867 by then Minister of Native Affairs and acting director of the Colonial Museum, James Richmond.

In 2012, The Government apologised for the forcible removal of the whare and acknowledged the ownership

of Rongowhakaata.

“That’s where my connection to the museum world came into play. As young kids it was a normal thing to travel with our people, our iwi, to the museum to experience the whare.”

In 1992, he got to experience the 150th anniversary of the whare at the Dominion Museum.

The iwi went to the museum and Tapunga, along with other mokopuna, slept inside Te Hau Ki Tūranga with their pakeke.

“I can remember when the whare was transported to Te Papa. I along with others were fortunate to carry the taonga. I recall us all traversing down the centre of Wellington city walking our whare and carrying our taonga.”

Inspired by this, he remembers in his last year at Manutūkē School competing in their ngā manu kōrero, speech competition. He chose to speak about Te Hau Ki Tūranga.

“I had worked with my nan, got all prepared and then we got told the topics had changed. Therefore, I had to figure out a way to best utilise and articulate my speech.”

He chose to speak about what he would do if he was the principal of the school. And what he would have done is teach everything to do with Te Hau Ki Tūranga to all students.

“It was about how do we foster mātauranga taonga for the next generations.”

As an adult, these experiences have influenced his mahi.

After high school he went to Waikato University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Māori studies.

In 2009, he completed a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching.

Then in 2023, he completed his Masters of Arts in Museum studies. He wrote the thesis titled: He whare maihi i tū ki te pā-tūwatawata: kaitiekitanga — an eternal thread of rangatiratanga: a Rongowhakaata perspective.

The thesis focuses on kaitiekitanga and uses Te Hau Ki Tūranga, The Rongowhakaata iwi exhibition series (2016-2022), and Rongowhakaata taonga held abroad in UK museum collections as three case studies.

“It feels really humbling but also exciting. I am excited for the opportunities that lie ahead and what these opportunities will present for all our communities of Tairāwhiti.

“There’s a quote that has been resonating with me recently and it’s: A memory that doesn’t aspire to be relevant is in danger of passing away.

“So how do we make taonga relevant for today and the future? That’s what I want to work on.”