Arowhenua memorial c1986.
This elaborately carved memorial archway, constructed from Oamaru limestone, stands on the corner of the Arowhenua Māori Reserve, south of Temuka. The foundation stone was laid by Eruera Tirikatene, MP for Southern Maori, on 13 December 1934. The completed memorial was unveiled by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, founder of the Rātana movement, on 14 November 1935. The symbols of the Rātana Church (star and crescent) can be seen at the apex of the arch.
The memorial was built to honour both the rangatira Te Hipa Te Maihāroa (ca 1800-1885), who led the people of Waitaha and Kāti Huiapa through the most difficult years of the nineteenth century, and soldiers of the hapū who were killed on active service during the First World War. The WWI memorial plaque is inscribed with the names of eight men. Another plaque with seven names was added after the Second World War.
The archway was listed as a Wahi Tūpuna in June 2020 and a plaque to this effect has since been unveiled.
The photographs above show the memorial as it appeared in 1986 and 2010.
See: 'Maori war memorial: foundation stone laid', Press, 15/12/1935. p. 11; 'Ratana memorial: unveiling ceremony at Temuka', Press, 16/11/1935, p. 6; 'Temuka: Arowhenua Pa', Timaru Herald, 15/11/1935, p. 13; 'Te Kāmaka o Arowhenua listed as Wāhi Tūpuna’, Heritage Quarterly, Winter 2021, p. 16.
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