Daily Photo – Visiting Takapuneke Reserve

On my last full day in Akaroa I went to Takapuneke Reserve, located on the hillside at the eastern end of the town. I’d read that it had been identified as a site of national significance and, where once it was the location of a bloody massacre in the 1830s, it has since been declared tapu and is being transformed into a place of healing and learning through a partnership between Ōnuku Rūnanga and Christchurch City Council.

I arrived on an overcast day with a cool breeze drifting up from the bay. Looking around, I had the place to myself, along with its quietly sculptural landscape and walking trails. It was all extremely peaceful, with a backdrop that couldn’t help but put you into a calm, serene mood.

I stood looking out across the surroundings and admired how pleasant and well thought out the whole place seemed. Certainly a far cry from the scenes that graced the hillside in 1830, when smoke, gunfire, and violence tore through Takapuneke in an event that would leave deep scars on both the land and the history of Aotearoa.