5 Highlights in our Poihakena Tour, Stories of Maori in Sydney

       At 4pm, I met Brent Reihana and Miles Maniapoto for the Poihakena Tour.  Although they are already Australian citizens, they have continuously preserved their Maori culture, language, and tradition. For two hours,  we will walk around The Rocks and discover everything about Maoris here in Sydney.

           Here are the 4 Highlights in our Poihakena Tour, Stories of Maori in Sydney!

1.) Intriguing Stories of Maori 

      Hear surprising stories of Maori in Sydney spanning 225 years… visiting Maori chiefs, kidnapping, trade;   Wahine Toa – stories of Māori women, Māori entertainers – and more!

2.) Visit in The Rocks Discovery Museum 

       See Māori taonga (treasured objects) found on a local archeological site and now exhibited at The Rocks Discovery Museum. The visit has been meaningful as we have  knowledgable tour guides!

3.) Historic Laneways 

       We visited some of the oldest laneways in Sydney and compared those on old pictures. It seems here that only the dresses of people have changed but not the customs and those laneways. For example, this street is still famous for pubs. Like before, if you want to find a job, just visit the pubs and check if some of your drinking buddies can refer a job for you.

4.) Excavation sites 

      Get up close to excavation sites around The Rocks. One of the site we visited is a well in Cribbs Lane. The well was built in 1810 to provide fresh water for George Cribb’s House. By 1818, it was being used as a dump site for the Cribbs’ household rubbish, possibly because it had been poisoned by runoff from the slaughter yard. Artefacts found in this well include clothing, a fine boning knife, hand painted porcelains, and an illegal alcohol still. In deposits dating to around 1815 was  a  beautiful and unusually complete blue and white porcelain bowl. George Cribb married Fanny Barnet in 1811. Yet in 1815 Martha Cribb whom George had previously married in England, arrived in Sydney. George bought Fanny a ticket back to England and gave her 300 pounds. When Fanny left, George resumed life with his first wife. Perhaps Fanny decided not to leave this fine bowl behind for Martha’s use, or perhaps George did not want Martha to learn about Fanny? He almost certainly didn’t want the law to know about the illegal alcohol still found down this well.

        Many artefacts recovered from Cribb’s well are currently on display in The Rocks Discovery Museum.

5.) Concept of Whakapapa and Tukitahaua

       Whakapapa which means ‘genealogy’ is an important principle in Maori culture. Reciting your whakapapa proclaims your identity, places yourself in a wider context, and links yourself to land and tribal groupings and the ‘mana’ of those.

      Tikanga which means ‘The Maori Way of Doing Things’. It came from the word ‘tika’ which means ‘right’ or ‘correct’. You, what is your Tikanga?

If you are planning to go to Sydney and do this tour, please visit this link: https://kotahitourism.com