Seagardens
· The seagardens reveal the Waitaha’s ingenius way of storing and breeding seafood in rock pools
· The Waitaha nations’ records reveal that they had three levels of garden namely:
Moana Tarewa – the garden of the shoreline, the nursery
Moana Teretere – the ‘waters between’
Moana Hurihuri – the tides of the ‘outer seas’
· The black mussel of the Northern Pacific was brought to New Zealand from Easter Island
· The giant crayfish Kaure was established amongst the rock pools found at the seagardens in Punakaiki
· Fish that were caught were kept in the rock pools until needed for food
· The Waitaha worked the seagardens with the principles of retaining a harmony between the sea, its creatures and its plants
· ‘Huaki’ is the Mother of the seagardens and much-loved by the Waitaha
· The Waitaha worked here with the utmost respect for the land and ocean and as a result no rubbish and debris has been left by them
· South Island’s west coast held a vast array of New Zealand’s seafood
· The seagardens therefore provided an intelligent storage place for an abundant supply of seafood.
