History

Bruce Stewart

Bruce Stewart says he has always had a dream…he reckons if you haven't got a dream. you're already dead. He also said, "Looking back, some of my dreams haven't been up to much - at the time though, it was all I knew." One of them landed him in jail. "It was hard going in there. It's good to hit rock bottom, you start to see stuff that turns your life around - one way or the other." But he believes that jail is really a tax funded, 'Advanced Academy of Crime'. He is also a hunter - it goes hand in hand with the dreaming.

He was hunting for a new direction. He found it in Te Ao Hou, a maori magazine, it said: "The Marae is my home…it is my place of work. The Marae is my kindergarten right through to my university…it is my Museum…my church…my Art Gallery. It is where I was born and where I will be buried." Bruce got out of jail with $25 and a dream.

He lived in a shed in Newtown, Wellington. He found many young maori, homeless and jobless. He became aware of a Maori underclass and the hopelessness. "It was not their fault, nor their parents," said Bruce. He took them into his shed to survive - they collected expired day old bread rolls from the rubbish tins of the New World supermarket. He borrowed some flippers and goggles and taught them to dive for Kaimoana (seafood). It was the start of the co-operative movement that spread throughout the country.

There were many gang confrontations. It was a sad time - there were gang related deaths. It changed when a pakeha was killed. "Wellingtons new mayor, Micheal Fowler turned up with a carton of fresh bread and a pound of butter…it was our Christmas dinner" said Bruce. "What can we do to stop this violence? People are terrified" The Mayor asked. "Help us to live Maori," said Bruce. "It started a long relationship and many positive enduring changes happened," said Bruce. "Like when the Prime Minister Robert Muldoon came to see us.

He was challenged by one of our young people with The Wero - we welcomed him with a Haka Taiaha that shook the earth". "Later on he saw young people in the gardens (we grew all our vegetables) others were building on our farm (leased). Young ones were mustering and others were shearing. We farmed sheep, cattle, goats, pigs and had hens and horses. Our babies were well looked after." "In my view, those times were the most progressive for Maori" said Bruce. "We were given our head. We knew what to do and how to do it.

We were not over-governed or governed-down. It was a time of affirmation - we celebrated being Maori. It was a real time of gap closing". "Sir Robert Muldoon was an out and out Tory but he loved a battler" said Bruce. "He got behind Maori initiatives because he could see it was cost effective. Why spend millions…they'll do it for nothing" said Bruce. "Sir Robert backed Kohanga Reo. He put TEP and PEP work schemes in place - it was the forerunner of 2nd chance education that is in place today" said Bruce. "Tapu Te Ranga Marae stands here as a testament to good, just and fair governance… Tenakorua nga Rangatira, Sir Micheal and Sir Robert…love you both," said Bruce. "The dream is still steady as she goes and on course…though it has hit a real rough patch…both over-governed and governed-down".

The History of Tapu Te Ranga Marae is about the passion of many good people since 1974. The Tupuna Whare Pare Hinetai No Waitaha was built by young unemployed maori - some of them homeless. They needed to have a place to make a stand. It has been said she is the largest and highest wooden house built of recycled materials on wooden piles anywhere on earth. It was designed by Bruce Stewart - all in his head because he canÕt draw. Without formal training, he is a product of the kiwi 'do-it yourself' stuff. He had been influenced by architecture without architects - peasants building from local materials or what ever they could lay their hands onÉcombined with the principal of the theory of alchemy (making something from nothing) It grew like Topsy Bruce could see the local material was from the demolition of much of Wellington. He together with the young people grabbed the bits, pulled out the nails and straightened them to use again. Doors, windows and timber, much of it heart native were being pulverized and thrown into the tip. Car cases from Todd Motors were also used once and taken to the tip. They were from trees of the tropical rain forest - hardwoods. Bruce got permission to use them. He believes building, using recycled material is spiritually in tune and uplifting. The late Stan Hyde, demolition contractor, donated considerable fittings to The Marae as did many of the people of Wellington. The 'non-traditionalness' of design of Tapu Te Ranga has often been mentioned. Bruce found there were many Whare of non-traditional design, some of them being Rua Kenana's Beehive in The Urawera and Potatau Te Whero Whero's whare at Te Awamutu. The design shape is that of a cluster of whare grouped together representing The Mother and her children. Because it was built of recycled materials it was slow going - it has taken thirty two years.