A Far North iwi has restored two carved pou which were vandalised and cut down by a chainsaw.
A special dawn ceremony was held and the pou are now standing again after being restored. Photo: Supplied
The attack angered the local iwi Te Rarawa - and those responsible for the attack are yet to be caught.
The two rāhui pou Te Aho and Te Omu stand past Shipwreck Bay, near Ahipara.
Te Rarawa leader Haami Piripi with one of the pou. Photo: Supplied
They mark the rāhui area banning all fishing and seafood gathering along more than a kilometre of the coastline and one nautical mile out to sea.
However, in July vandals chopped them down and a police investigation was launched.
A special dawn ceremony was held and the pou are now standing again after being restored.
Te Rarawa leader Haami Piripi said it was emotional putting the rāhui pou back in place.
"Re-affirming and dedicating the 1.6 kilometre of rāhui was actually quite an emotional experience actually."
Piripi said most people respected the rāhui which was first put in place in 2011.
"It's a very different paradigm to the compliance model of fisheries management that the government employs," he said.
"It changes the onus from the inspector to the person themselves."
Members of the kaitiaki committee will set up camps near the pou during the summer.
Piripi said this would allow the iwi to share their cultural information.
"It creates a presence on the beach that people can see and hear and feel and appreciate - our status as Tangata Whenua will be recognised more and respected more."
