Iwi and Fonterra staff at the opening of the Hautapu Wastewater Treatment Plant earlier this year.
The base of a tōtara tree felled to make way for the entrance to Fonterra’s Wai Mahea water treatment plant at Hautapu will take centre stage next month when it is unveiled as a pou to mark Matariki.
Fonterra participants at the annual Hautapu plant community meeting last week were, from left Dale Arbury, Janelle Jenson, Jude van Bommel, Matt Roberts and Nathan Metzger. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
What began as part of a major infrastructure project has taken on deeper meaning, reflecting a growing partnership between Fonterra and mana whenua. The pou, carved by Bodie Tihoi Huitoroa-Taylor on behalf of Ngāti Korokī-Kahukura and Ngāti Hauā, reflects that relationship and the values behind it.
The Wai Mahea water treatment plant, an $85 million investment opened in February, is set to be fully operational from July 1. Its name, gifted by mana whenua, speaks to the purpose of the facility: wai meaning water and mahea referring to the removal of impurities.
It represents both a practical and cultural commitment to protecting the environment.
To make way for a new entrance to the plant, two tōtara were felled. Before work began, a karakia was held involving iwi representatives and Fonterra staff, acknowledging the significance of the trees and the land.
From there, every part of the trees was used. The base of one trunk, the stump, has been retained to form the foundation of the pou. The carved pou itself has been created using other locally sourced timber, while the remaining wood from the tōtara was cut for firewood and donated, and smaller pieces were chipped and reused on site.
The result is a carved artefact with a wider story of continuity, respect and shared purpose.
Dale Arbury, Fonterra’s national manager of environmental operations, said the project provided an opportunity to deepen relationships with mana whenua beyond the usual consenting process. It marked a shift from what he described as a more transactional approach to one built on genuine, ongoing engagement, he told the Hautapu plant’s annual community meeting last week.
In the past, cultural impact assessments and agreements could be filed away once consent was granted. This time, the approach was different. Regular meetings were held between Fonterra teams and iwi representatives, both online and on site, creating space for dialogue, questions and shared learning.
The powerpoint presentation at Fonterra’s annual community meeting showed a karakia involving Ngāti Korokī-Kahukura and Ngāti Hauā being held before the two totara tree were felled for the water treatment plant entrance.
“We didn’t want to just centre it on the wastewater treatment facility,” Arbury said.
“We used the construction as a medium to build our relationship.”
That meant listening more carefully to the values of mana whenua, particularly their connection to the whenua and the Waikato River, which is regarded as an ancestor. It also meant being transparent, including sharing information about non-compliance events with iwi.
Arbury acknowledged that Fonterra had not always got it right. Early in the project, iwi feedback highlighted a lack of cultural recognition in how work was being carried out. That prompted reflection and a more intentional effort to incorporate cultural expression on site, including the commissioning of the pou.
The carving itself is tied to Matariki, a time of remembrance, renewal and connection. Its unveiling will bring together Fonterra staff and iwi in a continuation of the partnership that has developed over the past 18 months.
For Arbury, one of the most significant changes has been a willingness to pause, ask questions and listen.
“We’re good at talking to people,” he said.
“Sometimes we’re not always that good at listening.”
The pou stands as a reminder of that shift. Rooted in the whenua through the tōtara base, it looks both to the past and the future, acknowledging the history of the land while marking a new way of working together.
When the pou is unveiled for Matariki, it will carry not only the story of the trees it came from, but of the relationship built alongside it.
Iwi and Fonterra staff at the opening of the Hautapu Wastewater Treatment Plant earlier this year. Photo: Fonterra
