Selling trout is illegal

If you’re a recreational fisher, selling or gifting any fish you catch may be illegal. In the Taupo fishery you can get a sentence or a fine of up to $5,000, or both. i.e.:

Taupo Fishery Regulations:

Fortunately TRM could not understand that PC legal jargon…  That may be why SWMBO is always nominated as the ‘Manager’ at TRM.

Photo above of Shaz Te Whaiti Rowe on left trying to babble-talk her way out of her dilemma when she was intercepted taking delivery of nine perfectly smoked Tongariro trout at TRM. 

Selling smoked trout is strictly illegal in the rest of NZ but in the Republic of Turangi they have different more sensible local rules… i.e. Even the trout centre now breeds trout for local iwi.  

The excuses from Shaz were interesting as the trout were for her hubby – Bill’s 60th birthday.  She argued they were part Waitangi Treaty settlement, part Koha, part birthday present. 

She could have applied to the Trout Centre for her iwi share (?) or sent 27 children to the Trout Centre kids day, but preferred TRM’s smoker where the trout are much tastier and bigger and better.  (It is all to do with the dried Manuka…)

But it gets worse.  Shaz also claimed they were only needed for research (not unlike Japanese slaughtering whales) to assess the superb quality and fat condition of the 2017 early season spawning runs. 

That was all so political, I think she got away with it.  

Above on right is a photo of Bill at his birthday celebration.  Note his ‘redish’ hair…  (Once upon a time, long long ago, I had red hair too so this was of sensitive personal interest…)

SWMBO (group photo below on right – I think She is in the middle?) will be so relieved.

Red heads were here first

Red hair is an unusual inherited characteristic in NZ Maoris.  TRM reports have mentioned before.  That makes Bill’s genealogy much more than interesting as it pre-dates Maori settlement going back about 70 generations. 

He (and I?) may be the chosen few – the real original NZ’ers! 

Did you know the first historic inhabitants of Turangi region all were light skinned and had red hair too.  This was confirmed when the 1960’s excavations for the Tokaanu Power Station tail race unearthed many pre-Maori villages and cemeteries that were carbon dated around 400AD.  These ancestors were described as the Korako people. 

Similar remains have been found throughout the North Island wherever there are hot thermal springs. 

Even 1600 years ago they based their selected village locations relied on an ample supply of fresh clean water.

TRM posted a Daily Report on this issue last December – see below:

The Turangi Museum

Yesterday TRM reported on the first item on Turangi’s Christmas wish list – the Caves of Mordor, hidden in an underground power station just off SH1 waiting to be discovered by tourists.  Today the second lost treasure waiting to be rediscovered is the Turangi Museum.  Unlike the underground power station which has never been opened, the Turangi museum once was open as an extension of the original visitors centre.  Indeed some 45 years ago it was regarded as a national treasure and reportedly attracted 250,000 visitors in 1970.  The parking area had to be extended to accommodate six buses at a time.  So where is it now?

Amazingly the original museum structure is still there.  Parked off to one side of State Highway 41 on the southern fringe of residential housing among industrial factory development the original building still stands waiting for an enterprising imaginative council to re-open it.  Sadly, when it comes to Turangi, there is no such thing as an imaginative Council…

The photo above shows the front entry to the building featuring a section of one of the pipes from the Tail Race of Tokaanu Power Station.  Below are some other historic relics rotting and rusting away – surely they should be on display at the Visitors Centre?

The pre-maori artefacts and other historical exhibits, were arguably the most extensive collection of pre-maori moa hunter artefacts in NZ.  Te Papa pinched most of them about 40 years ago but will not return them.  Perhaps they are too valuable for public display?

The prize exhibit should be the 45 cm ceremonial adze found by local schoolboy, Ray Parker, in the Poutu River.  The Dominion National Museum rewarded him with a crown.  They dated it around 400AD.  It was carved from stone/marble from the Nelson region – confirming they were trading 1700 years ago.  It was considered so valuable they made a replica for display.  So where is it now?

How ridiculous is that?.  Here is a quaint little tourist town struggling economically hiding a world class collection of pre-Maori artefacts that attracted so many tourists over 40 years ago.   Taupo Council closed it.  How can the council or DGLT (Destination Great Lake Taupo) and DOC (Department of Conservation) allow that to happen?  Perhaps they have another agenda to hide the early history or do not want to attract more tourists to Turangi!

The collection was unearthed mainly from the excavations for the Tokaanu tail race below the power station.  Briefly, back in the 1960’s for several years under the watchful eye of Trevor Hosking, the MOW archaeologist, they carefully excavated 16 villages, found 246 dwellings, 20 burial sites, moved 71 bodies (now re-buried above Tokaanu), and collected all manner of artefacts from around 400AD. 

That was about 800 years before the Maori fleet was claimed to have arrived from the Pacific Islands.  Fascinating stuff…

Trevor Hosking recorded it in his autobiography – A Museum Underfoot.  There are heaps of local evidence – i.e. A well know Turangi local prepared the inventory of all the exhibits for the Dominion Museum in Wellington – as it was back then.  So where is it now?  Turangians want it back please…  Requests to Te Papa in the past have not been answered.  Smell something fishy?

Investiture:

In 2009 Trevor Hosking, of Taupō, received the Queen’s Service Medal for services to the conservation of historic places.  Mr Hosking has been actively involved in the restoration and protection of historic places in the Taupō area for more than 50 years.  He has worked to ensure the protection and restoration of local sites of significance, including the Armed Constabulary Hall, burial caves on Motutaiko Island, Rauhoata Cave, the Napier/Taupō Armed Constabulary Redoubts, the Te Porere Redoubt, the Tarawera rock drawings, and the Opepe Canoe. 

He also worked with Ngati Tūwharetoa to undertake excavations and record several early Māori occupation sites, including the caves at Whakamoenga Point and the shelter at Waihora Bay.  Mr Hosking was also involved with the Taupō-nui-a-Tia Māori Youth Club.

The image above on right is an old photo of Trevor building the displays for the museum about 50 years ago.

Image below – Remains of pre-European maori canoes at Turangi. 

So that is Turangi’s 2nd request on their Christmas wish list.  Based on previous interest, if the museum was reopened, it could easily generate enough tourist traffic to pay for the management (and maintenance!) of the iSite.  No other town in NZ has such a valuable collection locked away.  Almost as stupid as hiding the only underground power station in the North Island… 

See the video…

Much of the early pre-maori history of NZ is finally being exposed internationally through videos like the “Skeletons in the Cupboard”.