THE TOTARA & THE PINE TREE
(The ballad of Hone Heke Chainsaw and the Lone Mug Mangler)

Maui, the South Pacific superman
baited his enchanted hook
there was a great fight 
between day and night
and the sky and the sea shook;
Up from the depths 
came the great fish Aotearoa
but this model for the world
 became valleys and hills
through the deceit of Maui's brother.

Seven canoes from Hawaiiki 
sailed into the blue:
Tainui, Arawa, Mata-Atua, Aotea, 
Takatimu, Horoutu, Tokomaru;
Then came the Heemeskirk 
and the Endeavour's crew
The Long White Cloud thrice subdued.

We've been fighting over land 
since time began
Tribe took from tribe, 
clan stole from clan;
hunters and gatherers 
with blood on their hands.

In the city of volcanoes, 
on a porous summit
the Waioha tribe fortified, 
then they had to slum it.
Ngati Whatua from Kaipara 
in a bloody coup
took over that famed mountain view
and in turn it was taken from them too.

From the slopes of Maungakiekie
you can see
Logan Campbell's legacy;
Parks for the people beneath
 the crippled one tree
and a memorial to the character 
of the mighty Maori.

Waitangi celebrates our founding treaty
The America's Cup our prowess on the sea
The taiaha is to test for truth 
between the two trees.

Hone Heke chainsaw made his mark
 on One Tree Hill
- nearly had to rename it,
 but the sap is running still;
100-years is a good life, even for a pine.
Ultimately a totara will stand there again.


Keith Newman (C) 1997