Marae

A marae (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian) malaʻe (in Tongan), malae (in Samoan) and mālaʻe (in Hawaiian) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the word also means "cleared, free of weeds, trees, etc." It generally consists of an area of cleared land roughly rectangular (the marae itself), bordered with stones or wooden posts (called au in Tahitian and Cook Islands Māori) perhaps with terraces (paepae) which were traditionally used for ceremonial purposes; and in some cases, a central stone ahu or a'u. In the Rapanui culture of Easter Island "ahu" has become a synonym for the whole marae complex).

In some modern Polynesian societies, notably that of the Māori of New Zealand, the marae is still a vital part of everyday life. However, in tropical Polynesia, most marae were destroyed or abandoned with the arrival of Christianity in the 19th century and some of them have become an attraction for tourists or archaeologists. Nevertheless, the place where the marae were built are still considered as tapu in most islands. In the Cook Islands, a few marae (Arai-te-Tonga, Vaerota, Taputapuātea) are still maintained, and are quickly tidied up before the investiture of a new ariki.

Clive, New Zealand

The small town of Clive is located ten kilometres from the city centres of both Napier and Hastings in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. It is close to the mouth of the Ngaruroro River.

Description

The town, which has a population of 1350 at the 2001 census, is part of the Hastings district. It was named (like many of the towns in the vicinity) after a prominent person from imperial India, in this case Robert Clive, better known as "Clive of India". The name was given by John Curling.

The town of Clive is mainly rural, yet with the increasing number of people moving into Hawke's Bay, and Clive being at the meeting point of Hastings and Napier, new subdivisions are being built to accommodate the growing population.

Clive is home to the Hawke's Bay Rowing Club who train on the Clive River. The Hawke's Bay Rowing Regatta is held on the first weekend of the year and was started in 1872.

References

Coordinates: 39°35′S 176°55′E / 39.583°S 176.917°E / -39.583; 176.917

Hawke's Bay Region

Coordinates: 39°25′S 176°49′E / 39.417°S 176.817°E / -39.417; 176.817

Hawke's Bay Region (Māori: Heretaunga) is a region of New Zealand on the east coast of the North Island. It is recognised on the world stage for its award-winning wines. Hawke's Bay Regional Council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings. It derives from Hawke Bay which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke who decisively defeated the French at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759.

Geography

The region is situated on the east coast of the North Island. It bears the former name of what is now Hawke Bay, a large semi-circular bay that extends for 100 kilometres from northeast to southwest from Mahia Peninsula to Cape Kidnappers.

The Hawke's Bay region includes the hilly coastal land around the northern and central bay, the floodplains of the Wairoa River in the north, the wide fertile Heretaunga Plains around Hastings in the south, and a hilly interior stretching up into the Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges.