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Rā Maumahara (Commemoration Day for the New Zealand Wars) was a day of remembrance for Ngāti Wairere kuia Hekeiterangi Broadhurst who attended Hamilton’s ceremony at Steele Park on October 28. She was interviewed in Rāhui Pōkeka (Huntly) on October 31.

Broadhurst saw symbolism in Rā Maumahara’s rainy disposition.

In commemoration of the Waikato Wars of 1863-1864 red ribbons with the names of Kīngitanga Māori of the era were tied around the park’s oak trees.

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The park is named after Captain William Steele who commanded the gunboat ‘Rangiriri’, and the trees were each named after members of the 4th Waikato Militia who claimed Hamilton (Kirikiriroa) in 1864 for European settlement.

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Hamilton’s only Rā Maumahara ceremony was organised by Bruce MacKay, and Ngāti Wairere as mana whenua played a significant role.

Broadhurst spoke at the service of her grandmother Kameta Te Puke (nee Te Tuhi) who was the last eye-witness of the attack on Rangiaowhia, near Te Awamutu, on 21 February 1864.

Kameta was a young girl at the time and her beloved great grandfather Patara Te Tuhi was a warrior, secretary, adviser, and second cousin to the second Māori king, Tāwhiao. Both men received her following the deaths of their people and the king wept.

Rangiaowhia is the rohe of Ngāti Apakura and was the agricultural base of Waikato and the Kīngitanga (king movement) and boasted “rich resources” and a “thriving agricultural trade”.

Kirikiriroa was similarly abundant. Today, Visit Hamilton highlights its location as “one of the richest agricultural and pastoral areas in the world,” and that agricultural and economic affluence existed during Ngāti Wairere’s early occupation.

Before European settlement in the region, Māori dominated trade to domestic, Australian and Californian markets. In Auckland, the colony’s capital, the settler population was dependent on produce from Waikato.

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Heritage New Zealand’s Waikato Wars Education resource, A journey through the Waikato War, states that 20 Māori flour mills operated in the region and it was known as the “granary to the province of Auckland…Pakeha farmer settlers and land hungry speculators from Auckland looked towards the rich land of the Waikato with envious eyes.”

Broadhurst spoke of Hamilton’s original occupants and of an envy that led to war.

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Before what Ngāti Hauā chief Wiremu Tamihana called, “The Great New Zealand War,” Waikato Māori had fought amongst themselves, but wanting to preserve their lands, customs and mana they came together to crown a king.

The last Ngāti Wairere chief to govern his ancestral lands of Kirikiriroa, Hoera Taonui (1805-1863), supported the Kīngitanga and attended multi-tribe hui regarding the matter.

The first Māori king, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, was appointed in 1858 at Ngāruawāhia but passed in 1860. He was succeeded by his son, Tāwhiao.

Under Tāwhiao’s sovereignty Māori who supported the Kīngitanga were united in resisting British land procurement and their control of the prosperous Waikato region was retained. The colonists wanted the land and used a new road to facilitate invasion.

Great South Road was constructed under the direction of Governor George Grey and extended from Auckland to Waikato. It allowed thousands of British troops to descend on Kīngitanga Māori who took a stand at Rangiriri.

Tāwhiao told his people, “the soldiers are coming.”

Ngāti Wairere chief Hoera Taonui responded by taking about three waka full of warriors upriver to the battle of Rangiriri in November 1863. He is presumed to have died there and the Kīngitanga were defeated.

A message came alerting the women, children and old people still at Ngāti Wairere’s principal pā, Kirikiriroa, located in what is now the Hamilton CBD, to leave for Hukanui (Gordonton). The king’s message came from Pirihi Tomonui, who survived the Battle of Rangiriri but later surrendered to the British at the redoubt in Hamilton East.

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The King warned his people saying, “Gunboats [are] coming. Ka mate koutou (you will die).”

Broadhurst’s speech on Rā Maumahara acknowledged the 4th Regiment’s part in the occupation of Kirikiriroa (Hamilton) and rejected the notion that her ancestors had ‘deserted’ their land.

“Gunboats came and found nobody there.”

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For years, Tāwhiao sort redress for grievances against his people and ultimately travelled to England in 1884 to speak with Queen Victoria regarding her agents’ actions and to solicit the return of Māori land. One of Tāwhiao’s companions was Kameta’s great grandfather and tupuna of Broadhurst, Patara Te Tuhi.

The delegation were denied an audience with the British Monarch and returned to their people.

Over a million acres of land was taken in retribution for the Kīngitanga’s resistance and Māori, including Ngāti Wairere, were exiled from their lands.

Hamilton City Council’s 2003 Māori Landmarks on Riverside Reserves-Nga Tapuwae o Hotumauea plan states that:

“Following the confiscation of Waikato land it was decided by the Government that settlement of this land should be done by men who would be able to defend it in case of future hostilities.”

Broadhurst experienced the after-effects of displacement, hardship and military occupation and acknowledges the Kīngitanga’s role in sustaining the people.

She spoke of Ngāti Wairere living outside the imposed boundary at Hukanui, Tauhei and Waiti. Initially the people lived in whare made of raupo reeds and earned an income by selling kauri gum for making glue.

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Tāwhiao returned from Te Nehenehenui (King Country) to see his Hukanui kin about a month after Rangiriri. From there Ngāti Wairere began construction of his whare: Tuturu-a-Papa.

“They all slept in there. They had to build everything by hand.”

“They had a whare kai. They had their own lifestyle.”

“They were very, very much like a family,” Broadhurst recounted.

She and her brother Hakopa Puke are the “last of the few” descendants of Te Puke Waharoa who have living memory of the people who lived at Kirikiriroa Pā.

Kameta was Te Puke Waharoa’s wife and she was the last survivor of the pā passing in 1947 at the age of 104.

According to new Hamilton City Council signage at the site, Kirikiriroa Pā was the “most significant” of a network of Ngāti Wairere pā stretching along the Waikato River from Ngāruawāhia to Horotiu (present-day Cambridge).

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Broadhurst said that the pā’s significance was ignored following the 4th Regiment’s annexation but she maintains that Ngāti Wairere are still the “Ahi kaa”: holders of customary rights and responsibilities over Kirikiriroa.

She said that the Waikato Wars were not the design of Māori.

2017 was New Zealand’s first year officially acknowledging the wars fought at home of which the Waikato Wars were significant. The Ngāti Wairere kuia was able to remember her ancestors and Kirikiriroa history and said of participating in the commemoration service:

“I was only too happy to be there.”

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Hamilton Mayor Andrew King, in a little-publicised service, unveiled two new signs with an artistic upgrade at Kirikiriroa Pā on November 16.

Kirikiriroa Pā was the principal pā of the Ngāti Wairere people from 1690 and became a garrison for British troops after the Waikato War battle at Rangiriri in 1863. Following that first surveyor, and later Mayor of Hamilton, William Graham built his house on top of the sacred pā site. It was located along the Waikato river from Hamilton CBD’s Claudelands Bridge to London street and the reserve is at the river end of the latter.

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The city’s current Mayor acknowledged the occasion.

The pā’s 2004 sign had deteriorated and as part of the Hamilton City Council’s River Plan upgrades were commissioned.

The two new information panels include artistic impressions of what Kirikiriroa Pā might have looked like during early Māori occupation when it was permanent home to several hundred Ngāti Wairere residents. It was also a fortified refuge for those of the hapū who lived on and cultivated the surrounding area.

The signs state that it is “one of the most important pā sites in the Hamilton area” and translates “Kirikiriroa” as meaning “long strip of cultivated land,” representing the early tenants’  numerous gardens to be found along both sides of the Waikato River from Ngāruawāhia to Horotiu (present-day Cambridge).

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Pou whakarae (carved palisade posts) were prominent features of former pā and the one that stands at Kirikiriroa today represents its last chief, Hoera Taonui (1805-1863).

Last month New Zealand observed the first Rā Maumahara (Commemoration Day of the New Zealand Wars), which included the Waikato Wars: Battle of Rangiriri in 1863 – the events which were the catalyst for Ngāti Wairere vacating the pā site.

Under the direction of the second Māori King, Tāwhiao, Ngāti Wairere chief Hoera Taonui led his people to Rangiriri in opposition to the confiscation of Māori lands. He is presumed to have died there.

The people left the pā for Hukanui (Gordonton) following the defeat of the Kīngitanga host and before European occupation in 1864.

The boards’ histories came from local hapū and the designs were a collaboration between Dallow Boss and Stantiall Studios.

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Hamilton City Council’s Amorangi Māori (Strategic Māori relationships manager) Muna Wharawhara acknowledged Nga Mana Toopu o Kirikiriroa (NaMTOK) who were hapū resource and cultural consultants to the council on earlier projects regarding the pā and he spoke of the new signage.

“We haven’t changed much of the stories that Nga Mana Toopu o Kirikiriroa told.”

“Those are still the same.”

“The old signs became a bit old and dilapidated and they needed renewal.”

“So, we thought we’d take the opportunity to actually upgrade them as well,” he said.

Wharawhara said that council consulted local hapū, including Ngāti Wairere, throughout the development of the signs through Te Ha o te Whenua o Kirikiriroa. Kaumātua and kuia of the region belong to the group and were present on the day.

Te Puke Waharoa (c.1834-1895) and Kameta Rangikauwau Te Puke (nee Te Tuhi, c.1843-1947) both lived at Kirikiriroa Pā and their mokopuna, kaumātua Hakopa Puke, was a part of the proceedings. His elder sister Hekeiterangi Broadhurst, a usual mana whenua representative, who offered the karanga at the Kiwis versus Tonga Rugby League match five days prior, however was not included in the consultation process.

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Broadhurst’s nephew Ngāti Wairere historian, Wiremu Puke, took to facebook with complaints asking why council had not notified NaMTOK, of which he and his aunt are a part, when he had met with Wharawhara the Māori relationship manager the day before.

An invitation was then extended to him via facebook and he responded saying, “You leave us as an after thought Muna!”

He said that his father Hare Puke (1925-2008) had “provided the text” regarding Kirikiriroa Pā and that council have legal obligations to Ngāti Wairere as mana whenua (holders of customary rights of the area). Puke referred to court proceedings wherein council lawyers acknowledged the hapū’s position.

Puke has said that proper protocol would have seen hui held at the marae about the event and notification “well ahead of time.”

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The Mayor said, “I understand that Wiremu was invited today but it was very late, I understand that was as late as last night, which could have made it very difficult for him to be here this morning.”

King also said that consultation was carried out with Te Ha o te Whenua o Kirikiriroa but that “the other group [NaMTOK] that Wiremu is with were not consulted.”

Wharawhara’s response was, “we’re quite clear that NaMTOK have interests as an interested party but in terms of our discussions at a mana whenua level then that continues to be the thought. There is a difference of understanding of the ruling between NaMTOK and council.”

On heritage matters applicants are directed to NaMTOK as an interested party.

“That part of the ruling we honour and acknowledge,” he said.

“From a council point-of-view we believe that we went through the proper processes in terms of consulting with Ngāti Wairere kaumātua.”

The Amorangi Māori manager said that direction regarding the development of the signs, the timing of the occasion and responsibility for informing hapū was led by kaumātua of Te Ha o te Whenua o Kirikiriroa of which Ngāti Wairere kaumātua Hakopa Puke is a member.

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The ceremony was opened by Ngāti Hauā kaumātua Sonny Karena, and kuia summoned the group of about 30 attendees forward with karanga.

Karakia were offered, waiata were sung, and then black coverings were removed from the panels by the Mayor and Karena.

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Following the unveilings King was invited to speak.

He acknowledged kaumātua; members of the Hamilton City Council which included councillors Rob Pascoe, Siggi Henry and James Casson; and members of the public in attendance.

The Mayor also recognised Tainui as tangata whenua of Kirikiriroa.

“I particularly acknowledge your special place in our history and the inclusion of you in our decision-making going forward for this city, Kirikiriroa.

“I know that this is an ongoing process and we’re not finished yet,” King said.

“Kirikiriroa is a traditional name for this area we know today as Hamilton City. We sincerely thank the hapū for sharing their history with Hamilton City, its residents, and the visitors to our city,” the Mayor said.

Concluding remarks were offered by Wharawhara and acknowledged the source of the information embodied within the panels.

“I think we are quite privileged and quite lucky that they [hapū] were prepared to share those stories with us,” he said.

Wharawhara said, “Enjoy the stories. Enjoy the beautiful pictures.”

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The ceremony was followed with refreshments at Columbus Coffee on the corner of London and Victoria Streets.

See also Hamilton Heritage: A New View

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Wiremu Puke of Ngāti Wairere has battled for pre-European acknowledgement in Kirikiriroa (Hamilton). At Hukanui Marae on October 4, he spoke about the journey to naming a multi-million dollar expressway and other subsequent roads.

Wairere Drive is a major arterial road with four lanes, multiple bridges and accommodates both pedestrians and cyclists, as well as cars, and is projected to meet the growing traffic demands of Hamilton. The Crosby Road to Fifth Avenue section was opened in 2012 by Mayor Julie Hardaker and the blessing was offered by Wiremu and his aunt, Ngāti Wairere Kuia Hekeiterangi Broadhurst.

Puke was “inspired” to push for names of significance because of his mother’s rohe—Turangi.

“Also my father [Hare Puke (1925-2008)] was the kaumātua of the city at the time so I pushed it through the media and he pushed it at a political level.”

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“Of all the Māori names there were only about two or three that were relevant or historically correct.”

A recognised historian of the area, Puke says there are long-standing errors in the way some places are named.

“Kirikiriroa Gully is in Chartwell but Kirikiriroa Pa was located between London Street and Bryce Street; Te Rapa was by the Waikato Hospital and Cobham Drive; and Horotiu is actually located in present day Cambridge.”

“So as a hapū we suffered place names that were put in the wrong localities by surveyors that came in here immediately after the [1863] Land Wars.”

Auckland Professor Giselle Byrnes has referred to survey activity in colonial New Zealand as “colonising by language”.

Christine Whybrew’s Journal on Dunedin photographers, The Burton Brothers, discusses Byrnes’ analysis and says:

Puke said: “What you’re perpetuating is another form of colonisation.”

In 1881, the people of Parihaka, near New Plymouth, passively resisted the confiscation of their lands. This was acknowledged by the New Zealand Government in June 2017.

John Bryce,  who became known by Taranaki Māori as “Bryce Kohuru” (“Bryce the Murderer”), supervised the destruction of the settlement and the imprisonment of  their prophets, Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi, for 16-months without trial.

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Hamilton’s own Bryce Street is named after him.

Puke compared such practices as akin to naming new subdivisions after concentration camps with streets named Hitler, Himler and Goebbels.

“They hated that kind of reasoning,” he said.

But Puke continued to push for recognition and found support.

“I really owe credit to Margaret Evans,” he said.

Three names were put forward for Hamilton’s ring-road in 1995. Margaret Evans, Brian Perry, and Jubilee Drive.

“No-one could figure out what Jubilee was for and I knew Brian and Margaret would say no so those three names were basically taken off the list and Wairere was put forward.”

“As far as I know it went before council and it was just Margaret Evans’ casting vote as the Mayor that it was adopted.”

“When we came out with the history of the significance of the tupuna himself it made sense.”

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“It’s not just the fact that the road carries the name of our hapū. It’s that in the face of having to deal with a city that at this time still struggles with its engagement with Māori, it’s good to see an outcome resulting from that time.”

“Auckland doesn’t have Whātua Drive. Christchurch doesn’t have Ngāi Tahu, neither does Wellington have Ngāti Toa or Te Ātiawa.”

“It’s taken a stance and somebody had to do it. It’s a special legacy,” Puke said.

Since 1995, Wiremu Puke has put forward several names which hold significance for Ngāti Wairere. Names which have been adopted and were supported by the Nga Mana Toopu O Kirikiriroa Trust and the Hamilton City Council.

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The hapū contributed to the naming of Mangaharakeke and Koura Drives and the New Zealand Transport Agency lists them as roads of national significance .

Then PM, John Key opened State Highway 1 Mangaharakeke Drive in 2012.

However, despite the fact that there is ample signage stating its official name, Google Maps currently lists it as “Waikato Expressway” and “SH1 Avalon Drive Bypass”.

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When Scottish Hamiltonian, Bruce MacKay discovered that the city would not mark New Zealand’s first official annual Rā Maumahara (Commemoration Day of the New Zealand Wars), he decided to act.

Rā Maumahara came about because Otorohanga College students, Waimarama Anderson and Leah Bell, petitioned the Government to acknowledge the wars and sacrifices made on New Zealand soil.

The girls declared: “Me maumahara tātou (We must remember)” and the date of October 28 was appointed.

MacKay’s way of remembering was to tie ribbons around Hamilton’s Steele Park (Te Nihinihi) oak trees. The ribbons would commemorate Māori warriors and adorn the oaks which were planted in 1889 and named for the 4th Waikato Militia who claimed Kirikiriroa (Hamilton) in 1864.

The park is named after William Steele, Captain of the gunboat “Rangiriri” that brought the first Europeans to the area.

Prior to the militia’s arrival, Kirikiriroa Pā (between Bryce and London Streets in the Hamilton CBD) had been home to the people of Ngāti Wairere for over 150 years.

They are recognised as Hamilton mana whenua (holders of customary rights over the area by virtue of birthright).

MacKay’s Chartwell residence stands where a former Ngāti Wairere Pā site (Te Inanga) stood and he reached out to Waikato hapū, including Ngāti Wairere, to plan the only Rā Maumahara ceremony to take place in Hamilton.

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He spoke from home on November 6, about his designs to effect commemoration for Māori in the city.

Two of his uncles were deployed for the Great World Wars but he feels that commemoration for local battles pale in contrast to off-shore observances.

An Armistice Day ceremony and the unveiling of the World War One War Horse statue named “Gunner” was held at Hamilton’s Memorial Park on River Road 14-days after Rā Maumahara on November 11.

The Mayor, Andrew King, with various dignitaries from the military to community groups was in attendance along with a  considerable crowd.

Speakers at the service acknowledged wars in which New Zealand has been engaged but the Waikato Land Wars of the 1860s were not mentioned.

The most recognised Waikato Land Wars relate to the battles of Rangiriri, Ōrākau, and Rangiaowhia in 1863-1864.

Under the direction of the Second Māori King, Tāwhiao, Māori fought British soldiers in response to the confiscation of their ancestral lands.

Hamilton City’s 2012 Tangata Whenua document states:

“The Kīngitanga (Māori King movement) was established to prevent further loss of Maori land to European settlers and posed a direct threat to colonial ambitions.”

As a result of the Kīngitanga’s defeat, 1.2 million acres of land in the Waikato was confiscated.

MacKay’s view is that the New Zealand Wars should be commemorated.

“This was right here and we’re not even doing anything?” MacKay said.

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Due to his Scottish ancestry he sees similarities between the treatment of early Māori and that of his ancestors by English colonisation.

His ancestors were “kicked out of North Scotland” by way of the “Clearances,” and subjected to “horrible things”.

“They burnt their houses down around them. [Some were] 90-years of age and they’d cart them out of their houses on their beds and they were just left out in the open. They didn’t care about them.

“It’s the same thing,” MacKay said.

Coupled with finding a facebook video by Joe Trinder and reading Vincent O’Malley’s book: The Great War for New Zealand, MacKay felt compelled to act and found a few friends willing to help.

His approach was to source names of those Māori “resistance warriors” that went to war for land and sovereignty in the Waikato.

Wiremu Tamihana (about 1805-1866) was a Kīngite and was acknowledged by the New Zealand Herald in 2013 as New Zealander of the year for 1863. He displaced Governor George Grey from the position.

It was a quote attributed to Tamihana that provided the title for O’Malley’s book.

The Ngāti Hauā chief said:

MacKay worked for the Hamilton City Council from 1986-2001, during which he was responsible for planting trees in Steele Park (Te Nihinihi) to replace any that had died.

It was then that he learned about the 4th Waikato Militia.

The militia held a 25th Landing Anniversary in 1889 and planted 50 oak trees around the perimeter of the park which was then named Sydney Square. The trees were named after them and are protected.

Rā Maumahara MacKay commissioned red sashes to be tied around the trees. They had the names of Māori warriors in order to ensure both sides of the Waikato Land Wars were remembered and represented.

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A member of the public commented on MacKay’s activities.

“One guy came up and said: ‘I think you’re being disrespectful putting those around the trees. They were planted for militia.’”

MacKay’s response was: “Militia had no right to be here.”

“I just read a little bit about Kihikihi. It amazes me. They just marched into these places and took them over,” he said.

“I wasn’t too happy with this guy saying we were being disrespectful because, actually, I’ve done a lot of work to protect the trees and protect the history,” the ribbon-tier said.

At the ceremony MacKay distributed hand-outs with known details about participants of the Waikato Wars.

Grey, Cameron, Heaphy, Von Tempsky, Knox, and Nixon, are some of the streets in Hamilton named after British Governors and officers who played significant roles at Rangiriri, Ōrākau, and Rangiaowhia, according to MacKay’s research.

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“And Whitaker Street out in Cambridge [and Kihikihi and Te Aroha]; I put those in there as well because [Fredrick] Whitaker (1812-1891) was actually a big player and he made a lot of money. He speculated on the confiscated lands and he was also in Parliament,” MacKay said.

He also acknowledged Frankton’s history.

“Frank Jolly [1865-1943], he’s the guy Frankton’s named after. He owned a big lot of land over there,” MacKay said.

The Hamilton Dinsdale Library currently have an entrance-way display for the Frankton-sire, whose father, Thomas Jolly brought the 400 acres of confiscated Kirikiriroa land from 4th Waikato Militia-man Major Jackson Keddell (1831-1862).

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Jolly named a street in his suburb after Keddell in 1904.

Joe Trinder’s video stars his daughter who asks why street names of Māori warriors from the Waikato Wars don’t exist.

“I don’t see how we are all one people when there are streets named after Bryce, Von Tempsky, and not Titokowaru,” she said.

MacKay was moved when looking over the Māori names identified in connection with the Waikato Wars such as Kereopa Te Rau, whose wife and two daughters died at Rangiaowhia.

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His determination to hold the event was set but he kept it quiet to avoid interference.

He met with the Waikato Times two days prior otherwise announcement was made by word-of-mouth.

“I didn’t want them trying to close it down,” MacKay said.

He said that he was contacted by a council officer after the newspaper article’s release for not lodging his plans with them.

He stated that he did have a booking and that it was not a council but a community-led initiative.

Six-months earlier he had submitted a letter to the newspaper asking council to consider street name changes to reflect the town’s Māori heritage.

He cited the change of Bridge Street to Anzac Parade as a reference.

“So, that’s where it started,” MacKay said.

From inception, in July, to a team of six, working for two-hours to tie sashes around trees–45 named and some blank to honour the unknown–the heritage militia park was ringed in red on Rā Maumahara.

When invited to speak at the ceremony MacKay remembered saying:

“I just think that putting ribbons around the trees actually combines the history of Pākēha and Māori.”

“It actually says: this is what Pākēha did and now we’re putting Māori names on there and trying to remember them as well.”

“That’s really important and it combines our histories in a different way.”

It was a “really wet” day and the turn out numbered about 30 people.

City Councillor Martin Gallagher, Ngāti Maniapoto kaumātua Tom Roa, Ngāti Wairere kuia Hekeiterangi Broadhurst and Ngāti Wairere historian Wiremu Puke were in attendance.

“I was worried it wasn’t going to happen,” MacKay said.

He was satisfied at the end of the 1-hour ceremony and left the ribbons in place until the next afternoon.

The ribbons will be gifted to Ngāti Wairere.

Puke helped MacKay identify some names for the ribbons, such as the last Ngāti Wairere chief to live at Kirikiriroa Pā, Hoera Taonui.

Hoera Taonui led his people to the Battle of Rangiriri and is presumed to have died there in 1863.

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More names came from O’Malley’s book and other Waikato hapū.

As MacKay was tying the ribbons, Puke alerted him to the fact that one of the names belonged to a relative.

“It becomes real when it touches yourself and when it touches people that you know and you realise, actually, their ancestors were caught up in this.”

“That’s what makes it important,” MacKay said.

His vision is to see Hamilton renaming streets and parks in honour of its Māori heritage.

“Until the council gets the message and starts to name a park after one of the wars; they have a Memorial Park and a New Memorial Park, they should have a Memorial park for all the Land Wars really.”

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The Hamilton City Council’s River Road Memorial Park webpage states that it: “contains memorials to various wars and events significant to Hamilton.”

Acknowledgement of the Waikato Wars is 4th of those recognised and is represented by Captain William Steele’s gunboat Rangiriri that claimed the territory after the defeat of Kīngitanga fighters in the 1863 Rangiriri battle.

The monument classifies the “iron hulk” as a “paddle steamer” that “had no guns,” was “too late to engage in hostilities” and “spent her life transporting goods and people”.

Differing views exist regarding the purpose and perception of such vessels following the events of the 1860s wars.

See also A new view of the past