Ngai Tahu wants its cultural and spiritual associations with the Nevis valley and river safeguarded.
Submissions in support of an amendment to the existing water conservation order on the Nevis River were made yesterday on behalf of Te Runanga o Otakou, Te Runanga o Moeraki, and Kati Huirapa Runanga ki Puketeraki.
The special tribunal considering the changes to the order heard from Edward Ellison, Tim Vial and Jim Williams, who said the changes would safeguard Ngai Tahu's associations with the area.
"Tribal history is embedded in Te Papapuni [the Nevis]; both the river and the valley it flows through," Mr Ellison said.
For many generations, the river and its tributaries, as well as the surrounding valleys and mountains had provided people with abundant natural resources and food, he said.
The valley had been an important route for those travelling from Southland into Central Otago and the Queenstown area, and was used well into the 19th century.
Evidence suggested there was also seasonal settlement by Ngai Tahu in the valley during the early moa-hunting period.
Ngai Tahu was opposed to damming the river or inundating any of the valley, Mr Ellison said.
Dr Williams said towards the end of the 18th century, southern Maori had a lifestyle and social structure geared towards the need for seasonal access to resources. Harvesting trips would be made using a network of travel routes that connected the coastal settlements with the interior of Otago.
"...The [Nevis] Valley was not off the beaten track; it was the beaten track, being the main route from Murihiku (Southland) into Central Otago and the Lakes," Dr Williams said.
