Te Parapara

Te Parapara displays plants that can be used as resources as well as plants of cultural significance. The plant displays are set within a design that refers to traditional built structures as well as to the cultural aspects of gardening. The garden tells the story of the establishment of cultivated food crops in the Waikato, from the landing of the Tainui waka to the era of the expansive plantations that were described in the 1840s by European visitors. It shows how the first Polynesian arrivals to Aotearoa used the plants they found growing wild and it demonstrates the new techniques they developed for growing tropical crops in a sub-tropical climate. The garden also shows the cultural context that integrated and regulated the agronomic life of pre-European Waikato/Ngati Wairere society.

Te Parapara is divided into two realms. Te Ara Whakatauki (the path of proverbs), which lies between the Piazza and the waharoa (gateway) is the realm of the uncultivated food from the forest and grassland. The ruler of this realm is Haumia- tiketike, deity of wild food plants.  Te Taupa (the garden), beyond the Waharoa, is the realm of cultivated food, ruled by Rongomatane, deity of the kumara and all cultivated food plants.