Joe and the River
On a January morning, I found myself sipping tea and working my way through a packet of Macaroons at the home of Pōrangahau local Joe MacDonald as we chatted about his bond with Taurekaitai (Pōrangahau River).
From being christened in the river as a baby, to learning to fish as a child under the guidance of his grandmother and now swimming there 3-4 times a week for taha tinana (physical wellbeing), the awa and Joe Te Ohonga MacDonald have been lifelong companions.
For Joe, a descendant of Rangitāne, the river has always been about survival.
“My dad and uncle weren’t millionaires, but they knew how to get by. Dad taught us kids how to catch fish, and that’s what we did—buckets of them. We’d give some away, eat what we needed, and leave the rest in the river for others.”
Joe notices that many people take the river for granted. “People think the river’s just always going to be there. I do too!”
These days, Joe swims at the beach bridge jetty, where he finds fewer obstacles in the water: “I’m not so worried about getting a stick in the face.” But back in the day, he would suit up in his wetsuit, step out of the shop, and head straight for the river. “I’d walk under the bridge, get in, and swim up and down. That was my routine.”
Joe ran the Pōrangahau Dairy as the owner-operator for 26 years, starting in 1990. He credits this long stint, alongside his 30-year shearing career, as key to building his stamina and endurance.
“My goal was to keep the shop until the last of my seven kids finished college—and I did that. But then my wife, Mahara, passed away in 2014. I kept going for a little while after that, on my own. It wasn’t easy, but I managed because I’d toughened up mentally over the years. Eventually, I sold the shop.”
Preparing the Tamatea Ariki Nui waka for launch to mark 150 years since the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Joe, one of 16 tamariki, recalls how the boys in his family would wash in the river while the girls enjoyed the luxury of hot water back at the house.
A section of the river, “between the cemetery and the marae,” was his family’s fishing domain. Joe remembers, “No one told us not to go beyond that, but we just didn’t. That’s how it was - you fished in your spot and stayed there.” Though they never named it, that stretch of the river holds memories for Joe, especially of his grandmother, who also taught him to fish.
Joe’s grandmother, Emma Tutaki, arrived in Pōrangahau as a 12-year-old, travelling with her mother and siblings after her father died. They had come from Foxton, following the master carver Hokowhitu.
Emma’s daughter (Joe’s mother), Rawinia Tutaki, met Mason MacDonald, while visiting cousins in Blenheim. They married, and some of Mason’s siblings also ended up settling in Pōrangahau.
“I do use the river a fair bit,” says Joe, reflecting on the role it plays in his life. “Solo stuff. As I grew older, I ventured into triathlon. It’s a solo sport, and you learn how to toughen up mentally. I still train in the river.”
Joe is no stranger to warnings about swimming in the river. "People often tell me, 'Don’t go down there, you’ll get sick.' I tell them, I don’t go down to drink the water - I go to swim." He’s confident that the river hasn’t made him sick. “If it’s reasonably dirty, I won’t swim. I’ll head into town and use the pool until the water’s clean again.” Joe’s approach reflects his connection to the river; he respects it, but he’s also learned to listen to it, knowing when to swim and when to wait for cleaner waters.
As a man who prefers to just get on with things, Joe feels people are a bit obsessed with the idea of the river deteriorating. “But, I’ll admit, the river is a bit sick,” he says, acknowledging the changes he’s noticed over the years. “I can get in upstream from the bridge and swim down to the jetty, and there’s no end of times you can touch the bottom with your hand.”
He pauses, reflecting on the shift. “I don’t remember that happening back in the '90s, and not even up until about 10 years ago. It’s silted up.” The river has changed in ways that even Joe, with his ‘get-on-with-it’ approach to life, can’t ignore.
As well as his regular river routine, Joe is a keen cyclist, training and competing with CHB Cycling (formerly the CHB BATs Cycling Club) in Waipukurau. He also organises an annual river swim on Waitangi Day, an event that some of his friends from the cycling club get involved in.
“It’s six kilometres, which sounds like a long way, but it’s all downstream, so we’re not battling against the tide. Some who aren’t strong swimmers bring kayaks, and we tow another kayak in case someone gets tired and can’t make it.”
When we move onto the subject of his son, Orlando, and daughter-in-law, Tania, it’s clear to me that Joe is proud of them.
“My passion for the river is all about survival,” he says, “but Orlando’s passionate about the river in different ways. I think he’s even closer to the river than I am.”
He gestures to his head with a grin. “And Tania, how’s this girl up here? That girl’s got some brainpower.”
As our conversation wraps up, it’s clear that the river is more than just a body of water for Joe - it’s a lifelong mate, one that has shaped his values of survival, resilience, endurance, and independence. Joe’s connection to the river runs deep.
by Kimberley Bartlett (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Waikato-Tainui)