Māori engineering graduate follows path of two sisters

Tiaho Wihongi-Minhinnick (22) celebrated her graduation on 4 May, joining sisters Ngarui Manukau (28) and Phoenix Manukau (25), who also have engineering degrees from the University of Auckland.

While completing her Bachelor of Engineering with Honours, Tiaho was chosen to lead a project on mana-enhancing structural design of pou whakairo – traditional carved Māori posts – for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

MĀPIHI – Māori and Pacific Housing Research Centre at the University of Auckland provided support for the project.

The iwi wants four ten-metre tōtara pou to be installed at its papakāinga in Ōrākei, Tāmaki Makaurau, in a way that preserves the mana of the posts.

After Tiaho was selected for the task, she asked Ngarui to step in to help. The sisters, of Ngāpuhi and Waikato descent, say new, more culturally appropriate engineering solutions are needed to avoid structural elements that detract from the pou.

“Some footings work structurally, but aesthetically, they look horrible and they take away from the mana of the pou.

“These are not just posts, they have stories, histories and mana in and of themselves,” says Tiaho.

The sisters are developing solutions that look seamless and feature traditional materials – while still having the strength to hold up a 1.2 tonne pole for decades to come.

“There are major challenges. The pou are ten metres tall and have a 600-millimetre diameter.,” says Ngarui. “But we’re passionate about creating footings that are culturally appropriate.”

Searching academic publications didn’t turn up any specific solutions for pou footings, though reports about Native American totem poles offered some ideas, says Tiaho.

The pou have not yet been carved. The iwi wants to ensure the structural system is intentional and woven seamlessly into the pou’s design from the outset. The sisters hope the techniques they develop might be adapted for more widespread use in the future.

Although their parents are university graduates, the three sisters drew on whānau strength and confidence from their culture to gain their degrees.

“It’s rare to have a Māori female engineer, and even rarer to have three Māori engineer sisters together in a family,” Ngarui says. “The challenge was that this was a whole, brand-new world to us. The journey to get there was rough."

As the first in the family to study engineering, Ngarui realised there was more to consider beyond the chance to use her skills in maths and science to solve problems to build a good career.

“Those who typically have access to this degree and career are usually rich, Pākeha and male. As someone who is just about the complete opposite of that, how could I have aspired to this if I didn't see it reflected in my reality, my community, my schooling?

“The remarkable thing about this story is that it was a random conversation with a careers adviser in the middle of my second-to-last year of college that opened this door to engineering and ultimately changed our lives,” says Ngarui.

With her encouragement, her two sisters followed in her footsteps moving to study in Auckland after living in Te Kuiti, Otaki and Hamilton as children.

Having lived and learned in relatively close-knit communities and schools, the shift to study at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland was an adjustment, with its scale and loss of small town peer support.

“You sit down in your first lecture with over 800 engineering students... there's barely anyone there who's Māori. It's quite sad to be honest. The few there are of you group together,” says Ngarui.

The assumptions continued as Ngarui entered the workforce, often the only Māori engineer. If she was with a male colleague, the automatic response was that he was the engineer.

Although gaining their degrees proved hard work, the sisters have no regrets. They see great opportunities in their chosen profession. Having just graduated, Tiaho is off to a flying start, with a permanent role in a structural engineering consultancy.