22 • TE AO MAORI MAI I TE TAIRAWHITI NGĀ MAUNGA

He Mihi Pātangata and

Tēnā koutou kua huri mai anō ki tēnei, te putanga tekau mā toru o, Ngā Maunga Kōrero o Te Tairāwhiti. E haere tonu tō tātau nei haere, ahu atu ana ki te tokerau anō, ki Wharekahika me te maunga o Pātangata. Ko te pūtaketanga tēnei o Ruataupare me Tūwhakairiora, o ngā mātua hoki, a Te Aotakī rāua ko Hinemaurea; Hoki whakamuri atu ko te torona haere a Taikehu o Tainui waka, a Pāoa o Horouta, a te iwi ngaro hoki o Ngutu-au. Ae rā, te mīharo hoki o ngā kōrero. Anō nei rā, whakatā mai, pānui mai, whakaarohia mai.

Greetings to you once again who have turned to these pages, Ngā Maunga Kōrero o Te Tairāwhiti. We continue our journey to the north again to the mountain of Pātangata and the settlement of Wharekahika (Hicks Bay). This place witnessed probably the most important marriage in Te Tairāwhiti, that of Ruataupare and Tūwhakairiora. Of no less importance though were their parents and The summit of Pātangata rises from the adjacent ranges flanked by Te Whai-a-Pāoa to the right, and the beach and bay of Wharekahika in the foreground. in-laws, Te Aotaki and Hinemaurea. Going back further we trace the journeys of earlier adventurers, Taikehu of the Tainui canoe, Ko Pātangata te maunga Pātangata stands proudly at the ocean’s edge and Uetaha (see Whetumatarau and Kawakawa Pāoa of the Horouta and the lost tribe of Pātangata is the mountain and represents the eastern-most point of the issue, March 2008). This conquest led to the the Ngutu-au. Yes indeed, such incredible rugged . Its descent to the sea establishment of Te Aotaki and Hinemaurea stories. Therefore, relax, read and let your Ko Wharekahika te awa forms the rocky peninsula of Matakaoa point, as the new landlords of Wharekahika, and the thoughts wander. Wharekahika is the river also known as Te Whai-a-Pāoa (Pāoa’s stingray marriage of their daughter, Ruataupare, to the or pursuit), while inland the ridgeline leads to famed warrior Tūwhakairiora would consolidate Walton Walker – School of Humanities, Ko Te Whānau-a- Tūwhakairiora te hapū the equally impressive mountain of Hakaonga. the mana of this family from that time (circa Tairāwhiti Polytechnic Te Whānau-a-Tūwhakairiora is the sub-tribe These peaks stand in full view of Wharekahika, 1625AD) through to today. the sleepy seaside settlement that has played And of the current day, Wharekahika, which is (A big thank you to the trustees of Tihe mauri ora! host to many early travellers and settlers of the known more commonly as Hicks Bay — named Hinemaurea Marae [Wharekahika] - especially Alas, the breath of life! Tairāwhiti. Taikehu of the Tainui waka (canoe) after Zachariah Hicks, Second Lieutenant and Mohi Raroa and Josie Pahuru; also Georgina was one of those and his story follows. So, too, second-in-command to Captain James Cook Boyd-Kerekere and Hati McClutchie ]Tawanui T is said that when Pātangata is covered Pāoa of the Horouta waka, and details of his aboard the HMS Bark Endeavour in its epic Station] – ka nui ngā mihi). in cloud, rain beckons. The locals swear soujourn follow also. voyage in 1769 — remains one of those treasured Iby it and this natural weather-forecasting There were many other early settler groups as jewels of Te Tairāwhiti. Its relative isolation has Also a big apology to the people of Kawakawa- device has never let them down. Hence the well, such as the famed Ruawaipu, and some who ensured that not much has changed in recent mai-tawhiti () for the spelling error of corollary must also be true, that when there disappeared as quickly as they arrived — Ngutu- decades, thereby preserving its stunning natural Whetumatarau in the compilation issue of Ngā is no cloud then it must be fine. Well, on this au, Hākorotere and the Pararaki, amongst them. scenery and a sincerity amongst its people that is Maunga Kōrero last month. Kō ōku mihi nui particular day it was a bit of both — the odd The Ngā Oho invasion was to follow before hard to match. Pātangata keeps a sentinel watch whakaiti nei – my humblest apologies. shower and the occasional rays of sunshine trying they too were evicted by descendants of Ngāi over Wharekahika and its people while keeping to poke through. Tūere and Ngāi Tūiti in the form of Tamakoro a keen eye to the future. The Union of Tūwhakairiora and Ruataupare

Haramai ki a au ki Hikurangi own pā called Tokamapuhia, nestled beside the Come hither to me, to Hikurangi waterfall Wai-hī-rere. By custom, Uenuku-te- whana, being the tuakana (elder brother) of Te Ki te maunga e tauria ana e te huka Aotaki, should have welcomed and entertained To the mountain cloaked in snow Tūwhakairiora at his pā, but this he failed to do. Reaching the entrance way of Tokamapuhia, ŪWHAKAIRIORA and Ruataupare Ruataupare and Auahikoata ran to their father, have already featured in previous issues Te Aotaki, and complained about the unwelcome T— Kōkai and (November attention they were receiving from this total 07) and Whetumatarau and Kawakawa (March stranger. When Te Aotaki cast his eyes on the 08) — yet the story of their union began right stranger in question he immediately recognised here in Wharekahika under the watchful and the emblems of rank that he carried and, discerning eye of Pātangata. reinforcing his own role of leadership over that You may recall from the issues referenced of his tuakana, Uenuku-te-whana, he beckoned above that when Tūwhakairiora returned from Tūwhakairiora thus, “Haramai ki a au, ki the Ōpōtiki area to fulfil his destiny of avenging Hikurangi, te maunga e tauria ana e te huka.” his grandfather Poroumātā’s death at the hands Te Aotaki learnt of Tūwhakairiora’s mission of Ngāti Ruanuku at Whareponga, he initially and, befitting of his status, he betrothed his settled at Wharekahika. Before this Tūwhakairiora eldest daughter, Ruataupare, to him. Against had briefly stopped at Whangaparaoa (Cape the backdrop of Waihīrere, Tūwhakairiora and Runaway) where, after making unwanted Ruataupare were married. advances to Hinerupe, she struck him on the chin From Tokamapuhia, Tūwhakairiora and with her kō (spade). None the worse for wear, but Ruataupare settled at Ōkauwharetoa in Kawakawa nursing his pride, Tū continued his journey along (Te Araroa) where all their six children were born the coastline until he reached Pātangata and and from where Tūwhakairiora was to launch his Matakaoa point. As he walked along the beach, Waihīrere, the waterfall next to which stood campaign of revenge upon the Ngāti Ruanuku Tokamapuhia, the pā of Te Aotaki and nearing the mouth of the Wharekahika river, he Hinemaurea, parents of Ruataupare. of Whareponga. This story has been covered happened upon a young attendant minding the in a previous issue, however Ruataupare’s story clothes of her older relatives. with her was her sister, Auahi-koata. has another interesting sequel, which will be Tūwhakairiora asked the young girl who At the southern end of the beach, called left for another issue. Thus, from Wharekahika the garments belonged to and, pointing to the Kaiarero, the women passed the pā of their uncle and Tokamapuhia pā emerged the legacy of sea, Tū could make out the form of two young Uenuku-te-whana, called Te Rāhui, and turned Ruataupare and Tūwhakairiora that survives to maidens gathering pipi (cockles) in the shallows inland up the Nukutaharua river towards their this day. of the tide. The two young women, who by this time had noticed the presence of the stranger on shore, bashfully covered themselves and demanded that the man turn away so they could retrieve their clothes. The two women hurriedly dressed themselves and made for home with Tūwhakairiora in pursuit. By this time the intrepid Tū had expressed his keenness for one of the women, who turned out to be none other than Ruataupare, daughter of Te Aotaki and Hinemaurea of Ngāi Tūiti. The other woman

Te Puna Manaaki-a-Ruataupare gateway to the community centre in Wharekahika (Hicks Bay). Hinemaurea Marae — Tūwhakairiora (whare tipuna) at left, and Hinemaurea (wharekai) right.