Ngāti Maru is a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...

'' (tribe) of the

Hauraki Hauraki is a suburb located on the southern North Shore of Auckland, the largest metropolitan city in New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. History The traditional name for the western coastline in Hauraki wa ...

region of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The stronghold of Ngāti Maru has been the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

area. Ngāti Maru are descendants of Te Ngako, also known as Te Ngakohua, the son of

Marutūāhu __NOTOC__ Marutūāhu, Marutūahu or Marutuahu is a collective of the Māori '' iwi'' (tribe) of the Hauraki region of New Zealand. The confederation is made up of the tribes of Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Whanaunga and N ...

, after whom the tribe is named. It is one of five tribes of the Marutūāhu confederation, the others being

Ngāti Paoa Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

Ngāti Rongoū Ngāti Rongoū is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand. It is one of five tribes of the Marutūāhu confederation, the others being Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Whanaunga and Ngāti Tamaterā. The Marutūāhu ...

Ngāti Tamaterā Ngāti Tamaterā is a Māori '' iwi'' (tribe) of the Hauraki region of New Zealand, descended from Tamaterā, the second son of Marutūāhu. It is a major tribe within the Marutūāhu confederation and its leaders have been prominent in Hauraki ...

and

Ngāti Whanaunga Ngāti Whanaunga is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand, descended from Whanaunga, the third son of Marutūāhu. It is one of the tribes of the Marutūāhu confederation, the others being Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Ron ...

. The Marutūāhu tribes are descended from Marutūāhu, a son of Hotunui, who is said to have arrived in New Zealand on the ''

Tainui canoe In Māori tradition, ''Tainui'' was one of the great ocean-going canoes in which Polynesians migrated to New Zealand approximately 800 years ago. In Māori tradition, the ''Tainui'' waka was commanded by the chief Hoturoa, who had decided ...

''. The Marutūāhu tribes are therefore part of the

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are ...

group of tribes. The Marutūāhu confederation is also part of the

collective of tribes. Te Ngako was younger than his half-brothers Tamatepō (whose descendants are Ngāti Rongoū), Tamaterā (whose descendants are Ngāti Tamaterā) and Whanaunga (whose descendants are Ngāti Whanaunga). Marutūāhu married two sisters, Hineurunga and Paremoehau. Hineurunga was the tuakana (eldest sister). This gave Te Ngako the mana of being tuakana to his older brothers. Hence the name given to the descendants of Te Ngako was not Ngāti Te Ngako but Ngāti Maru. The Ngāti Maru of Taranaki are descended from Marutūāhu's brother Maruwharanui. The descendants of a third brother, Marukōpiri, settled on the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natur ...

. During the 1850s Ngati Maru were one of the main tribes providing large supplies of food to the new capital Auckland. Gold was discovered near Thames in 1852 which quickly changed from a small Maori kainga to a large European town of 40,000 people. Initially opinion was divided among the tribe whether they should allow Europeans access but they decided in favour when a government agent agreed to confine miners to one area, create a Maori police force to enforce this and pay Ngati Maru for every licence sold by the government. When gold was found by the sons of a chief he sent them to Auckland to spread the news and create a rush. Tension was created because under New Zealand law land on which gold was found could be purchased by the state. In some cases land was leased directly from Maori by large mining firms. The early gold diggers found alluvial gold which they could obtain by simple tools but quickly this ran out and was replaced by firms installing stamper batteries crushing gold bearing quartz. Ngati Maru did not get involved in the 1863-64 land wars conflict. In pre-gold rush period the Ngati Maru population was estimated at about 310. After that, the population increased to 800 and by 1903 census the iwi had 1,350 members.

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External links

Ngati MaruNgāti Maru (Hauraki)
at

Te Puni Kōkiri Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK), the Ministry of Māori Development, is the principal policy advisor of the Government of New Zealand on Māori wellbeing and development. Te Puni Kōkiri was established under the Māori Development Act 1991 with responsib ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngati Maru Iwi and hapū

See also

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