Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua 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, an ...

from the area around the

Manukau Harbour The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea. Geography The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burne ...

in the

Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...

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 ...

. Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua were traditionally known as Te Ruakaiwhare, after the tribal guardian Kaiwhare, who protects the waters of the Manukau Harbour. They occupy the area around

Waiuku Waiuku is a rural town in the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the Waiuku River, which is an estuarial arm of the Manukau Harbour, and lies on the isthmus of the Āwhitu Peninsula, which ...

, Glenbrook, Akaaka, Ōtaua, Te Puni, Whakaūpoko, Mauku, Patumāhoe, Pukekohe, Paerātā, Waiau Pā, Clark's Beach, Āwhitu Peninsula,

Huia The huia ( ; ; ''Heteralocha acutirostris'') is an extinct species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of a huia was in 1907, although there was a credible sighting in 1924. It ...

and the

Waitākere Ranges The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. The area, traditionally kno ...

. The iwi gets its name from the famous Waiohua chieftainess Te Atairehia, a granddaughter of the founding

Te Wai-o-Hua Te Waiohua or Te Wai-o-Hua is a Māori iwi (tribe) confederation that thrived in the early 18th century. The iwi's rohe (tribal area) was primarily the central Tāmaki Makaurau area (the Auckland isthmus) and the Māngere peninsula, until the 17 ...

chief Te Hua-o-kaiwaka and daughter of Huatau. She was given land in Waiuku after helping the local

hapū In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...

(sub-tribe) Ngāti Kahukōkā in its fight against other tribes. Te Atairehia married Tapaue, a

Ngāti Mahuta Ngāti Mahuta is a sub-tribe (or hapū) of the Waikato tribe (or iwi) of Māori in the North Island of New Zealand. The territory (rohe) of Ngāti Mahuta is the Kawhia and Huntly areas of the Waikato region. History Ngāti Mahuta is descended f ...

chief who was killed after winning control of a stretch of the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

from

Taupiri Taupiri is a small town of about 500 people on the eastern bank of the Waikato River in the Waikato District of New Zealand. It is overlooked by Taupiri mountain, the sacred burial ground for the Waikato tribes of the Māori people, located ju ...

Port Waikato Port Waikato is on the south bank of the Waikato River at its outflow into the Tasman Sea, in northern New Zealand. Port Waikato is a well-known surfing and whitebaiting destination and a popular holiday spot. Fish can be caught off the rocks ...

. His death was avenged by his son Pāpaka, who secured Waiuku for Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua with the help of Te Wehi from Aotea Harbour, the grand-nephew and son-in-law to Tapaue. Te Wairākau was a woman of Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua who signed the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

in 1840. Along with her kin and chiefs of Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua, Aperahama Ngākāinga, Te Awarahi Te Katipa and Te Tāwha, they signed the Treaty of Waitangi on the Manukau Harbour. Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua consists of 20 hapū and the iwi descends from the union of Huakaiwaka and Te Rauwhakiwhaki, founding ancestors of Te Waiohua. Huakaiwaka and Te Rauwhakiwhaki birthed the Waiohua chief Huatau, who controlled the lands in and around Ngā Matukurua, Matukutūreia and Matukutūruru during the 18th Century. Huatau joined Kawahi and Te Atairehia was born near the peak of Matukutūreia. Te Rangihāhautū also known as Huarangi was the brother of Te Atairehia, and commanded both pā respectively with his sons Tamapāhure and Tamapāhore. These people were known as Ngāti Huatau, the issues of Huatau. The principal Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua marae is Tāhuna Kaitoto Pā

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

, situated near Te Pae o Kaiwaka Waiuku Estuary, which is the oldest living marae in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Dame Ngāneko Minhinnick was a female leader of the iwi in the modern era.

References

Te Waiohua {{Maori-stub

See also

References