Te Whaiti or Te Whāiti, formerly called Ahikereru, is a forested area in the

Whakatāne District Whakatāne District is a territorial authority district on the North Island of New Zealand. The Whakatāne District Council is headquartered in the largest town, Whakatāne. The district falls within the Bay of Plenty region. Judy Turner has be ...

and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. It is at the northern end of the Ahikereru valley –

Minginui Minginui is a town in Whakatāne District and Bay of Plenty Region on New Zealand's North Island. The Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park is located near the town. In 1978, there was confrontation between the local community and conservat ...

is at the southern end. The Whirinaki River flows through the valley. The area's full Māori name, ''Te Whāiti-nui-a-Toi'', translates as "the great canyon of Toi", referring to an ancestor of this area, Toi-kai-rākau /

Toi-te-huatahi Toi-te-huatahi, also known as Toi and Toi-kai-rākau, is a legendary Māori ''tupuna'' (ancestor) of many Māori iwi (tribes) from the Bay of Plenty area, including Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāi Tūhoe. The Bay of Plenty's name in te r ...

. Albert Percy Godber took photographs of

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 ...

art and architecture in the area.

Marae

Te Whaiti is in the ''

rohe The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ''rohe'' to describe the territory or boundaries of ''iwi'' (tribes), although some divide their rohe into several ''takiwā''. The areas shown on the map (right) are indicative only, and some iwi ...

'' (tribal area) of both Tūhoe and Ngāti Whare. It has three

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 ...

: * Waikotikoti Marae and Hinenuitepo meeting house is affiliated with the Tūhoe

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 op ...

of Te Karaha, Ngāti Hāmua, Warahoe, and with Ngāti Whare. * Murumurunga Marae and Wharepakau meeting house is affiliated with both iwi. * Waireporepo Marae is a meeting ground of Ngāti Whare; it has no meeting house. In October 2020, the Government committed $793,189 from the

Provincial Growth Fund Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician. He served as a New Zealand First list MP from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a Labour list MP from 2005 to 2014. Jones was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Gove ...

to upgrade the Waikotikoti and Murumurunga Marae, creating 20 jobs.

Education

A school opened in Te Whaiti in 1896 and merged with Minginui Forest School in 2004. The school is now Te Kura Toitu o Te Whaiti-nui-a-Toi, a co-educational state, Restricted Composite Special Character School.

References

Whakatane District Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region {{BayofPlenty-geo-stub

Marae

Education

See also

References