Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei or Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei is an

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

-based

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 Co ...

hapū In Māori language, 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 ...

(sub-tribe) in New Zealand. Together with

Te Uri-o-Hau Te Uri-o-Hau (sometimes spelt Te Uri O Hau or Te Uriohau) is a Māori iwi (tribe) based around New Zealand's Kaipara Harbour. It is both an independent iwi and a hapū (sub-tribe) of the larger Ngāti Whātua iwi, alongside Ngāti Whātua-o-� ...

Te Roroa Te Roroa is a Māori people, Māori iwi from the region between the Kaipara Harbour and the Hokianga Harbour in Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand. They are part of the Ngāti Whātua confederation of tribes. In the early 19th century ...

and

Te Taoū Te Taoū is a Māori iwi (tribe) of Northland and the Auckland Region in New Zealand. Together with Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei, it comprises the iwi (tribe) of Ngāti Whātua. The four iwi can act together or separate ...

, it comprises the

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

(tribe) of

Ngāti Whātua Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa ...

. These four hapū can act together or separately as independent tribes. The hapū's

rohe The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ' to describe the territory or boundaries of tribes (, although some divide their into several . Background In 1793, chief Tuki Te Terenui Whare Pirau who had been brought to Norfolk Island drew ...

(tribal area) is mostly in ''Tāmaki Makaurau'', the site of present-day Auckland. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has around 6,000 members whose collective affairs are managed by the ''Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust''.

History

Ngāti Whātua descends from the ancestor Tuputupuwhenua (also known as Tumutumuwhenua). The iwi traces its arrival in New Zealand to the Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

, which landed north of the Kaipara Harbour. They also descend from ancestors who migrated from

Muriwhenua Muriwhenua are a group of northern Māori people, Māori iwi, based in Te Hiku o te Ika, the northernmost part of New Zealand's North Island. It consists of six iwi, Ngāti Kurī, Ngāi Takoto, Te Pātū, Ngāti Kahu, Te Aupōuri and Te Rarawa, w ...

in the Far North and intermarried with the tribes in Ngāti Whātua's territory. Ngāti Whātua originally occupied the area between the

Hokianga The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long Estuary, estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. The original name, still used by local Mā ...

and Kaipara harbours. They later pushed south and came to control the area around the Kaipara Harbour. This led to tension with

Te Wai-o-Hua Te Waiohua or Te Wai-o-Hua is a Māori iwi (tribe) confederation that thrived in the early 17th century. The rohe (tribal area) was primarily the central Tāmaki Makaurau area (the Auckland isthmus) and they had pā (fortified settlements) ...

, led by

Kiwi Tāmaki Kiwi Tāmaki (died ) was a Māori people, Māori warrior and paramount chief of the Waiohua confederation in Auckland region, Tāmaki Makaurau (modern-day Auckland isthmus). The third generation paramount chief of Waiohua, Kiwi Tāmaki consolid ...

, who were the main tribe in Auckland. Kiwi Tāmaki attacked Ngāti Whātua and ensuing conflict led to a battle near Laingholm in about 1741, where Ngāti Whātua chief Waha-akiaki killed Kiwi Tāmaki. In subsequent battles, Waha-akiaki and his cousin Tūperiri conquered all of central Auckland. Waha-akiaki returned to the Kaipara, leaving a section of Ngāti Whātua under Tūperiri who settled in Auckland. Tūperiri arranged peace marriages between his sons Tomoaure and Tarahawaiiki to important Waiohua women, Tahuri and Mokorua. The descendants of these marriages became known by the hapū name Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. During the early to mid-19th century Tūperiri's grandson Te Kawau (later baptised Apihai) became the leader of the hapū. On 20 March 1840 in 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 ("Burnett ...

area where Ngāti Whātua farmed, now

paramount chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a Chiefdom, chief-based system. This term is used occasionally ...

Apihai Te Kawau signed ''Te Tiriti o Waitangi'' (the ''te reo

'' translation of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

). Ngāti Whātua sought British protection from

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

as well as a reciprocal relationship with the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

and the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

. Soon after signing ''Te Tiriti'', Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, the primary hapū and landowner in ''Tāmaki Makaurau'', made a strategic gift of 3,500 acres (1,400 hectares) of land on the

Waitematā Harbour The Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. The harbour forms the northern and eastern coasts of the Auckland isthmus and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is matched on the southern side of the city ...

to Hobson, the new Governor of New Zealand, for the new

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

. By 1855, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, who had given two further land gifts of 13,200 acres (5,342 hectares) to the Crown, had lost most of their remaining land through speculators. The 700-acre Orakei block was all that remained. Within a century, this too was compulsorily acquired by the Crown (apart from a cemetery).

Takaparawhau / Bastion Point

In the 1970s Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei played a leading role in a dispute over vacant land at Takaparawhau / Bastion Point, east of the Auckland

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

, adjoining the suburb of

Ōrākei Ōrākei is a suburb of Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on a peninsula five kilometres to the east of the city centre, on the shore of the Waitematā Harbour, which lies to the north, and Hobson Bay and Ōr� ...

. The land, which the New Zealand government had acquired cheaply for public works many decades before, largely reverted to the hāpu after a long occupation and passive resistance. In 1988 the New Zealand Government returned Takaparawhau / Bastion Point and Ōrākei Marae to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, with compensation, as part of a

settlement process. The 1991 Ōrākei Act was passed to recognise the rights of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei under the Treaty. In 2011 the hapū signed a Deed of Settlement with the Crown.

Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi

As part of the 1990 Commemorations Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei made a large waka with the same name as the historical '' Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi or Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi'' waka. It led the 150th Auckland Anniversary celebrations in 1990 and the new millennium celebrations in 2000, both on the Waitematā Harbour.

Memorial

In 2018 Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and the Ports of Auckland created a memorial to Te Kawau for his gifting of land to Governor Hobson and commemorating his contributions to Auckland, while marking the place where the city was founded on 18 September 1840.

References

External links

*
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti WhātuaNgāti Whātua
in '' Te Ara: the Encyclopedia of New Zealand'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngati Whatua-o-Orakei Waitematā Harbour