Poroporo is a rural community 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. Victor Luca has ...

and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. It is located south-west of Whakatāne, inland from the settlement. According to Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, the

Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...

is the "primary language of social engagement" in Poroporo. Poroporo has its own rugby and sports club, which plays home games on a dedicated rugby field.

History and culture

History

Ngāti Awa elder, soldier and community leader Peter Mason was born in the area in 1943. He was brought up in a simple, dirt-floor home on a small pā. His family worked for local farmers, grew their own crops and fished in the nearby river before it was dammed to irrigate new farms. Mason speak exclusively Māori, until beginning at the local Poroporo Native School. A man died in a house fire in Poroporo in September 2018.

Marae

Poroporo is in the '' rohe'' (tribal area) of Ngāti Awa. It has several

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

, which are meeting grounds of Ngāti Awa

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 ...

: * Pūkeko Marae and Pūkeko meeting house is affiliated with Ngāti Pūkeko. * Rangataua Marae and Rangataua meeting house is affiliated with Ngāti Rangataua. * Rangimarie Marae and Rarawhati meeting house is affiliated with Te Whānau o Tariao Tapuke. * Rewatu Marae and Ueimua meeting house is affiliated with Ngāi Tamapare. In October 2020, the Government committed $4,871,246 from the

Provincial Growth Fund Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party. Jones' political career began 2005 New Zealand general election, in 2005 as a l ...

to upgrade Pūkeko, Rangataua, Rewatu and 9 other Ngāti Awa marae, creating 23 jobs.

References

{{coord, -37.977599, 176.959794, region:NZ_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Whakatāne District Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region