Te Rāpaki-o-Te Rakiwhakaputa, commonly known as Rāpaki or Rapaki, is a small settlement within the

Lyttelton Harbour Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is a major inlet on the northwest side of Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury, New Zealand; the other major inlet is Akaroa Harbour, which enters from the southern side of the ...

basin. Rāpaki is one of four

Banks Peninsula Banks Peninsula () is a rocky peninsula on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand that was formed by two now-extinct volcanoes. It has an area of approximately . It includes two large deep-water harbours — Lyttelton Harbour a ...

rūnanga In tikanga Māori (Māori culture or practice), a (runaka in Southern Māori dialect) is a tribal council, assembly, board or boardroom. The term can also be a verb meaning "to discuss in an assembly". An iwi (tribe) can have one governing rū ...

(communities) based around

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 ...

(tribal meeting grounds). The Rāpaki Marae, also known as Te Wheke Marae, is a meeting ground of

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...

and its Hapū o Ngāti Wheke branch. Its

wharenui A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called ''wikt:wh ...

(meeting house), called ''Te Wheke'', opened in 2008, was carved by Riki Manuel and Fayne Robinson, with

tukutuku Tukutuku panelling is a distinctive art form of the Māori people of New Zealand, a traditional latticework used to decorate meeting houses (wharenui). Other names are Tuitui and Arapaki. Tukutuku flank the posts around the edge of the wharenu ...

panels overseen by local weaver 'Aunty' Doe Parata. The carvings of the wharenui trace the almost 400 years of continuous settlement related to the arrival of the ancestor Te Rakiwhakaputa. Te_Wheke_602

Rāpaki is overlooked by the peak Te Poho o Tamatea. According to one legend, the

chief Te Rakiwhakaputa named the place by laying his waist mat (''rāpaki'') down to claim it. The full name of Rāpaki is Te Rāpaki-o-Te Rakiwhakaputa, meaning the waist mat of Te Rakiwhakaputa.Rapaki marae introduction
/ref> On 8 July 2020, the

New Zealand Geographic Board The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) is the authority over geographical and hydrographic names within New Zealand and its territorial waters. This includes the naming of small urban settlements, localities, mounta ...

assigned the full name as the official name of the locality.

References

Populated places in the Canterbury Region {{CanterburyNZ-geo-stub