Whirinaki is a locality on the Whirinaki River in the south

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 ...

, in Northland, New Zealand. The name means "to lean against a support". Highway 12 runs through it.

Opononi Opononi is a settlement on the south shore of Hokianga Harbour in Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand. New Zealand State Highway 12, State Highway 12 runs through Opononi. Ōmāpere is on the shore to the south of Opononi and Pakanae is to ...

lies to the south west, and Rawene lies to the north east. It is part of the Hokianga South statistical area, which covers the southern side of Hokianga Harbour between Rawene and Koutu. For demographics of this area, see Rawene.

History and culture

Whirinaki was raided by

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 ...

in 1810 or 1811, during the

Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori people, Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...

. All the inhabitants of Opara village were killed. The area has three

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 ...

associated with

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 ...

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 ...

: * Mātai Aranui Marae are affiliated with Ngāti Kairewa, Ngāti Kerewheti, Ngāti Te Pou, Te Hikutu and Te Whānau Whero. * Mōria Marae are affiliated with Ngāti Kairewa, Ngāti Kerewheti, Ngāti Te Pou, Ngāti Tuapango, Te Hikutu and Te Whānau Whero. * Pā te Aroha Marae are affiliated with Ngāti Kairewa, Ngāti Kerewheti, Ngāti Te Pou, Ngāti Tuapango, Te Hikutu and Te Whānau Whero.

Education

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Tonga o Hokianga is a coeducational full primary (years 1–8) school which has a roll of . It is a

Kura Kaupapa Māori Kura may refer to: Places * Kura, Iran (disambiguation) * Kura Island, Azerbaijan * Kura, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Kano State * Kura (South Caucasus river), a river in Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan * Kura (Russia), a river in R ...

school which teaches fully in 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 ...

. There was a Whirinaki Native School during the early-mid 20th century.

Notes

{{reflist Hokianga Populated places in the Northland Region