Whangara ( ) is a small community in the northeast of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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 ...

, located between Gisborne and

Tolaga Bay Tolaga Bay () is both a bay and small town on the East Coast, New Zealand, East Coast of New Zealand's North Island located 45 kilometres northeast of Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne and 30 kilometres south of Tokomaru Bay. The region around th ...

, five kilometres southwest of

Gable End Foreland Gable End Foreland is a prominent headland on the northeastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located 30 kilometres northeast of Tuaheni Point and 20 kilometres south of Tolaga Bay. The headland was named by Captain James Cook on hi ...

and two kilometres east of State Highway 35. The settlement features prominently in the early history of the

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. It has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi, with an estimated 102,480 people according to 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. ...

, as the site where Tamatea, captain of the

Tākitimu ''Tākitimu'' was a ''waka (canoe), waka'' (canoe) with ''whakapapa'' throughout the Pacific Ocean, Pacific particularly with Samoa, the Cook Islands, and New Zealand in ancient times. In several Māori mythology, Māori traditions, the ''Tāk ...

canoe settled on arriving in New Zealand. Canoe races were held at nearby Pikopiko-i-whiti, with the people watching from a hill called Puke-hapopo. The place name may be cognate with Fa'ara on Taha'a island in

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

. Whangara was the location and setting for

Witi Ihimaera Witi Tame Ihimaera-Smiler (; born 7 February 1944) is a New Zealand author. Raised in the small town of Waituhi, he decided to become a writer as a teenager after being convinced that Māori people, Māori people were ignored or mischaracteri ...

's novel ''

The Whale Rider ''The Whale Rider'' is a 1987 novel by New Zealand author Witi Ihimaera. In 2002 it was adapted into a film, ''Whale Rider'', directed by Niki Caro. Plot Set in the 1980s in Whangara, a Māori people, Māori community on the eastern edge of ...

'' and its

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

Parks

Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve is a

marine reserve A marine reserve is a type of marine protected area (MPA). An MPA is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. A marine reserve is a marine protected area in which removing or destroying natural or cultural ...

covering 2,450 hectares of coastline south of Whangara, which is managed by the

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

. The name means "The footprints of Rongokako," referring to an ancestor of

Ngati Kahungunu ''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea (director), John O'Shea. Production ''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the fir ...

who is said to have left a footprint at the site.

Marae

The local Whāngārā Marae is a

meeting place A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision-making. Definiti ...

for the

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 ...

Ngāti Konohi 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. ...

. It includes a

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 ...

, known as Whitirēia or Waho Te Rangi. In October 2020, the Government committed $49,626 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 the marae, creating an estimated 3.4 jobs.

Education

Whangara School is a Year 1–8 co-educational state primary school. In 2019, it was a decile 2 school with a roll of 78. Whangara panorama

References

External links

1949 photograph of Whangara
Populated places in the Gisborne District {{Gisborne-geo-stub