top of page

Ngāti Te Maunga

History

Whanganui o Taupō Moana sits on the western shores of Lake Taupo and is the home of Ngāti Te Maunga the youngest hapū of Tūwharetoa.  The amphitheatre created by the majestic Parikarangaranga o Whanganui cradles the whenua in its embrace and have stood resolute for many aeons. In the more recent millennia they have witnessed the many battles that Ngāti Te Maunga fought to protect its boundaries and those of Tūwharetoa from marauding iwi who came from the north and south to take the mana over the whenua, the sacred maunga and the moana for themselves.  Ngāti Te Maunga fought valiantly alongside other hapū of Te Tini o Parekaawa to vanquish their foe and have been left to enjoy peace ever since.

Te Waaiti

In 1902, Te Waaiti, son of the renowned chief and warrior Hohaia, successfully claimed much of the Hauhungaroa Ranges and the Whenuakura Plains to the west, the Karangahape Cliffs and Whakarawa Plateau to the south, and the Awakino Plateau to the north.

These lands, with the exception of Awakino (which was alienated by the Crown), are managed under various land blocks:

  • Hauhungaroa 2C Incorporation

  • Whakarawa Ahuwhenua Trust

  • Whenuakura 2D1

  • Whenuakura 2D2 (co-managed with DOC)

  • Whanganui Māori Reservation Trust

​

​Today, the hapū is estimated to be around 4,000 strong, with one whānau alone comprising fourteen siblings who gave birth to 105 children, with many hundreds of descendants. Whanganui o Taupō Moana, or Whanganui Bay as it is commonly known, is managed under the Whanganui Māori Reservation Trust and comprises the papakāinga, marae (currently under construction), mahinga kai for māra and hī ika, and the urupā.

IMG_0347 (1).PNG
Te Maunga

The Reservation was partitioned from the Whakarawa Block in 1965. It has no shares (no shareholders), and the only beneficiaries are the whānau of Ngāti Te Maunga.

​

Ngāti Te Maunga is named after their tupuna Te Maunga, the great-granddaughter of Parekaawa. Te Maunga descends from the youngest son of Parekaawa, Kikoreka.

​

Te Maunga lived her life in the Hauhungaroa and Whanganui Bay with her whānau and descendants during the 1800s. As tangata whenua, her mana and the mana whenua of Ngāti Te Maunga were asserted in Court in 1902, when her descendant Te Waaiti claimed mana whenua rights for the hapū.

 

He clearly and concisely shared accounts of historic events, specific locations, and named areas throughout the rohe.

bottom of page