"},"seat_type":{"wt":"[[New Zealand electorates|Electorate]]"},"seat":{"wt":"[[East Coast (New Zealand electorate)|East Coast]]"},"leader_title":{"wt":"[[Member of parliament|MP]]"},"leader_name":{"wt":""},"leader_party":{"wt":""},"leader_title1":{"wt":""},"leader_name1":{"wt":""},"unit_pref":{"wt":"metric"},"population_footnotes":{"wt":""},"population_total":{"wt":"0"},"timezone1":{"wt":"[[Time in New Zealand|NZST]]"},"utc_offset1":{"wt":"+12"},"timezone1_DST":{"wt":"NZDT"},"utc_offset1_DST":{"wt":"+13"},"postal_code_type":{"wt":"Postcode"},"postal_code":{"wt":"4081{{cite map |publisher=[[New Zealand Post]] |title=Postcode Boundaries: Map 3 of 10 |url=http://www.nzpost.co.nz/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/postcodemaps/national-postcode-map-3.pdf |format=PDF |date=May 2011|series=National Map Series |access-date=15 May 2012}}"},"area_code":{"wt":"06"}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwBA">Village in Gisborne Region, New Zealand
Akuaku Aku Aku | |
---|---|
Village (abandoned) | |
Motto(s): Ko Tokatea te maunga; Ko Kiekie te awa; Ko Te Whānau-a-Rākairoa te hapū; Tihe mauri ora! | |
Location of Akuaku in New Zealand's North Island | |
Coordinates: 37°59′12″S178°21′32″E / 37.98667°S 178.35889°E Coordinates: 37°59′12″S178°21′32″E / 37.98667°S 178.35889°E | |
Country | New Zealand |
Region | Gisborne Region |
Ward | Waiapu Ward |
Abandoned | c. 1945 [1] |
Electorate | East Coast |
Population | |
• Total | 0 |
Time zone | UTC+12 (NZST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (NZDT) |
Postcode | 4081 [5] |
Area code | 06 |
Akuaku, also known as Aku Aku, was a settlement approximately halfway between Waipiro Bay and Whareponga in the East Coast region of New Zealand's North Island. [6] [7] A traditional landing point for waka taua, the town is most notable now as the former home (and possible birthplace) of Major Ropata Wahawaha, N.Z.C, as well as the ancestral home of Te Whānau-a-Rākairoa. [8] [9] [10] [11]
Akuaku was once a thriving settlement – the hub of the area – with a school, church, and a marae with a wharenui called Rakeiroa. [2] [10] [12] Akuaku never had road access, and when Waipiro Bay's road was built in the early 20th century, Akuaku's residents began to move. [2] [13] [14] The final residents left around 1945, and three cemeteries are all that remain of the town today. [1] [2]
Akuaku was named by Pāoa, captain of the Horouta waka, around 1350. [15] The name is literally translated as "scraper", or to "scrape out" or "cleanse".
Akuaku was the site of one of the main Ngāti Ruanuku pā, where the tribe welcomed Pākānui ashore before he eventually killed many of them in a battle at Whareponga called Te Ika-Kōpara-rua (two fish in one net). After observing Ngāti Ruanuku as their guest, Pākānui and his 90 men trapped members of the tribe, including their chief, Rangi-rākai-kura, in nets while they were fishing, before killing them with their patu. This was done for Pākānui's grandmother, Materoa, who wanted the whānau's mana restored after Ngāti Ruanuku killed her father, Poroumātā, a former resident of the area. [6] [16] [ failed verification ]
Survivors from Ngāti Ruanuku retreated to the Waiapu Valley, where they found refuge among the Wahine-iti people while planning their attack on Pākānui. When Pākānui's scouts informed him Ngāti Ruanuku were returning to Whareponga, he put a plan into action. His warriors were concealed up small streams along the beach in between Whareponga and Akuaku's Mataahu Point, with Pākānui himself stationed at the point (at 37°59′7″S178°22′4.5″E / 37.98528°S 178.367917°E ). His brothers Riki-pāpaki and Raro-taka, who were fast runners, challenged Ngāti Ruanuku at Whareponga, then ran away towards the point. Ngāti Ruanuku chased them, and by the time they reached Pākānui, they were exhausted. At this point Pākānui's warriors emerged from their hiding place, and killed the entire party. There were so many bodies lining the beach after the battle that they formed a barrier for the sea, giving rise to the battle's name Te Tai-timu-roa (The long high-tide). The other name of the battle, Te Poho-wera (The Burnt-breast), refers to the fact that when the bodies of Ngāti Ruanuku were customarily cooked to be eaten, some of the victim's breasts were burnt. [16] [ failed verification ]
The last members of Ngāti Ruanuku were eventually killed inland up the Tapuaeroa River and at Kāhui-tara (a pā at 37°55′43″S178°17′15″E / 37.92861°S 178.28750°E ). [16] [ failed verification ] [17] [18] Pākānui settled at Whareponga, building a large house from ponga trees, hence the town's name, which means "ponga house". [17]
Māori say the Akuaku area was gifted to Rākairoa's children, Te Haemata and Pona-pātukia – the east given by Takapū-te-rakahia, and the west by Takapu-atua, daughter of Iritekura. Rākairoa is the ancestor of Te Whānau-a-Rākairoa, a hapū of Ngāti Porou that has spread widely from Akuaku. Their distribution is endearingly described as "Ngā wekāhu a Rākairoa", literally, "the sprawling 'couch' grass of Rākairoa". [11] The hapū's proverb of identity is:
Ko Tokatea te maunga; Ko Kiekie te awa; Ko Te Whānau-a-Rākairoa te hapū; Tihe mauri ora!
Tokatea is the mountain; Kiekie is the river; Rākairoa is the sub-tribe; Alas, the breath of life! [11]
Katerina Naki, Sir Āpirana Ngata's mother, was a member of the hapū. [19] [20]
Major Ropata Wahawaha was born either at Akuaku or Te Puia Springs, probably around 1820, and was taken as a slave when he was a child. [9] He moved to Akuaku in the early 1870s, and continued to live there until his death in 1897, [10] although another source says he moved to Waiomatatini from Waipiro Bay in 1875 or 1876. [21] Ropata died in Gisborne, and was buried in the Waiomatatini Valley. [9]
In 1871, Ropata Wahawaha was presented with a large Union Jack, and a sword of honour from Queen Victoria, for his services in the New Zealand Wars. [8] [10] On 29 July 1872 [10] (or in June, 1871), [8] having just returned from a ceremony in his honour in Wellington, Ropata held a hui to raise the flag. [8] [10] He had erected a large flag pole called Te Rākau i Mataahu to fly the flag from on Mataahu Point. [2] [8] [10] The site was chosen because it was a traditional landing point for waka taua (war canoes) after returning from an expedition. [8] The flag would be raised to alert British forces that the people were loyal to the crown, so they would not be fired upon. [2]
The ceremony, held to reaffirm the loyalty of Ngāti Porou and neighbouring tribes to the Crown, was attended by three thousand people, and made Akuaku and Mataahu the centre of huge attention. [8] [10] Attendees swore their allegiance by marching under the flag and taking part in a service led by the Rev. Mohi Turei and Ropata himself. All but one who attended swore the oath. The lone abstainer ran away from the flag, and chanted a haka of defiance: [8]
Tieke taretare; tieke taretare; Pō! Tū ana i waho e.
Loosely translated as: Thou ragged Jack, thou tattered Jack; Behold! I stand aloof from thy circle. [8]
Another source quotes the haka as:
Tieke taretare pō tū mai i waho! Tū ana au i waho ma koutou e tangi ki te kuia nei! Kāore au e tangi ki a ia!
Thou ragged Jack, behold I stand outside the circle! I stand outside thy circle and leave you all to lament to this old lady! I will not lament her! [10]
The flagstaff was later moved to a point above the Akuaku marae. [2] In 1960, after Akuaku had been deserted, it was moved again to nearby Kiekie Marae, where it stands today (at 37°59′36.07″S178°19′4.86″E / 37.9933528°S 178.3180167°E ). Kiekie Marae is also now in possession of Ropata's flag. [8]
Another large hui was held at Akuaku to consecrate the church on 28 May 1884. Ropata, who had been in Gisborne, travelled back to Akuaku on the ship Rosina, which also brought many other prominent guests. Nearly 1,000 Māori attended, as well as many European leaders. [12] [22]
A discussion took place about the sale of Māori land to the New Zealand Native Land Settlement Company, and whether laws and courts were necessary, given the Māori had no intention of selling the land. There were three principal speakers in the discussion. The first, John Sheehan, said that it was not a matter of if, but rather when, the land would be sold, and suggested Māori would get a better deal if they sold the land sooner, while the system was still fair. Wi Pere argued for the formation of committees to oversee ownership and possible sale of the land. [12] [22] Finally, Ropata Wahawaha, who "appeared to have no faith in the Companies or in private people, or in Government or in Parliament, or in laws, or in judges, or in public officials", [12] strongly advised Māori to keep their land, pointing out that the majority of the land north of Akuaku was "as yet comparatively untroubled with European Speculations". [12]
Akuaku School was opened in March 1874. A year later, while the three other Māori schools in the Waiapu district had achieved only mediocre results due to irregular attendance, Akuaku School was performing well. Its students had regular attendance records, were described as "clean and well dressed", and were well advanced in reading, writing, arithmetic and geography. At the time, the school had at least 50 students, half girls and half boys. The first teachers of the school were Mr. and Mrs. Brown. [23] Ngāti Porou tribal leader and woman of mana Materoa Reedy was a pupil at the school some time between 1888 and 1897. [24]
Akuaku never had a road built to it, and when a road was built to Waipiro Bay in the early 20th century, Waipiro Bay became the "place to be". [2] [13] [14] Prior to that, Akuaku was larger than Waipiro Bay or Whareponga. [2]
One of the current owners of the land where Akuaku once stood is Paora Kahu Carter, who lived in Akuaku from when she was born in January 1931, until her family moved to Waipiro Bay in 1940. [2] [4] When she was living there, the school and church had already gone, and the town had only six houses left – although Rakeiroa, the town's wharenui, was still in use. [2] The Toheriri family were the last residents of Akuaku, leaving around 1945. [1]
With no one to care for it, the wharenui fell down. Former residents of Akuaku and their descendants now affiliate with nearby Kiekie Marae, where Ropata's flagpole stands today. By 2000, three urupā (cemeteries) were all that remained of Akuaku. Ropata's victim's remains had been recently exhumed and transferred to the entrance of one these cemeteries from their original burial place halfway between Akuaku and the Mataahu point. One of Akuaku's cemeteries was still in use, though difficulty getting to it – and a lack of maintenance – had led it to become an unpopular burial site. [2] The land is currently administered by the Akuaku A3 Trust, has no one living on it, and is classified as having no current use. [3] [4]
Iwi are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori iwi roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
Ropata Wahawaha was a Māori military leader and rangatira (chief) of the Ngāti Porou iwi (tribe) who rose to prominence during New Zealand's East Cape War and Te Kooti's War.
Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand, with 71,910 registered members in 2006. The traditional rohe or tribal area of Ngāti Porou extends from Pōtikirua and Lottin Point in the north to Te Toka-a-Taiau in the south.
Ruatoria is a town in the Waiapu Valley of the Gisborne Region in the northeastern corner of New Zealand's North Island. The town was originally known as Cross Roads then Manutahi and was later named Ruatorea in 1913, after the Māori Master female grower Tōrea who had some of the finest storage pits in her Iwi at the time. In 1925 the name was altered to "Ruatoria", although some texts retain the original spelling.
Tolaga Bay is both a bay and small town on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island located 45 kilometres northeast of Gisborne and 30 kilometres south of Tokomaru Bay.
The Waiapu River is a river in the Gisborne District of the North Island of New Zealand, with a total length of approximately 130 kilometres (81 mi). Found in the north-east of the Waiapu Valley, it flows north-east from the joining of the Mata River and the Tapuaeroa River, then passes by Ruatoria before reaching the Pacific Ocean at Rangitukia. Other tributaries of the Waiapu River include the Mangaoporo, Poroporo, Wairoa, Maraehara rivers, and the Paoaruku stream. It is the most well known river in the region, and lies within the rohe (territory) of Ngāti Porou, the largest iwi on the East Coast, and second largest in New Zealand. The area was the site of hostilities during the New Zealand Wars from June to October in 1865, both between Pākehā and Māori, and between factions of Ngāti Porou.
Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is made of 22 hapū (subtribes), with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns on the Rangitaiki Plain, including Whakatāne, Kawerau, Edgecumbe, Te Teko and Matatā. Two urban hapū also exist in Auckland and Wellington.
Te Whānau-ā-Apanui is a Māori iwi located in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast regions of New Zealand's North Island. In 2006, the iwi registered 11,808 members, representing 13 hapū.
Te Araroa is a town in the Gisborne Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated 175 km north of Gisborne city, along State Highway 35 between Tokata and Awatere. Te Araroa is the birthplace of noted Māori politician Sir Āpirana Ngata. Māori in the area are generally associated with the Ngāti Porou iwi. It is 100 metres from its local beach.
Rongowhakaata is a Māori iwi of the Gisborne region of New Zealand.
Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki is one of the three principal Māori iwi of the Tūranga district; the others being Rongowhakaata and Ngai Tamanuhiri. It is numerically the largest of the three, with 6,258 affiliated members as of 2013.
Tikapa is a rural community in the Gisborne Region of New Zealand. It is on the southern side of the Waiapu River mouth and north of Ruatoria. In 1952 the community numbered 156, predominantly Māori. There are several houses still standing, many of which have been left abandoned.
Tikitiki is a small town in Waiapu Valley on the north bank of the Waiapu River in the Gisborne Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The area in which the town resides was formerly known as Kahukura. By road, Tikitiki is 145 km (90 mi) north-northeast of Gisborne, 20 km (12 mi) northeast by north of Ruatoria, and 24 km (15 mi) south by east of Te Araroa. The name of the town comes from the full name of Māui, Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga. State Highway 35 passes through the town at the easternmost point of the New Zealand state highway network.
Rangitukia is a small settlement 10 kilometres south of East Cape in the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It is near the mouth of the Waiapu River.
Henare Potae (?–1895) was a New Zealand tribal leader. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Te Whanau-a-Ruataupare hapū of the Ngati Porou iwi.
Waipiro Bay is a small coastal settlement in the Gisborne District on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The name also refers to the bay that the settlement is built on. It was named Waipiro by Chief Paoa, which translates literally to "putrid water", referring to the area's sulphuric properties. It is in the Waiapu ward, along with nearby towns Te Puia Springs, Tokomaru Bay, and Ruatoria. It is located 15 km (9 mi) south of Ruatoria, 77 km (48 mi) north-east of Gisborne, and 41 km (25 mi) south-west of the East Cape Lighthouse, the easternmost point of mainland New Zealand. By road, it is 103 km (64 mi) from Gisborne, and 231 km (144 mi) from Ōpōtiki. Waipiro Bay is governed by the Gisborne District Council, and is in the East Coast electorate.
Waiapu Valley, also known as the Waiapu catchment, Waiapu River valley or simply Waiapu, is a valley in the north of the Gisborne Region on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the catchment area for the Waiapu River and its tributaries, and covers 1,734 square kilometres (670 sq mi). The Raukumara Range forms the western side of the valley, with Mount Hikurangi in the central west. The towns of Ruatoria and Tikitiki are in the north-east of the valley.
Horoera is a village and rural community in Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It is located east of Te Araroa and north of East Cape, at Horoera Point.
Potaka is a village and rural community in Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It marks the northern and western end of the Gisborne District and the Ngāti Porou tribal territory.
Whareponga is a bay and rural community in the Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It is located north of Waipiro Bay, and is the mouth of Whareponga Stream and Wharekaka Stream.
Kahu Carter [...] [n]otes that the Toheriri family was the last family in Akuaku, leaving about 1945.NB: ISBN given is probably a misprint in the source. Both WorldCat and Google Books list a different book with the same publisher for that ISBN, Claimant Assistance and Research Services Archived 2013-02-07 at the Wayback Machine (PDF), which has the same ISBN printed in the title page.
Aku Aku