Ngāti Whātua


Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taoū, and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei. The four hapū can act together or separately as independent tribes.
Ngāti Whātua's territory or rohe is traditionally expressed as, "Tāmaki ki Maunganui i te Tai Hauauru" and "Tāmaki ki Manaia i te Rawhiti". The northern boundary is expressed as, "Manaia titiro ki Whatitiri, Whatitiri titiro ki Tutamoe, Tutamoe titiro ki Maunganui". The southern boundary is expressed as, "Te awa o Tāmaki". The area runs from Tāmaki River in the south to Maunganui Bluff in the north, and to Whangarei Harbour on the east coast. By the time of European settlement in New Zealand, Ngāti Whātua's territory was around the Kaipara Harbour and stretching south to Tāmaki Makaurau, the site of present-day Auckland.

History

Ngāti Whātua descends from the ancestor Tuputupuwhenua. The iwi traces its arrival in New Zealand to the Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi canoe, which landed north of the Kaipara Harbour. They also descend from ancestors who migrated from Muriwhenua in the Far North and intermarried with the tribes in Ngāti Whātua's territory.
Rivalry with Ngāpuhi escalated in the early 19th century when Ngāpuhi acquired muskets. Ngāpuhi attacked Ngāti Whātua in 1807 or 1808 in the battle of Moremonui north of Dargaville - probably the occasion of the first use of firearms in Māori warfare. Ngāti Whātua overcame the Ngāpuhi warriors with hand weapons while Ngāpuhi were reloading their muskets, winning a decisive victory over the attackers. Ngāpuhi, led by Hongi Hika, exacted revenge in 1825 when they defeated Ngāti Whātua in the battle of Te Ika a Ranganui near Kaiwaka.
On 20 March 1840 in the Manukau Harbour area where Ngāti Whātua farmed, paramount chief Āpihai Te Kawau signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Treaty of Waitangi. Ngāti Whātua sought British protection from Ngāpuhi as well as a reciprocal relationship with the Crown and the Church. Soon after signing the Treaty, Te Kawau offered land on the Waitematā Harbour to William Hobson, the new Governor of New Zealand, for his new capital. Hobson took up the offer and moved the capital of New Zealand to Tāmaki Makaurau, naming the settlement Auckland.
Ngāti Whātua came to national prominence in the 1970s in a dispute over vacant land at Bastion Point, a little way east of the Auckland city centre, adjoining the suburb of Orakei. The land, which the New Zealand government had acquired cheaply for public works many decades before, largely reverted to the tribe after a long occupation and passive resistance.

Governance

Te Runanga o Ngāti Whātua has a mandate, recognised by the New Zealand Government, to negotiate Treaty of Waitangi settlements for Ngāti Whatua. It is also a mandated iwi organisation under the Māori Fisheries Act, and an Iwi Aquaculture Organisation in the Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act. It represents Ngāti Whatua as an iwi authority under the Resource Management Act and is a Tūhono organisation.
The Runanga is a Māori Trust Board governed by 11 trustees from 5 takiwā or districts: 1 trustee from Ōrakei, 2 from South Kaipara, 3 from Otamatea, 1 from Whangarei and 4 from Northern Wairoa. As of 2016, the chairperson of the trust is Russell Kemp, the support services manager is Pat Murray, and the trust is based in Whangarei.
The iwi has interest in the territory of Northland Regional Council, Auckland Council, Kaipara District Council and Whangarei District Council.

Hapū and marae

Northern Wairoa

The Whangarei district has four hapu :
Ake 1179 is the official radio station of Ngāti Whātua, but is not officially part of the iwi radio network. It broadcasts on in Auckland, and features a combination of urban contemporary music and traditional storytelling.

Notable people