Te Āti Awa

Awanuiarangi is recognised as the founding ancestor of Te Āti Awa. According to Te Āti Awa traditions, he was the product of a union between Rongoueroa and Tamarau, a spirit ancestor. Awanuiarangi is also an ancestor of Ngāti Awa in the Bay of Plenty. However, while Ngāti Awa trace their ancestry to the Mataatua canoe, Te Āti Awa trace their origins to the Tokomaru canoe.

In several North Island traditions, Awanuiarangi originally settled in the Northland region, but migrated southwards with his people following disputes with other northern iwi. Some migrants settled in the Bay of Plenty, some of whom gave rise to the Ngāti Awa iwi. Others settled in Taranaki, some of whom formed Te Āti Awa.

The introduction of muskets to the Māori in the early 19th century saw a marked increase in tribal war campaigns. In 1819, Ngā Puhi began a campaign of conquest throughout the North Island, newly equipped with muskets bought from Sydney. Partly due to tensions with northern Waikato iwi, Te Āti Awa and other Taranaki iwi joined forces with Ngā Puhi. Armed with muskets, Te Ati Awa forces battled the Waikato iwi. Despite a decisive victory at Motunui in 1822, the Waikato forces eventually threatened to overtake Taranaki. This precipitated the first of four major migrations southwards.

1. Te Heke Tātaramoa. The first migration from Taranaki comprised people from Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga and Te Āti Awa, all fleeing the potential threat of the Waikato forces. This first group migrated to the Kapiti Coast.
2. Te Heke Nihoputa. A second migration from Taranaki occurred around 1824, including Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama and Te Āti Awa. These travellers settled in the area around Wellington Harbour. In Wellington traditions, Rongoueroa married Ruarangi, son of noted Polynesian explorer Toi. Her grandson was Tara, who lent his name to the area of Wellington Harbour, which became Te Whanganui-a-Tara ("the great harbour of Tara").
3. Te Heke Tamateuaua. In retaliation for the defeat at Motunui, Waikato and Ngāti Maniapoto forces combined and invaded the Taranaki region, eventually reaching the Ngāmotu people of Te Āti Awa. In 1832, considerable numbers of Ngāmotu moved south to Wellington, joined by some Ngāti Tama, settling at Petone with a hapu of Ngāti Mutunga, who arrived from a previous migration. In gratitude for avenging the death of one of their leaders, Ngāti Mutunga gifted the area around the Hutt River delta and Lowry Bay to the Ngāmotu people. From this time Waikato Tainui claimed mana whenua over this part of Taranaki.
4. Te Heke Paukena and the Kūititanga Battle. A fourth migration from Taranaki also took place in 1834, after a battle with Ngāti Toa. This preceded the breakdown of relations between tribal settlements on the Kapiti Coast, and in 1835, Ngāti Mutunga and sections of Ngāti Tama transferred control of their lands to Te Āti Awa and other Taranaki tribes when they went to invade the Chatham islands to attack the Moriori. In 1839, Ngāti Raukawa, who were fairly recent arrivals to the Wellington region, attacked Te Āti Awa settlements along Wellington Harbour, with support from Ngāti Toa.

In that same year, newly arrived English settlers brought increased demand for land around the Wellington area. The New Zealand Company initially bought some land from local Māori tribes; some of these land purchases would later come into dispute. A later practice saw deeds obtained from local Māori tribes allowing for the reservation of one-tenth of land for Māori use, or in exchange for land elsewhere.

European settlements began to encroach on ancestral Taranaki lands in 1841. This led to a migration of some Wellington Te Āti Awa back to Taranaki in 1848, led by Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke, who opposed the sale of tribal lands to European settlers. Conflicts over land sales arose between various sub-tribes and with European settlers. In 1860, Kīngi refused an ultimatum from Crown troops to vacate his land, after it was offered to the Crown by another chief. Such action led to the first shots of the New Zealand Wars.

Te Āti Awa in Taranaki received widespread support from other Māori, including warriors from the Māori King Movement, in their battle with the Crown, but after a strong year of fighting were ultimately defeated due to the Crown being able to bring in fighters from Australia. Under the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863 and the Suppression of Rebellion Act 1863, (two Acts which the Crown enacted only directly after the war), Te Āti Awa were branded "rebels" and the Crown confiscated almost 485,000 hectares (1,200,000 acres) of Te Āti Awa land in Taranaki. This severely undermined the political and social structures of the iwi and revealed the deceptive nature of the oppressive Crown colonial entities. To this day Te Ati Awa have not had their land returned.[2][3]

The 20th century saw several attempts by the New Zealand Government to redress past actions towards Te Āti Awa. This included recommendations for a settlement monetary sum; a figure was eventually reached by the Government, but without consultation with Taranaki tribes. The Taranaki Maori Claims Act of 1944 also indicated an early full settlement between the Crown and local tribes, but this was disputed by various Taranaki iwi. The Waitangi Tribunal reported on Taranaki claims in 1996.[4]

Te Āti Awa in Taranaki and the Crown signed a Heads of Agreement in 1999,[5] which sets out a broad agreement in anticipation of developing a formal, legally binding Deed of Settlement. The Heads of Agreement indicates a public apology for land confiscations in Taranaki, recognition of cultural associations with sacred geographical landmarks and land areas, restoration of tribal access to traditional food gathering areas, monetary compensation totalling NZ$34 million and commercial redress for economic loss due to land confiscation. The Agreement covers claims made by Te Āti Awa in Taranaki.

In 2004, the New Plymouth District Council resolved to sell 146 ha of land at Waitara to the Crown on condition that it was used in settlement of Te Atiawa claims under the Treaty of Waitangi. Leaseholders mounted unsuccessful legal opposition in 2008 and 2011.[6]

In 1977, the Wellington Tenths Trust was established, representing Te Āti Awa land owners in Wellington. The Trust lodged claims with the Waitangi Tribunal over disputed land ownership purchases from 1839, and the Tribunal issued its findings on these claims in 2003,[7] along with those of other iwi in the Wellington region. The Crown and Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika, a collective that comprises people from Te Āti Awa and other Taranaki iwi whose ancestors migrated to Wellington, signed a Deed of Settlement in 2008 which settled those claims.[8]

• Adds, Peter (2006-09-26). "Te Āti Awa of Taranaki". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
• Love, Morris (2006-12-21). "Te Āti Awa of Wellington". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 2010-01-15.