Whakatōhea

One of Whakatōhea's earliest ancestors was Chief Tarawa and his brother Tuwharanui had been left behind when the Te Tohorā waka left Hawaiki, and so built Te Arautauta waka to join the rest of their people in New Zealand. They arrived at Paerātā, east of the Waiōtahe River. Tarawa released two pet tanahanaha fish into a spring on the eastern bluff above Waiotahe Beach, which came to be known as Ōpōtiki-mai-tawhiti.[5][6][7][8] Tarawa continued up the Mōtū River and married Manawa-ki-aitu.[9]

The tribe's next prominent ancestor was Tautūrangi of his own Te Wakanui tribe, who arrived with the Nukutere waka around 26 generations before 1900CE. It made landfall on a rocky cove and was moored to a flat white rock now known as Te Rangi. Tautūrangi then sailed the waka around to Te Kōtukutuku and went ashore, where he went up the Waiaua Valley to a high point named Kapuarangi where he installed his atua, Tamaīwaho.[5][8]

Nine generations after the arrival of Nukutere, the next waka to arrive was Mataatua which landed at Whakatāne with kūmara, and carried the ancestress Muriwai, the eldest daughter of Wekanui and Irākewa whose other two children, sons, were Toroa and Puhi. The three siblings also had a half brother, Tāneatua. In Te Whakatōhea's traditions Muriwai spoke the famous words "kia tū whakatāne au i ahau", or "ka whakatāne au i ahau", which is roughly translated to "make me stand like a man" as Mataatua was being swept back out to sea, while Muriwai's brothers and their men were scouting the land. It was these words that gave her the right to pull the waka back to safety, and from these words being spoken at the landing place that Whakatane gets its name.[5][8] Toroa's daughter Wairaka was an ancestress of Ngāti Awa and Ngāi Tūhoe.[9]

Muriwai's son Rēpanga went to Ōpōtiki and married Ngāpoupereta, their descendant Ruatakena became the ancestor of Ngāti Ruatakena. Muriwai's daughter Hine-i-kauia followed Rēpanga and married Tūtāmure, born eight generations after Tautūrangi's arrival in New Zealand. He established the eastern boundary between the tribes of Te Wakanui and Ngāi Tai at Tōrere, and inland from Te Rangi cove to Ōroi.[5][8] He led an attack against Ngāti Kahungunu's pā at Maungakāhia to avenge the murder of his sister Tāneroa, murdered by her husband. Tautūrangi's attacks were so vicious that he broke his weapon, a mere, and had to swap it for another more durable mere made of whalebone. With this he smashed the heads of his enemies, and buried them in the ground. For this his people became known as Te Panenehu ("the buried heads").[5][8]

Tautūrangi established the Poutōtara pā inland at Waiaua to defend against further attacks from Ngāti Kahungunu. The ancestral house at Omarumutu marae is named Tutamure and the dining room is named Hine-i-kauia, and behind the marae Tautūrangi occupied another pā on the Mākeo hill. Their descendants would become Te Whakatōhea.[5][8]

Tautūrangi's western counterpart was Kahuki of the Whakatāne hapū. Kahuki conquered the nearby territory in revenge for the killing of his father Rongopopoia, after which he returned to Waiōtahe and constructed a pā close to the river. Whakatāne and Ngāti Raumoa, including the Te Ūpokorehe hapū, were living on Waiōtahe and Ōhiwa land which were under Kahuki's control. Te Ūpokorehe would be subjected to attacks from Ngāti Awa on the western border, and would seek refuge at Ōpōtiki. Ngāti Awa and their ally Ngāi Tūhoe would meet with Whakatōhea and their chief Te Rupe for one final battle at Ōhope. Te Rupe was able to boost his peoples' moral with the haka Te kōtiritiri te kōtaratara, and won the battle.[5][8]

Before the arrival of the Europeans, the final, defining battle against Ngāi Tai was done at Awahou under Punāhamoa's leadership. Ngāi Tai's leader Tūterangikūrei was killed, and his head preserved as a trophy. Ngāi Tai were able to take Tūterangikūrei's head back in exchange for the pounamu adze Waiwharangi, which today is held in the Whakatāne Museum.[5][8]

The iwi initially had good relations with European settlers and Christian missionaries. However, in 1865, following the murder of German missionary Carl Völkner, and with increasing demands from European settlers for more land, Crown soldiers invaded Te Whakatōhea land. Almost 600 km² of Whakatōhea land was confiscated by the Crown under the New Zealand Settlements Act of 1863.

During the twentieth century there was increasing recognition that Whakatōhea had suffered grievances at the hands of the Crown. In 1996, the New Zealand government signed a Deed of Settlement, acknowledging and apologising for the invasion and confiscation of Whakatōhea lands, and the subsequent economic, cultural and developmental devastation suffered by the iwi. Whakatōhea are presently preparing to negotiate a full settlement with the New Zealand government.[4]

Te Ūpokorehe is an iwi in its own right. Their ancestral boundaries commence from Maraetotara (Ohope) in the west to the middle of Waioeka River (Ōpōtiki) in the east. Upokorehe Iwi boundaries fall within the Ōpōtiki District and Whakatāne District Catchments. Roimata Marae holds the mauri of Upokorehe Iwi. Upokorehe does not have the same whakapapa (ancestry) as Whakatōhea. In 1952 the Whakatōhea Maori Trust Board was established and Upokorehe was included as a hapu with the intention and expectation of our Upokorehe rangatira/kaumatua at the time to return lands to Upokorehe which were taken as part of the raupatu. Today, Upokorehe Iwi have been recognised as an Iwi in their own right and as such were included by Statistics NZ in the 2018 census. Upokorehe Iwi have established their own mandated treaty claims trust (Te Upokorehe Treaty Claims Trust) to represent their raupatu claims. Te Upokorehe Iwi are also calling for a full Waitangi Tribunal Hearing, to ensure their story can be told and their whakapapa and hitori will not be lost or usurped by Whakatōhea Iwi.

There are five marae situated in the Upokorehe Iwi boundaries. (Marae is an Ancestral Meeting house and Wharekai (Dining Room) situated on ancestral land. A place of gathering for people of Upokorehe Iwi )

• Roimata Marae location overlooking Ohiwa Harbour, Hiwarau Road, Kutarere.
• Kutarere marae location Kutarere main road.
• Maromahue marae location Waiotahe Valley, off main road, inland.
• Rongopopoia marae location further up Waiotahe Valley at Kahikatea, off main road, inland.
• Turangapikitoi marae location Wainui on the main road between Kutarere and Ohope.

The Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board was established in 1952 to administer the assets of the iwi, and provides members with education, health services and training in various commercial fields.[1] It is a charitable trust governed by two representatives from each of the six hapū, and based in Ōpōtiki. It is also accountable to the Minister of Maori Affairs and is governed by the Maori Trust Boards Act.[2]

The trust represents the tribe's fisheries interest under the Māori Fisheries Act 2004, and its aquaculture interests under the Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004. It represents the tribe during consultation on resource consent applications under the Resource Management Act 1991. The trust board does not have a resource management plan, but Upokorehe Iwi have an active resource management team and Upokorehe iwi resource management plan which they have used in their role as iwi to manage and protect the resources within their ancestral boundaries, including Ohiwa Harbour which is situated in the rohe (boundaries) of Upokorehe Iwi. Upokorehe Iwi continue to actively practice their ancestral customs and traditions to gather kai (food) within their rohe.[2]

Upokorehe Iwi does not believe the Whakatohea Maori Trust Board is the appropriate entity to represent their interests into the future. They are seeking an entity that will ensure their whakapapa, their identity, their resources, their mana, their tinorangatiratanga will be retained and all resources utilised to benefit nga uri o Te Upokorehe Iwi.

The Whakatōhea Pre-Settlement Claims Trust represents the tribe during Treaty of Waitangi settlement negotiations. The New Zealand Government recognised the trust's mandate to represent the iwi with an Agreement in Principle signed with the Crown on 18 August 2017. The trust is governed by one trustee elected from each of six hapū, one trustee appointed from each of eight marae, and an additional trustee appointed by Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board. Roimata Marae (Upokorehe) is not represented on this trust, which effectively means, the trust does not have the mandate of Upokorehe Iwi to represent Upokorehe. The Upokorehe Iwi mandated legal entity to represent their treaty claims is Te Upokorehe Iwi Treaty Claims Trust, made up of representatives from the 5 marae within Upokorehe Iwi.

The trust is administered by the same staff as the trust board, in the same offices in Ōpōtiki.[2]

The tribal area of Whakatōhea is located within the territory of Ōpōtiki District Council. Although, Upokorehe Iwi have identified that their traditional boundaries make up almost half of the area that Whakatōhea is purporting to claim, with Upokorehe included as one of their hapū.

It is within the boundaries of Bay of Plenty Regional Council.[2]

Pan-tribal iwi station Sea 92FM broadcasts to members of Whakatōhea, Ngāitai and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui in the Ōpōtiki area.[10] It is operated by pan-tribal service provider Whakaatu Whanaunga Trust, and is available on 92.0 FM. It operates the low-power Opotiki 88.1 FM, geared towards a young demographic.[11]