Wahiao : The People of Whakarewarewa

This book traces the history of the Wahiao people, weaving oral and recorded history to illustrate their relationship with the thermal valley of Te Whakarewarewatanga-o-te-ope-taua-a-Wahiao. Whakarewarewa is New Zealand's most famous thermal tourist resort and has been home to Ngati Wahiao for more than 300 years. The history of Ngati Wahiao is recorded in the names of hot pools, mud pools, geysers, fissures, and streams in the valley. The bones of Ngati Wahiao tupuna lie in caves in Te Puia and the surrounding Pohaturoa hills. This is a true David and Goliath saga. Wahiao have a clear unbroken customary association with the land over hundreds of years. But other larger tribes also claim to have occupied Whakarewarewa at different times and have laid claim to the thermal valley. The stories describe the ancient and bloody wars fought, lost, and won by Wahiao, and their more recent courtroom battles. From these encounters tribal heroes have emerged. It is their stories that are the focus of this book, from the war parties of the ancestor Wahiao after whom the valley is named to the modern heroes who have fought for recognition of their mana whenua over their ancestral land. These heroes faced the forces of adversity over the last 120 years.

Featured in the 4 March 2018 NZ / Pasifika Newsletter.
To receive this newsletter regularly please email us with your name and contact details.

Featured in the 2018 Maori Language Week newsletter.
To receive this newsletter regularly please email us with your name and contact details.