Ko Ōhope Te Takiwā
Ko Ōhiwa Te Moana
Ko Ngāti Awa Te Iwi
Ko Ngāti Hokopū Me Wharepaia Ngā Hapū
Ngāti Hokopū
Nau mai ki Ōhiwa.
Early Ngāti Awa Occupation
Ngāti Awa traditions recount the initial settlement of the region, attributing the first arrival to Maui, followed by Tīwakawaka. The lineage continued with Toi te Huatahi, also known as Toi Kairākau. This distinguished ancestor, Toi, served as the progenitor of numerous tribes collectively identified as Te Tini o Toi. Among these venerable groups was Te Hapūoneone, a subset of Te Tini o Awa, who established their presence in the lands surrounding Ōhiwa.
Ōhiwa Harbour, a constant lifeline for the communities dwelling along its shores, sustained generations at pa sites such as Tauwhare, Te Horo, and Paparoa. The story of how Ōhiwa was named finds its roots in Te Ōhiwa o Awanuiarangi II, signifying the elevated standing place of Awanuiarangi II. This name crystallized when Awanuiarangi II graced the summit of the Paparoa pa site in Wainui on Ōhiwa’s shores. Since that pivotal moment, the descendants of Awanuiarangi, the hapū of Ngāti Awa, have resided at Ōhiwa Harbour, perpetuating their enduring connection to this sacred land.
Another important Ngāti Awa ancestor who lived at Ōhiwa was Te Hapū. Te Horongā o Ngāi Te Hapū, a waahi tapu on the Ōhope spit, commemorates this ancestor whose descendants are the Te Patuwai and Ngāti Maumoana hapū of Ngāti Awa tribal now based at Pūpūāruhe (Whakatāne) and Mōtītī Island.
Ngāti Hokopū & Te Wharepaia
Ngāti Hokopū and Te Wharepaia are the hapū (sub-tribes) of the Ngāti Awa tribal confederation who hold mana whenua (customary territorial authority) in Ōhope and the western section of Ōhiwa Harbour. The two hapū descend from Ngā Ariki, and the ancient tribe of Te Hapuoneone, who descended from the earliest inhabitants of the Ōhope and Ōhiwa areas, including those who occupied the region centuries prior to the arrival of the Mataatua Waka circa 1350. The name Hokopū – which literally means ‘to trade muskets’ – was adopted by the hapū in the early 1800s, at a time when a series of fierce battles were fought with neighbouring tribes for control of the harbour. With support from its Ngāti Awa kin and other allies, Ngāti Hokopū and Te Wharepaia succesfully defended its boundaries and by 1840 had firmly established its authority in the western section of Ōhiwa. Subsequent attempts at peacemaking between Ngāti Awa and Te Whakatōhea would see the two parties agree that Te Whakatōhea would occupy the eastern section of the harbour, and Ngāti Awa, under the mana of Ngāti Hokopū and Te Wharepaia, would occupy the western section.
Te Raupatu – the Crown confisactions of 1866
Within a matter of decades the hapū would meet a far greater challenge that would ultimately result in the hapū – along with almost all of the tribes in the Eastern Bay of Plenty – being rendered completely landless. In 1866, the entire Ngāti Hokopū and Ngāti Awa tribal estate was unjustly confiscated by the Crown as punishment for raising arms against the Government to defend their lands in what are commonly known today as the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s. A minute fraction of the confiscated lands would later be returned to Ngāti Awa although the vesting of lands in individual ownership paved the way for a series of dubious land transactions that resulted in much of the returned land again slipping out of the hands of the hapū.
The Ngāti Awa Treaty of Waitangi Settlement
In 2005, Ngāti Awa iwi settled its Treaty of Waitangi grievences with the crown. Alongside an apology from the Crown, the settlement included cultural, commercial and financial redress, and also reaffirmed the rights and interests of Ngāti Awa, and indeed Ngāti Hokopū and Te Wharepaia, in the greater Ōhope and western Ōhiwa areas. By this time, the majority of the land originally confiscated had been onsold by the Crown to private non-Māori owners, and although some small parcels that remained in Crown ownership were returned to Ngāti Awa through the settlement process, much of it – including where you now stand – remains vested in local and central Government agencies.
A New Dawn of Partnership
In the interests of being a responsible partner to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Whakatāne District Council has committed to working in partnership with Ngāti Hokopū, Te Wharepaia and Ngāti Awa to uphold and promote the cultural and natural significance of the greater Ōhope and western Ōhiwa areas. Collectively, we welcome you to enjoy the magic of Ōhiwa Harbour but ask that you tread lightly out of respect for the harbour, it’s many inhabitants and the immense cultural significance it has to tangata whenua.
Provided by Will Stewart