In Māori tradition, ''Aotea'' is one of the canoes () in which Māori migrated to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

; it is particularly associated with the tribes of Taranaki and Whanganui, including

Ngāti Ruanui Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori people, Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki Region, Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the rohe, traditional ...

Ngāruahine Ngāruahine is a Māori people, Māori iwi of New Zealand located in South Taranaki, North Island. Treaty settlement A Treaty of Waitangi claims and settlements, treaty settlement was signed with the Crown in 2014. Following ratification of the ...

, Ngā Rauru and other tribal groups.

History

''Aotea'' was a double canoe built by Toto from half of a great tree from

Hawaiki (also rendered as in the Cook Islands, Hawaiki in Māori, in Samoan, in Tahitian, in Hawaiian) is, in Polynesian folklore, the original home of the Polynesians, before dispersal across Polynesia. It also features as the underworld in man ...

, the other half being used for the canoe '' Matahourua''. Toto gave ''Aotea'' to his daughter Rongorongo, who was married to Turi. In strife with the chief

Uenuku Uenuku (or Uenuku-Kōpako, also given to some who are named after him) is an atua of rainbows and a prominent ancestor in Māori tradition. Māori believed that the rainbow's appearance represented an omen, and one kind of yearly offering made ...

, Turi killed the chief's son and thereafter had to flee for New Zealand with 33 passengers. During the voyage, they stopped at Rangitahua and encountered some of the crew from the '' Kurahaupō'' canoe (Craig 1989:24). The ''Aotea'' canoe arrived at Aotea Harbour on the west coast of the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

, and its people eventually settled in the Taranaki region.

Aircraft

'Aotea' was the name given to the first Jumbo Jet (a

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

-219B. Registration: ZK-NZV) acquired by

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...

. This aircraft and several more of her type were acquired by Air New Zealand as a replacement aircraft for the carriers'

DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 1971 ...

fleet.A picture of the aircraft can be seen by clicking the link: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-New-Zealand/Boeing-747-219B/0533913/L/&sid=ad9f45f638157a09dc5ceba86e7a0034

References

*R.D. Craig, ''Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology'' (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989). Māori waka Māori mythology {{Māori-myth-stub

History

Aircraft

See also

References