Ruatāhuna is a small town in the remote country of
Te Urewera
Te Urewera is an area of mostly forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand, located inland between the Bay of Plenty and Hawke Bay. Te Urewera is the ''rohe'' (historical home) of Tūhoe, a Māori i ...
, in the northeast of
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 ...
's
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 ...
. It is 90 kilometres directly west of
Gisborne, and 18 kilometres northwest of
Lake Waikaremoana
Lake Waikaremoana is located in Te Urewera in the North Island of New Zealand, northwest of Wairoa and west-southwest of Gisborne. It covers an area of . From the Māori Waikaremoana translates as 'sea of rippling waters'.
The lake lies wi ...
. By road, it is 50 kilometres south-east of
Murupara
Murupara is a town in the Whakatāne District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is in an isolated part of the region between the Kaingaroa Forest and Te Urewera protected area, on the banks of the Rangitaiki Riv ...
, and 110 kilometres north-west of
Wairoa
Wairoa is the largest town in the Wairoa District and the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mā ...
. It is on the upper reaches of the
Whakatāne River
The Whakatāne River or Ōhinemataroa is a major river of the Bay of Plenty region in the North Island of New Zealand.
It flows north from near the small town of Ruatāhuna through Te Urewera, reaching the sea through the town of Whakatāne
...
, and surrounded on three sides by the Te Urewera protected area, formerly the
Te Urewera National Park
Te Urewera National Park was a national park near the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, established as such in 1954 and disestablished in 2014, when it was replaced by a new legal entity and protected area named ''Te Urewera''. The pa ...
. The road that runs from Murupara through Ruatahuna to
Āniwaniwa on Lake Waikaremoana, a large part of which is unsealed, used to be designated as part of
State Highway 38. It is a subdivision of the Galatea-Murupara ward of the
Whakatāne District
Whakatāne District is a territorial authority district on the North Island of New Zealand. The Whakatāne District Council is headquartered in the largest town, Whakatāne. The district falls within the Bay of Plenty Region. Victor Luca has ...
.
History
The area was the site of much action during the
New Zealand Wars
The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...
of the 1860s and 1870s. From 1870 to 1888, one of the largest
wharenui
A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called ''wikt:wh ...
ever built, Te Whai-a-te-Motu, was constructed for
Te Kooti
Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki ( 1832–1893) was a Māori leader and guerrilla fighter who was the founder of the Ringatū religion.
While fighting alongside government forces against the Hauhau in 1865, he was accused of spying. Exiled to ...
and his followers.
Marae
Ruatāhuna is within the ''
rohe
The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ' to describe the territory or boundaries of tribes (, although some divide their into several .
Background
In 1793, chief Tuki Te Terenui Whare Pirau who had been brought to Norfolk Island drew ...
'' (tribal area) of
Tūhoe, and has several
marae
A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...
affiliated with Tūhoe
hapū
In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...
:
* Kākānui (Tīpapa) marae and Kākahu Tāpiki meeting house, affiliated with Kākahu Tāpiki.
* Mātaatua marae and Te Whai-a-te-Motu meeting house, affiliated with Te Urewera.
* Ōhāua or Ōhāua te Rangi marae and Te Poho-o-Pōtiki meeting house, affiliated with Ngāti Rongo.
* Ōpūtao marae and Te Ngāwari meeting house, affiliated with Ngāti Tāwhaki.
* Ōtekura marae and Te Ōhāki meeting house, affiliated with Tamakaimoana.
* Pāpueru marae and Te Whatu o Te Kanohi meeting house, affiliated with Ngāti Tāwhaki.
* Tātāhoata marae and Te Tapuae meeting house, affiliated with Ngāi Te Riu.
* Te Umuroa marae and Te Poho-o-Parahaki meeting house, affiliated with Ngāti Manunui.
* Uwhiārae marae and Te Paena meeting house, affiliated with Ngāi Te Paena.
* Te Wai-iti marae and Te Poho o Kurī Kino meeting house, affiliated with Ngāti Kurī Kino.
In October 2020, the Government committed $3,996,258 from the
Provincial Growth Fund
Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party.
Jones' political career began 2005 New Zealand general election, in 2005 as a l ...
to upgrade Kākānui, Mātaatua, Ōhāua, Pāpueru, Tātāhoata, Uwhiārae, Te Wai-iti marae, creating 79 jobs.
Education
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Huiarau is a co-educational state
Māori language immersion area school for Year 1 to 13 students,
with a roll of as of .
Climate
References
Whakatāne District
Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region
{{BayofPlenty-geo-stub