Ko Tainui te waka
Ko Maungaroa te maunga e pūrea ai ngā hau o Tamaoho
Ko Taupiri te maunga tapu o ngā tūpuna
Ko Waikato te awa, he piko he taniwha
Ko te Mānukanuka o Hoturoa te kupenga o tātou katoa.
Ko Ngāti Tamaoho te Iwi
Ko Mangatangi, ko Whātāpaka, ko Ngā Hau e Whā ngā marae maha
Ko ngā uri o Tamaoho, e mihi ana
Ngāti Tamaoho are of Te Waiohua and Waikato descent, located between Te Mānukanuka o Hoturoa (Manukau Harbour), Āwhitu and Te Pūaha O Waikato (the lower Waikato River). Tamaoho were among the first peoples of Tāmaki Makaurau.
Our tūpuna lived throughout the rohe in places such as Maungaroa, Raungāwari, Pukekohekohe, Manurewa, Papakura and Tāmaki. Our ancestry links back to the early peoples of Te Tini O Toi, Ngā Oho, Ngā Iwi, Te Uri O Pou, and Ngaariki.
When Tainui waka passed through Te Mānukanuka O Hoturoa/Te Manu-kau noa iho many of our tūpuna remained, including Pāpaka, Rakataura, Poutūkeka and Marama.
Under the mana of Tamaoho, his descendants became known as Ngāti Tamaoho.
Ngāti Tamaoho rohe was described by one of our kaumātua Raniera Barney Kirkwood;
“Mai Ihumaatao, tae atu ki Papakura, na, ka huri mai ki tetahi wahanga, ko Pukekohe, Mangatangi, Maramarua, Te Paina, Hūnua, me te Manukau”.
Our rohe includes significant places, such as Te Mānukanuka, Pukekōiwiriki, Kirikiri, Papakura, Hingaia, Pāhurehure, Te Hūnua, Mangatāwhiri, Mangatangi, Ararimu, Paparimu, Paparātā, Pōkino, Maramarua, Maungaroa, Whangamarino, Te Koheroa, Pukekawa, Tirikōhua, Te Puni, Tuhimata, Ramarama, Pukekohekohe, Patumāhoe, Whātāpaka, Te Karaka, Paerātā, and our tupuna awa Waikato.
Our people thrived living off what Te Mānukanuka provided, and what was cultivated on the whenua to enable to sustain its people. We lived with the environment around us, and it was plentiful. When early settlers arrived, Ngāti Tamaoho was eager to foster economic partnerships to build a future for all those who lived here. However, during the 1800’s it became evident that this was not the case for those settlers, and at the time Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed, many of our people had their generosity taken advantage of.
In 1863, this all came to a halt, when Ngāti Tamaoho was labelled rebels, ejected from their tūpuna whenua, and rendered landless. Most of our uri settled where they could within Taamaki Makaurau and Waikato, but many followed Waikato to the King Country.
In 1991, after years of petitioning, building pā, and returning home, the people of Ngāti Tamaoho decided to register a charitable entity to enable kaitiaki activity across the rohe. The Ngāti Tamaoho Trust was officially registered and became the vehicle to pursue its aspirations.
In 2003, Ngāti Tamaoho lodged its claim at the Waitangi Tribunal to settle historic grievances due to Crown breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi including labelling Ngāti Tamaoho as rebels in 1863, ejecting us from our ancestral whenua and rendering our people landless. This began the process of negotiation with the Crown over its failures to meet its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Ngāti Tamaoho is a founding member of the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Collective, which signed a Deed of Settlement with the Crown in 2012, settling historical claims over the tūpuna maunga across Tāmaki Makaurau.
On April 29 2017, the people of Ngāti Tamaoho signed its Deed of Settlement with the Crown, and witnessed the Crown’s apology at a ceremony at Mangatangi Marae. The Crown’s apology noted it’s long history of failures to support and uphold the Mana, Rangatiratanga, and Kaitiakitanga of Ngāti Tamaoho. Through this process, The Ngāti Tamaoho Settlement Trust was established as its post-settlement governance entity responsible to act in the best interest of its Iwi and to administer its assets.
Today, we have over 4000 registered members, of whom majority live and work across Taamaki Makaurau and Waikato. Our aspiration is to continue the legacy of our tūpuna through Te Ara ki Tua 2030, focussed on achieving Mana Motuhake and Rangatiratanga as Tamaoho for Tamaoho and everyone if our communities.
We are proud to be Iwi manaaki bringing Matariki alongside Auckland Council for everyone to celebrate. We look forward to bringing in Matariki with fellow Iwi, hapū, marae and our wider community.
Ki ngā mātua tūpuna I whai wāhi mo ngā uri ki te tipu, ki te pūawai, rātou ngā mate huhua kei waenganui i a tātou katoa, e kore te aroha e mimiti.
Matariki, tuia ngā whetū, tuia ngā tāngata.
Paimaarire!