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Ko Te Kumore o Tamatekapua te taukaka, ko Te Awakeri a Ngatoro ki raro, ko Maketu te kāinga.
Ko Maketu he ingoa nō Hawaiki Tawhitiareare, he pā tūwatawata, he pā maioro, he kāinga, he pātaka kai, he wāhi whakawhitawhita i te wairua o ngā manu tīoriori me ngā kākā tarahae whakatau pahi. E rua ngā whare whakairo e tūtei ana ki Maketu.
Ko Te Awhe o te rangi ki runga, ko Whakaue ki raro. Kai te kōrerongia tātau a Whakaue whare whakairo. He rangatira nui onamata. Ka moe i a Rangiuru ka whānau a rāua tamariki tokoono.
Ko Tuteaiti tētehi ko Tūtānekai tētehi. Nā Tuteaiti ko parehina he wahine.
Nā Tūtānekai ko Te Whatumairangi. Ka moe rāua tokorua ka whānau ko Taiwere. Ka mate a Taiwere i ngā ope nui a Ngai Te Rangihouhiri. Ka tū te ope ngaki utu. Ka mate hoki ko ēra. Matika mai ko tona pakihiwi kaha ko Te Ariariterangi, ka ruku atu ki te riri, engari ka mate hoki ko tērā.Ko te wāhi i mate ai tēnei rangatira ko Maraekura.
Ko te takiwā e tū ana te pōwhatu whakamaumaharatanga o te ūnga mai o Te Arawa ki uta. Tū ana ko Te Roro o te rangi he tamaiti rangatira nā Te Ariari o te rangi. Ka rūnanga ngā iwi mā ngā ngutu te ia o te noho. E kawe, ka oti ka houhia ki te rongo.
Ka mate ngā whakatupuranga, ka whānau he whakatupuranga, ka nohia a Maketu e ngā uri, hai etehi taima ka nōhia kētia a Rotorua. Ka rere te rākura, ka huaki anō te riri. Ka pau ngā pā Māori ki te kāpura, ka mate ngā rangatira.
Ka tomokia ngā pā tūwatawata ka rere anō ngā reke taiaha. Tu mai ko ngā amokura o te pōkaitara matua, ko Te Pukuatua, ko Tohi Te Ururangi, ko Kiharoa, ko Pango Ngawene, ko wai atu, ko wai atu. Ka tau te puehu, ka mate katoa ngā taniwha onamata.
Kua tau te noho a Te Arawa ki Maketu. Ka toko ake i a Ngatai Pēkamu Winiata, he huatahi nā Tohi Te Ururangi, te whakaaro ki te whakatu whare mō ngā uri o Ngāti Whakaue.
Ka hoko atu ana tona whenua itiiti ki te tangata ki a ea ai te nama o te rākau mō te whare. Nō te tau kotahi mano e iwa rau kotahi tekau mā toru ka mate tona hoa rangatira a Retireti Tapihana.
Ka aru noa a Ngātai i tana hoa rangatira ko rāua tokorua ka riro atu i te pō. Ka tae ki te kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e rua tekau mā waru ka whakatūwherangia te whare. Ko Hatupatu te tekoteko o te whare.
He mea nā te New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts Institute i whakairo. Nā rātau hoki ngā amo me ngā maihi otia ngā poupou, hāunga ko te pou tāuhu. Nā Rangi Royal i tārai. Ko te pare he mea kitea iho e ngā rangatira i te akau o Te Rotoiti, ka whakahoungia hai pare whakahirahira mō te whare. Ko Mana Tamati Te Poururu Te Kowhai te kāmura.
He tino koroua rongonui mõ tōna kaha ki te hanga whare me te awhina i ngā tini hapū o Te Arawa.
Ko ngā karakia he mihinare. Ko Pihopa Peneti te amokura nui. Ko Mohi Eruini Te Tikao, ko Manihera Tumatahi, ko Te Waaka, ko Te Ropere Tahuriorangi ko Rewi Wikiriwhi āna pou hāpai.
He minita katoa ēnei rangatira. Nā te hoa rangatira o Raniera Kīngi nā Kui Rihi te paepae o te whare i takahi. Nā reira te pepeha, ko Whakaue ki tai, e tiaki te takutai moana.
Ko Whakaue Kaipapa te tupuna, ko Rangiuru te whare kuia, e tū nei e ihi nei.
Maketu has long been synonymous with the descendants of Te Arawa.
It was the site where our ancestors berthed after their great ocean crossing from Hāwaiki.
It would serve as a site of deep significance, providing sustenance, life, inspiring and influencing poets, composers and orators. Whakaue whare whakairo is one of two whare that remains standing at Maketu.
The ornately carved whare reminds us of the sacrifices made by the Ngati Whakaue chiefs in their contributed efforts to uphold the prestige of Te Arawa. Whakaue was a long ago famous fighting chief of the past who had six children.
One was Tuteaiti and another chief was Tutanekai. Parehina the daughter of Tuteaiti married Te Whatumairangi a son of Tutanekai and by this union they had a male child called Taiwere.
Taiwere is remembered for his role in the famous battle against the Ngai Te Rangihouhiri where sadly he was killed. In an attempt to avenge his death his two brothers were also killed and it fell to his older brother Te Ariari-o-te-rangi to seek retribution.
At Maraekura he established the prestige of his people by reciting his pedigree from those who had passed, but again as valiantly as he fought the strength of the foe was too great. And so it fell to his son Te Roro-o-te-rangi to resolve this matter diplomatically.
As time passed and generations waxed and waned the movement between Maketu and the Waiariki flucuated.
We hear of the battles between Ngai Te Rangi and Te Arawa where the great fighting pā of Te Tumu and Maketu fell to Te Arawa, where the Ngāti Whakaue were led under the fighting chiefs Te Pukuatua, Tohi Te Ururangi, Kiharoa, Pango Ngawene and many others. And with the ahi-kā once again ablaze a sense of peace befell the community.
In order to ensure that this kaupapa would flourish Ngatai Pēkamu Winiata the widow of Retireti Tapsell sold her shares in a block of land to cover the timber exspenses for the construction of a whare. Retireti passed away in 1913.
Sadly, Ngatai would also pass away before the opening of the completed wharenui in 1928.
When looking at the wharenui it is the legendary chief Hatupatu, the warrior who avenged the burning of the Te Arawa waka and performed extraordinary deeds of bracery. To Hatupatu the honour of adorning the apex of the house.
This and a large majority of the whare were created by the skilled hands of the New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts Institute.
With the pou tāuhu the only exception carved by Rangi Royal. The door lintel is said to be an old carving that was taken from the shores of Lake Te Rotoiti. The main builder was the famous Mana Tamati Poururu Te Kowhai, a highly energetic character who assisted with the building of many of the whare throughout Te Arawa.
The service was conducted by Bishop Bennet who was accompanied by Mohi Eruini Te Tikao, Manihera Tumatahi, Te Waaka, Ropere Tahuriorangi and Rewi Wikiriwhi all active ministers.
The wife of Raniera Kingi, kui Rihi had the honour of trampling the sacred beam and entering the whare making it accessible to all.
OPINION: Once proud and hard-working, most Māori have no meaningful mahi.