Te hura i nga pou whenua o Tūhourangi

UMUKARIA (Chief)

Artist: Tukiri Tini - Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Hinekura, Tainui, Ngāi Tahu

This taonga (artwork) depicts Umukaria, a great chief of the Tūhourangi tribe, who lived on the eastern shores of Lake Rotorua at Hinemoa Point six hundred years ago.

Artist, Tukiri Tini, has chosen the traditional form of toi whakairo (art of wood carving) to carve the four metre-tall tōtara.

One day Umukaria was invited to a meeting of chiefs at Motutawa on Rotokākahi (Green Lake). He thought the purpose was to put aside differences and try to establish peace among the tribes.

Umukaria and a small group made their way to Motutawa, but were surprised in an ambush and killed. Their bodies were laid together in a pile and that place became known as Te Pūkainga – the place where the dead were piled up. Umukaria’s head was later found in a cave at Lake Tarawera.

It was later discovered that the killing of Umukaria and his group was in response to his son-in-law, Tūtānekai, taking the lives of two brothers from that area.

Wāhiao, son of Umukaria, avenged the death of his father by leading the Tūhourangi people to victory in battle, including conquering Motutawa. To this day the island remains part of the Tūhourangi tribal estate.

WĀHIAO (Son of Umukaria)

Artist: Iwi Le Comte - Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Tarāwhai, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Ngāi Tuhoe

This taonga (artwork) is a modern interpretation of the Tūhourangi warlord, Wāhiao, son of tribal chief Umukaria and younger brother of Hinemoa.

Iwi Le Comte created this sculpture utilising a ten tonne lava rock deposited in the forest during the 1886 Tarawera eruption and affixing a bronze mask recognising Wāhiao’s leadership, mana and strength.

Whilst his father lived at Hinemoa Point, Wāhiao lived on Pukeroa Hill in central Rotorua where the Rotorua Public Hospital now stands. When news of his father’s assassination reached him, Wāhiao was devastated but his people demanded he lead them to avenge the slaying of their chief, Umukaria.

A massive Tūhourangi war party assembled on Pukeroa Hill then marched to Whakarewarewa Village (2kms south of Rotorua township) to undertake training and then on to Rotokākahi (Green Lake).

Tūhourangi were victorious in battle at both major fortified settlements of Rotokākahi and Tarawera. They eventually settled the lakes of Rotokākahi, Tarawera, Rotomahana, and Ōkāreka. These areas remain part of the Tūhourangi tribal estate today.

KATAORE (Taniwha)

Artist: Tāwhanga Rika – Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Tarāwhai, Ngāti Rangiwewehi

This taonga (artwork) represents Kataore, an ancient massive lizard known by Māori as a taniwha. He lived in a cave on nearby Mount Moerangi and roamed freely upon these lands. Artist, Tāwhanga Rika, has created this sculpture using corten steel and mātai. The disc has a four-metre diameter and sits three metres high.

Tangaroamihi, who was the first settler in this area, made friends with Kataore who played with the children of his tribe. Soon Kataore became the tribal pet. As Kataore aged and grew to an enormous size, he spent more time alone and stories began to spread of travellers disappearing in the Moerangi area.

Eventually Kataore became uncontrollable and devoured a young woman who was making her way to Rotorua. Her fiancé was so upset that he raised a war party within his tribe that lived at Pukeroa Hill (in central Rotorua where the Rotorua Public Hospital now stands) to seek revenge and killed Kataore. Tangaroamihi mourned his pet but believed that he was the real target and that Kataore’s death was to trick him into battle.

Several fights followed, during which Tangaroamihi became a victim. However, the travelling war party was eventually defeated to such an extent that they left the Rotorua area.

HINEMOA AND TŪTĀNEKAI (Historical Romance)

Artist: Okiwi Logan Shipgood – Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Uenukukōpako, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Tūmatawera, Ngāti Kahu Upoko, Ngāti Tarāwhai, Ngāti Hinekura

The children of Hinemoa and Tūtānekai are the main ancestors of the Ngāti Whakaue nation, prominent within the Confederation of Te Arawa Tribes. The historical romance of Hinemoa and Tūtānekai has been immortalised in this 3.5-metre-high cement taonga (artwork) sculpted by Okiwi Shipgood.

Hinemoa, daughter of Umukaria and older sister of Wāhiao, grew up at Hinemoa Point on the eastern shores of Lake Rotorua. She was a famous puhi (woman of high rank) destined for a marriage that would bring political benefits to her tribe. She was also a woman of strong opinions who had already selected her true love, Tūtānekai, and eloped by swimming 3.4 kilometres across Lake Rotorua to join him on Mokoia Island.

The favoured son of chief Whakaue, Tūtānekai lived on Mokoia Island with his father’s tribe. He was a ferocious warrior and quick to take offence. His killing of two brothers accidentally led to the ambush and slaying of his father-in-law, Umukaria at Motutawa on Rotokākahi (the Green Lake).

When Tūtānekai died after a long illness, Hinemoa expressed her deep grief and loss in the waiata aroha (ancient sad song of love) that is still sung by their descendants today. In her sorrow she hinted at no longer having the will to live and sought out her father’s people, Tūhourangi, at Rotokākahi where she lived out the rest of her days.

The final resting place for Tūtānekai is at Weriweri, a tiny settlement on the north western shores of Lake Rotorua at Ngongotahā.

This taonga is sited on the boundary of Tūhourangi and Ngāti Whakaue tribal estates on Mount Moerangi.