Manutuke

Manutuke, Gisborne, New Zealand

Manutuke is a settlement in the Gisborne Region. It is located to the west of the city of Gisborne on State Highway 2, close to the mouth of the Waipaoa River

Hokokai Kawakawa

External Link - Hokokai Kawakawa Whakapapa Page

Kate Campbell's grandmother Hokokai Kawakawa was the earliest recorded whaea tipuna (ancestral mother) of ours to have resided in Manutuke. She was born in the early 1800's into the Rongowhakaata iwi (tribe) to parents Whare Kawakawa and Hanene.

She was married twice through the tradition of arranged marriage. These type of marriages were normally reserved for the rangatira (chiefly) lines which could indicate the status our family in those days.

Hokokai's first husband was James Mackey, an English sailor and whaler who settled in the district for a period of time around 1850. Hokokai and James founded the Mackey/Maki family here and had 4 children.

In 1859, some sort of tribal decision was made and James moved away. At her family’s request, Hokokai then took a Maori husband of note, Rota Wakaate Waipara, to whom she had another six children.

The Mackey and Waipara children grew up in Manutuke as an extended/blended family.

In 1868 one of the children Benjamin Mackey, was slain aged 14 in the Matawhero massacre, when 70 European and Maori, men, women and children were killed by Te Kooti rebels. Fortunately, the rest of the family somehow survived this tragic event.

Hokokai passed away in 1870 and is buried at Te Arai urupa in Manutuke. Her first husband James Mackey passed away in 1884 and is buried in the Old Kaiti cemetery in Gisborne.

*the Mackey surname has been spelt as Mckee, Mackay, Mackie Maki etc throughout their historical records. These inconsistencies can been found from family to family, within the same family or over the course of the same persons life. Why these changes occurred could be due to any number of reasons. For the purposes of simplicity and to minimise confusion, it has been be spelt "Mackey" here.

Sarah (Hera) Mackey

External Link - Sarah Mackey Whakapapa Page

Kate Campbell's mother Sarah Mackey (b.1855) also married twice. First to a Scotchman, Duncan Campbell who was around long enough to father both Kate and her brother William before disappearing into the mist of time.

Sarah then married William Cooper an Irishman, to whom she had another eight children. The two Campbell and all the Cooper children were brought up as an extended family in Manutuke.

Sarah died 10 Jun 1886 aged only 31 years during childbirth and was buried in the Manutuke urupa of Te Arai.

An interesting footnote would be that this photo of Sarah must have been taken sometime before her death in 1886. This would make it the oldest surviving family photo still around today.

Kate (Rangikahiwa) Campbell

External Link - Kate Campbell Whakapapa Page

Kate Campbell (b.1872) herself spent a considerable part of her early life, living in Manutuke, and over her entire life, she never ventured too far away from her place of birth.

Her alliance to the Rongowhakaata iwi in particular was very strong. This strong connection could explain the many strong character traits she possessed.

When Kate's daughter Rangi died at a young age, she buried her close to her mother Sarah, in Te Arai urupa, Manutuke. Then when her husband William died, she buried him next to Rangi. And when Kate passed away (24th Mar 1945), she was buried next to them all.

A more in-depth account of Kate's life can be found on the Kate Campbell Chapter within this website

Historic Manutuke (Recently Revised)

Rongowhakaata are the iwi that have historically resided in Manutuke, but they once governed a much larger land mass which took in the entire Poverty Bay flats, inland to Ngatapa, and as far as Kaiangaroa and Tiniroto. Young Nicks Head (Te Kurī-a-Pāoa) however is not Rongwhakaata land but that of close relation Te Aitanga a Mahaki iwi.

Map - Historic Lands of Rongowhakaata

(Click to enlarge map)

Around the arrival of the Europeans, Kahutia was the recognised rangatira of most of the Poverty Bay flats. His youngest daughter Riparata inherited his mana and distributed and sold property including the Gisborne City area which gave the town its start.

Much of the Rongwhakaata land was confiscated after the land wars and the various other skirmishes that happened around that time including the Te Kooti uprising and the Matawhero massacre. The iwi were left with small land holdings at Manutuke and a 5000 acre block called Arai Matawai.

In recent times a small amount of that has been returned to the iwi including a further 12000 acres at Arai Matawai in the 1950's and after much hard work by the iwi, it has been turned into a successful incorporation. Our whanaunga Bill Paku served on that committee for 34 years.

In recent years and during the Waitangi land settlements, the Awapuni lagoon, adjoining foreshore and other small pockets of land has also been returned or is under negotiation for their return.

Rongowhakaata Today (Recently Revised)

The Rongowhakaata iwi consists of the three primary hapū (sub-tribes) : Ngati Maru, Ngai Tawhiri and Ngati Kaipoho.

These hapū affiliate to 4 established marae and are within a 1.5 km radius of each other in and around Manutuke township:

1. Rukopo Marae - (aka Māori Battalion Marae) which is a focal point for the whole iwi, is set beside the historic Toko Toru Tapu Church and adjacent urupa. The wharekai (Maori Ballalion) hall houses the honours boards containing the names of all Rongowhakaata who served in the wars. The names of the Priestley brothers Wi Kepa, James Patterson (Pat) and William Augstine (Bill) Priestley feature here.

2. Pahou Marae - Ngāti Maru hapu and others.

3. Whakato Marae - Ngai Tawhiri hapū and others.

4. Ohako Marae - Ngāti Kaipoho hapū alone.

Te Kuri a Tuatahi Marae is closer to Gisborne and beside the airport in Lytton Rd. This marae was abandoned for many years but the iwi have set in place a program for its restoration.

Although we connect to all these hapū and marae in some way, it is known that our tipuna Kate Rangikahiwa Campbell affiliated to Ngati Kaipoho hapū and Ohako Marae in particular.

Ko Puketapu te Maunga

Ko Te Arai te Awa

Ko Horouta me Takitimu ngā Waka

Ko Ruapani te Ariki

Ko Rongowhakaata te Iwi

Whanau Points of Interest (Recently Revised)

Of the many local marae and landmarks that could be visited, the historic carved Toko Toru Tapu Church is a must. It has just undergone extensive renovations. While there you could chance a visit to the Rukopo marae and the Māori Battalion wharekai and its honours boards.

Just a bit further down the highway is the small settlement of Muriwai and the historic headland of Te Kuri a Paoa (aka Young Nick's Head).

Manutuke External Links

Rongowhakaata Iwi - the official website

Rongowhakaata Iwi History - a brief history

Rongowhakaata Iwi Library - an extensive historical record

2001 Census - Facts and figures

Toko Toru Tapu Church - the church restoration facebook page

Marae DIY - Manutuke Marae (the 2006 renovation reality television episode)

Te Arai Urupa - on whakapapaonline.com