The History of Te Pai o Hauraki Marae

Uea, uea. Uea te pou o tō whare kia tū tangatanga. 

He kapua whakairi nā rātou i ngā maunga hakahaka o Te Tara-o-Te Ika-a-Māui, ki runga o Te Moenga-i-Haua-e-Poutama. 

Taku kiri ka tokia e te anu mātao, e tau e – e tau e. 

Tirohia e koe ki Kaitarakihi, ki Whakairi, ki Te Aroha-a-uta, Te Aroha-ki-tai e tū māi rā. 

Tū tonu a Taumaharua, a Ngā Whakaripanga ngā kōwhatu nohoanga a Wharewharenga-te-rangi. 

Heke iho ngā wai karekare o Ōhinemuri, o Waihou ki te kōngutu awa, ki Te Moana-tīkapakapa-o-Hauraki. 

Ko Tainui te waka. Ko Marutūāhu te tangata. Ko Ngāti Tamatērā te iwi. 

Tihei mauri ora ki te whei ao ki te ao marama.

Te Pai-o-Hauraki marae is located on Papatūroa Ave, off State Highway 26, Paeroa. It is often mistakenly referred as an ancestral house or whare tūpuna, but in fact it is a whare rūnanga or a meeting house for the purpose of tribal deliberations. It is the oldest marae in Hauraki, and one of the oldest in Aotearoa. It was built in approximately 1838 after the Marutūāhu iwi returned from their inland pā known as Haowhenua, located on the northern flanks of Maungatautari during the ongoing threat of Ngāpuhi guns. To mark the occasion and also to revive tribal ceremonies four Ngāti Tamaterā hapū, namely Ngāti Pare, Ngāti Tawhaki, Ngāti Tangata and Ngāti Pinenga built and erected the whare in Te Ūmangawhā-o-ngā-waka (Colville). It was named `Te Pae-o-Hauraki’ in reference to the mountainous ridgeline in the vicinity. It was said to be carved. A local Pākehā woman named Louise Bridges mentioned that the whare, “had the local history carved on it.” Other than the daily going’s on at the marae, the whare was also used as a whare hokohoko or a trading post. 

Trading ships would stop in at Cabbage Bay-Colville to trade items for hogs, water, corn, firewood, dressed flax, potatoes, kūmara, goats, cabbage, onions, fish, shellfish, chicken, geese, bound tobacco and peaches. They also transported their produce to Tāmaki as well. It was well known that Hauraki provided the most produce than any other iwi. Over 90+ waka were processed coming from Hauraki. The key focus for these hapū were to raise enough to barter for arms and ammunition so that they were able to protect themselves and to trade with other hapū and iwi of Hauraki, including their close relations that lived elsewhere.

Not long after, a dispute arose between them. The leading Ngāti Pare fighting chief Pōtiki fell ill. He instructed his hapū to pull the whare down and re-erect it at a safer place at Waiaro (10km north) as he lay on his deathbed. Due to the dictates of tikanga, it was renamed, `Te Ōhākī’ or `Deathbed request.’ In 1852, gold was discovered in Kikowhakarere near Coromandel, causing a population explosion. Successive gold mines from the top of the Coromandel Peninsula made their way towards Thames and then inland towards Ngāti Tamaterā heartland in Ōhinemuri-Paeroa. In 1858, Te Wherowhero was crowned the first King of the Kīngitanga Movement. Ngāti Tamaterā attending the hui-ā-motu at Pūkawa and the Coronation. They became active supporters of the Kīngitanga. Tremendous pressure was brought to bear on Ngāti Tamaterā to open their lands up for gold mining purposes. However, Ngāti Tamaterā leadership resisted aggressively. 

An aukati line was erected in order to discourage any trespassing. Following the cessation of the land wars in 1864, and due to the ongoing threat from Pākehā wanting to mine in Ōhinemuri, Ngāti Pare and Ngāti Tawhaki decided to relocate back in Ōhinemuri. In 1868, their whare was once again uplifted and barged in sections up the Hauraki Gulf, entering the Waihou River then up the Ōhinemuri River to be re-erected across the river where it currently resides. It is known that Ngairo Pōtiki was charged with the responsibility of translocating it to Ōhinemuri. Unfortunately, during its journey from Waiaro to Waihou, the carved parts of the whare were lost at sea due to a storm. Here it was given the name `Te Whakahaere-o-Hauraki’ (The House of Deliberations).

 It was the only largest marae in Hauraki that was easily accessible by river and could accommodate the many tribal councils being held during those troubled times. It was during this time that James MacKay used a stratagem to force Ngāti Tamaterā to open up the Ōhinemuri lands for goldmining, it was called Raihana or Rations. It involved allowing iwi to `tick up’ trade goods especially during tangihanga. When anyone wanted to purchase any goods, the proprietor would respond by getting them to sign their names down. Many of the goods were over-charged. Unbeknown to Hauraki iwi a huge bill was being amassed without their knowledge. During 1874, MacKay informed Ngāti Tamaterā paramount chief Te Hira Te Tūiri that the bill needed to be paid, a bill that no one could have afforded to pay it off. In 1875, after much negotiation and much sadness, the Ōhinemuri lands were opened for goldmining.

In 1893, after the deaths of Te Hiri Te Tūiri, and Ahiataewa Tukukino, the Ōhinemuri bridge was built and the road between Paeroa and Te Aroha was opened. Due to this and the steamboats stopped running during this time, the whare was again uplifted and moved over to the eastern bank. The tuku whenua iwi, Ngāti Porou and Tūhourangi-Te Arawa both supported the suggestion to rename the whare rūnanga `Te Pai-o-Hauraki’ or `The Goodness of Hauraki’. It remained in this position for 33 years until another short move to its current site was needed due to flood protection scheme and the construction of stop banks.

Starting from the koruru located at the apex of the whare, it has one eye open and one eye closed. This signifies the character of the iwi, it deliberates long before making a decision. The colours are the stock standard red, black and white. The door is a traditional sliding door that slides to the left to open. Inside the whare, the heke-kōwhaiwhai are painted using a number of different styles one depicts the mangopare or the hammerhead shark, which shows the Ngāti Tamaterā fighting spirit.

 At the juncture where the heke and the poupou connect at the base of the heke, there are paintings to be seen. Some are flowers and some are steamboats. Between the poupou are the tukutuku panels. There are two styles: one is called Purapurawhetū and the second is called Tūmatakahuki. These tukutuku styles although basic, represents the whakapapa of the iwi. In 1970, Cliff Whiting (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui) assisted with the restoration of the tukutuku on the length of the walls only. The inside front wall and the back wall have not been renovated yet; they are still original. The kakaho (toetoe) that lines the whare was sourced over the hill in Harataunga. It provides insulation and was used to construct the tukutuku panels. All parts of the whare is connected using no nails or bolts, our tūpuna used the pegging, muka cordage and mortise joints to lock everything in together. In 2038, Te Pai-o-Hauraki will be 200 years old.

Written By: Apanui Skipper