Puketapu was a strategically and spiritually significant maunga for the people of Aawhitu. As such it is considered a maunga tupuna (ancestral mountain) of Ngaati Te Ata. 

Puketapu can be seen to the West from the corner of Aawhitu Road and Tindall Road, although it can be hard to make out against the higher-elevation ridge behind. The summit of Puketapu offers a strategic vantage point from which to survey the surrounding land and harbour. 

The famous Uenuku carving, now held in the taonga collection of Te Awamutu Museum, is said to have resided for a time on Puketapu - hence the tapu (sacred) nature of the maunga. The 2.7m tall whakairo (carving), thought to date from about 1400, was made from Totara wood with only stone tools in a style and shape more familiar in Pacific art. It has four spikes on top and three gaps, which may represent the seven colours of the rainbow. The spirit of Uenuku was said to have been brought to Aotearoa on Tainui waka in a stone which may have been placed on or in the carving. 

Uenuku is acknowledged as an atua (deity) in the Ngati Te Ata Pepeha. Uenuku is said to manifest as a rainbow, thus ‘uenuku’ is also the word used for rainbow in this area. The frequent appearance of rainbows in the skies over our area may be related to our unique geography, being situated between the Manukau harbour, the west coast and the entrance to the Waikato river. The appearance of a rainbow at auspicious times can be seen as a tohu (sign) of significance to Ngaati Te Ata. 

The Uenuku carving was said to have been lost during a battle around 1780. It was rediscovered on the shore of Lake Ngaaroto, near Te Awamutu in 1906 and now resides in the Te Awamutu Taonga collection. Uenuku was included in the 1984 Te Maaori exhibition which travelled to America, being displayed at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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