Te Ūpokorehe

Te Ūpokorehe’s history is so entwined with the Ōhiwa Harbour and the surrounding lands that it has become an integral part of their culture, their society and their very existence. They whakapapa (descent) from the famous navigator Hape-ki-tuārangi who arrived on the Rangimātoru waka and settled at Ōhiwa. They were here when Tairongo arrived on the waka Ōtūrereao and by way of intermarriage share kinship ties to Mataatua iwi.

 

Ūpokorehe have always maintained their rights as kaitiaki (guardians) of Ōhiwa Harbour, their ahi kā roa (long burning fires of occupation) have never been extinguished (see Ōhiwa Harbour Strategy, pp. 9-10 for further details).

 

Roimata marae sits right at the water’s edge below the Hiwarau ridge in the south-east of Ōhiwa harbour. In the nearby village, Kutarere marae is another important papakāinga (home base) of Te Ūpokorehe people. Nearby Hokianga Island was occupied till the early 20th century, an ideal place to gather shellfish and catch fish to then take to Roimata. The wharekai (dining hall) is nowadays fittingly named Te Umu Kai o Tairongo, the food oven of Tairongo, one of Ūpokorehe’s great ancestors.