Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei


Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei or Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei is an Auckland-based Māori hapū in New Zealand. Together with Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa and Te Taoū, it comprises the iwi of Ngāti Whātua. The four hapū can act together or separately as independent tribes. The hapu's rohe is mostly in Tāmaki Makaurau, the site of present-day Auckland.

History

Ngāti Whātua descends from the ancestor Tuputupuwhenua. The iwi traces its arrival in New Zealand to the Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi canoe, which landed north of the Kaipara Harbour. They also descend from ancestors who migrated from Muriwhenua in the Far North and intermarried with the tribes in Ngāti Whātua's territory.
Ngāti Whātua originally occupied the area between the Hokianga and Kaipara harbours. They later pushed south and came to control the area around the Kaipara Harbour. This led to tension with Te Wai-o-Hua, led by Kiwi Tāmaki, who were the main tribe in Auckland. Kiwi Tāmaki attacked Ngāti Whātua and ensuing conflict led to a battle near Laingholm in about 1741, where Ngāti Whātua chief Waha-akiaki killed Kiwi Tāmaki. In subsequent battles, Waha-akiaki and his cousin Tūperiri conquered all of central Auckland. Waha-akiaki returned to the Kaipara, leaving a section of Ngāti Whātua under Tūperiri who settled in Auckland, becoming Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei.
During the early to mid-19th century Tūperiri's grandson Te Kawau became the leader of the hapū.

Bastion Point

In the 1970s Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei played a leading role in a dispute over vacant land at Takaparawhā Bastion Point, east of the Auckland city centre, adjoining the suburb of Ōrākei. The land, which the New Zealand government had acquired cheaply for public works many decades before, largely reverted to the tribe after a long occupation and passive resistance. The hapū runs Ōrākei Marae.