Motatau Marae

Tōku Pepeha

Tēnā koutou katoa

Ko Motatau tōku maunga

Ko Taumarere tōku awa

Ko Ngatokimatawhaorua tōku waka

Ko Ngāpuhi tōku iwi

Ko Ngati Hine tōku hapū

Ko Hineamaru tōku rangatira

Ko Kawiti tōku tupuna

Ko Motatau tōku marae

Ko Manu Koriki tōku whare tūpuna

Ko Maui rāua ko Margaret ōku mātua

Ko John Henare tōku ingoa

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutoa katoa

The Story of Hineamaru

Hineamaru was a leader of great mana, who in her youth took part in a great journey from the Hokianga to the Bay of Islands. It was she who discovered the Waiomio Valley, which became the cradle of Ngati Hine.

Hineamaru was the first born of Hauhaua and Torongare. Torongare was of Ngati Kahu descent. He fell out of favour with his wife’s people and they were forced to leave their village at Waimamaku.

They set off on a journey in search of land, which was to take many years. With his wife and children and a group of faithful followers, Torongare departed from Hokianga. His party travelled slowly, spying out the land and testing if for fertility, but always moving on. There were other people on the land before them, so they were forced to continue their journey to avoid disputes.

They were confronted by a mountain range to the east, which Torongare named Whakatere (to set adrift) after the drifting away of Torongare and his family from Hokianga.

By the time the party had reached Papatahora, near the Motatau Ranges, Torongare was ailing and unable to walk. There is no mention of Hauhaua ever reaching this final camp. It is thought that she may have succumbed to the rigours of the journey and perhaps died at Kaikou. Hauhaua, daughter of Uenuku, had ensured her children survived and reached safe haven of Kaikou.

Hineamaru was committed to carrying out her dying mother’s intention. On the death of her mother, the mana, leadership, power and wisdom became Hineamaru’s as of right, for she was the eldest child, and was great grand-daughter of Rahiri. From this time the large tracts of land she would trek through to reach Taumarere would automatically become hers.

From their campsite at Papatahora, about fifteen miles south-west of Waiomio, Hineamaru led expeditions through the Waiomio Valley and along the south banks of the Taumarere river to the pipi banks and fishing grounds of the southern Bay of Islands.

At Paparata Hineamaru set fire to some dead rata trees. She took some earth from the burnt out site back to Papatahora to show her father.

On her next visit to the coast, she brought some kumara seeds with her and planted a garden on the ground cleared earlier by the fire. On her autumn visit to the coast she dug up the kumara and filled ten paaro (large food baskets), with a good variety of large middle sized and small kumara and took some to show her father. On seeing the quantity and quality of the kumara, Torongare declared, “E ko! Nana to taua whenua! (My daughter! Behold our land). So they came to Waiomio and settled what was to become the land of Ngati Hine.

Torongare decided to settle in the valley next to Waiomio, which he named Mohinui after the large Mohi (whitebait) which his other children caught in the river.

Hineamaru discovered an ana (cave) called Otarawa which she made home. It became likened to a sacred chest and was thus named Te Pouaka a Hineamaru. She married Koperu o Ngatitu. After her death the cave became her burial place.