Tahuwhakatiki Marae was established in 1912 on a narrow peninsula called Te Whare o Tahuwhakatiki, on land owned by 19th Century Ngā Pōtiki leader Eruera Te Tauhou, who was also known as Eru Tamapahore. The marae was established to serve Ngā Pōtiki generally.

The fully carved wharenui Rongomainohorangi commemorates a renowned Mataatua ancestor. The whare manaaki acknowledges his wife Tuwairua, who is also an ancestor of note belonging to Ngāti Pūkenga. While Tuwairua lived many centuries ago this tupuna kuia symbolises the close Ngā Pōtiki relationship with Ngāti Pukenga. She was the mother of Tamapahore.

The rich and intricate carvings were produced in classic Te Arawa style under the direction of master carver Hoani Taiapa at the Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at Whakarewarewa and affixed to the newly refurbished Rongomainohorangi in 1974. Together, with the newly constructed concrete block wharekai Tuwairua, both were opened by Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu at the head of a large delegation from Waikato Tainui in the same year. Tuwairua replaced an earlier building of the same name that had been opened by her father Koroki, the fifth Maori King in 1935.

In early 2021, the whakairo were refreshed by Ngā Pōtiki carver and cultural advisor Dr Des Tatana Kahotea as part of a major wharenui renovation. The carvings along the māhau, together with panels on either side of the paepae, are more recent having been produced at Te Puia’s New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) under Master Carver Clive Fugill. Those carvings are based on whakairo that once adorned the wharenui Tamapahore carved in 1896 by tohunga whakairo Meihana Tawakura of Ngā Pōtiki/Ngāti Awa.

Address: 681 Welcome Bay Road, Tauranga

Contact: Janice Harrison – 027 381 6212

Mangatawa Marae serves as an important cultural centre for our Ngāti Kaahu and Ngāti Tahuora hapū of Ngā Pōtiki .

Opened in 1962, the wharenui was named to commemorate our ancestor Tamapahore. A carved wharenui of the same name once stood at Karikari, opened by prophet and founder of the Ringatū faith Arikirangi Te Kooti Turuki  in 1896 in the presence of Mahuta, the third Māori King.

Tamapahore’s parents were Rongomainohorangi and Tuwairua, both of whom are memorialised in the carved wharenui and whare manaaki located at Tahuwhakatiki marae, Waitao.

Tamapahore married Te Aowhakataki (Mataatua) and Ngaruahaoa (Tainui). Uruhina and Parewaitai are children of Tamapahore and Te Aowhakataki, and Ngaparetaihinu is the offspring of Tamapahore’s relationship with Ngaruahaoa.

Uruhina married Hikakino of Ngāti Awa and Parewaitai married Te Paruhi o Te Rangi, cementing peace between Tamapahore’s people and Tapuika, Ngaparetaihinu married Tukorehe of Ngāti Raukawa. These tupuna kuia in time forged their own mana and while they may have lived many centuries ago, it is through them the foundation relationships between Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Raukawa, Tapuika and Ngā Potiki were formed.

Address: 46 Tareha Lane, Tauranga

Contact: Donna Teiho – 021 131 7473