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Story: Te Āti Awa of Wellington

The new Pipitea marae, 1980

The new Pipitea marae, 1980

In 1980 at a traditional dawn ceremony, the new Pipitea marae was opened. Built just below the old Pipitea pā, it was designed to cater for the growing Māori population in Wellington. Although Te Āti Awa protocol is observed on the marae, it also caters for other tribes living in Wellington.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP/1980/1751/19A

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Morris Love, Te Āti Awa of Wellington – After 1840, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/1294/the-new-pipitea-marae-1980 (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Morris Love, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 March 2017.

Comments

Danny Karatea-Goddard
05 November 2013
Tena koutou, tena tatou. In supporting the comments made by Dr Arini Loader, the marae kawa was set down in the dawn ceremony by Te Ati Awa and Ngati Ruanui elder, high priest, Ruka Broughton. The kawa set down was Paeke. Paeke acknowledged the primary occupiers Ngati Poneke and the unique whakapapa, identity and history of the marae of sheltering those migrants who came from the four winds during the rural urban drift.The treaty settlement process has seen the Port Nicholson Settlement Block Trust and Ngati Poneke Maori Association come together to form the Pipitea Marae Charitable Trust to jointly manage Pipitea marae as required by the Deed of Settlement. The Ngati Poneke Young Maori Club continues to gather every Monday night at 6.00pm to carry on an unbroken tradition reaching back as far as 1937. Danny Karatea-Goddard, President, NGATI PONEKE MAORI ASSOCIATION
Arini Loader
29 May 2012
Tena koe. Currently, Ngati Poneke kawa is observed on Pipitea marae when Ngati Poneke are in residence. Te Ati Awa kawa is observed when Te Ati Awa are in residence. Other kawa are also observed on this marae. Also, it is important to note that Pipitea marae was fundraised for and built by the Ngati Poneke Young Maori Club and the Ngati Poneke Maori Association as a new permanent home for Ngati Poneke's associated clubs and affiliate groups. It is very disappointing that there is no mention of Ngati Poneke in this entry. Heoi ano, Arini Loader.