Ngāti Kuia, Rangitāne o Wairau and Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō are the three tribes in Te Tau Ihu who trace their descent from the Kurahaupō canoe. They supplied these stories about their history and traditions.
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Ngāti Kuia
Ngāti Kuia first settled in the Pelorus area and then spread out across the Marlborough Sounds, Nelson and Tasman districts to Taitapu on the West Coast, and as far south as the Nelson lakes. This view looking west over Pelorus Sound is from Parorangi (Mt Stokes), the highest point in the Sounds and a place of considerable significance to the tribe.
Ngāti Kuia’s historic treaty claims were settled on 23 October 2010 at a total cost of about $25 million. Eight sites totalling about 16 hectares were vested in the tribe, which was also given the opportunity to purchase certain Crown properties.
Ko Parorangi te maunga, ko Te Hoiere te waka, ko Raukawakawa te moana, ko Matua Hautere te tangata, ko Kaikaiawaro te taniwha, ko Ngāti Kuia te iwi.
Parorangi is the mountain, Te Hoiere is the canoe, Raukawakawa is the sea, Matua Hautere is the person, Kaikaiawaro is the taniwha, Ngāti Kuia is the tribe.
Rangitāne o Wairau
Rangitāne o Wairau are based in the Marlborough area. This view looks south over the Wairau River and the Vernon Lagoons towards the cliffs at Parinui o Whiti. The lagoons were an extensive mahinga kai (food-gathering place) and pā complex, criss-crossed with canals created by early Rangitāne – Rangitāne know it as their ‘Vatican City’. At the mouth is the site of the ‘moa hunter’ excavations which recovered taonga (treasures) now held in Canterbury Museum.
Rangitāne o Wairau settled its historic treaty claims on 4 December 2010. The settlement, valued at about $25 million, included provision for the iwi to hunt or kill for customary use titi (muttonbirds) on Titi Island and the Chetwode Islands.
Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō
When they migrated south in the 18th century, Ngāti Apa first settled in the Marlborough Sounds region. In the early 19th century they defeated Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri and took control of Golden Bay and western Tasman Bay. Whanganui Inlet on the west coast, a tidal inlet ringed with flowering rātā, is at the centre of their area.
Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō settled its historic treaty claims on 29 October 2010, at a total cost of $28.4 million. Sites of particular cultural significance at St Arnaud, Te Tai Tapu (West Coast), and Port Gore were returned to Ngāti Apa without provision for future public access. The Alpine Tarns and Lakes Rotoiti and Rotoroa in Nelson Lakes National Park were vested in Ngāti Apa and gifted back to the Crown.