Heke iho i ngā rau tau, e whā ngā iwi toitū ki te taha tonga o te tai rāwhiti o te Ika a Māui – a Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, a Rongowhakaata, a Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, a Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti. Ka tīmata te rohe i Paritū i te tonga, ka haere ki Pouawa i te raki, ka toro ki uta ki te hikuwai o ngā awa o Mōtū, o Waipāoa, o Waiōeka, ka huri ki Waikaremoana. Ko Tūranga te pokapū o te iwi. E whakataukītia ana te hītori o te rohe ki te kōrero nei:
Ko Tūranga-a-Mua
Ko Tūranga Ararau
Ko Tūranga Makaurau
Ko Tūranga Tangata-rite
Ko Tūranganui-a-Kiwa.
Ka heke a Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, a Rongowhakaata, a Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, a Ngāti Oneone (hapū o Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti), i ngā tīpuna i rere mai i Hawaiki - a Te Ikaroa-a-Rauru, a Horouta, a Tākitimu. Ka pakari ngā hononga i waenganui i ngā iwi i te taenga ki Aotearoa. Ko Māui, rātou ko Paikea, ko Kiwa, ko Pāoa, ko Hine Hakirirangi, ko Tamatea, ko Māia, ko Porourangi, ko Hamō-te-Rangi, ko Tahupōtiki, ko Ruapani, ko Kahungunu, ko Māhaki, ko Rongowhakaata, ko Tāmanuhiri, ko Hauiti ngā tipuna nui o tēnei rohe.
He nui ngā kōrero kei Tūranganui-a-Kiwa mō te manutukutuku. He nui āna tohu: i ngana a Tāwhaki kia kake ki ngā rangi tūhāhā mā te manutukutuku. I whakamahia anō te manutukutuku hei heri kōrero: nā te manutukutuku a Tahupōtiki i whakamōhio kua mate mai tōna tuakana. E whakataukītia ana te nui o te manutukutuku, inā: ‘Ki te ngaro he manutukutuku ki ngā hau, i tōna hokinga mai ka hari anō.’
E ai ki te kōrero, nā Kiwa te rohe o Tūranganui-a-Kiwa i taunaha. Nō Tākitimu a ia, i tau mai ki Aotearoa i mua i a Horouta. Nā te roa e tatari ana kia tau mai a Horouta, ka kīia e Kiwa te wāhi i tau mai ai a Horouta, ko Tūranganui-a-Kiwa. He kōrero anō mō te wā e tiro ana a Kiwa ki waho ki te moana, e tangi ana mō tana tama ka ngaro. Arā anō te kōrero mō Kiwa me tā rāua whakataetae ko Tamatea, te rangatira o Tākitimu. Nā Tamatea te taha raki o te whanga i taunaha, koirā a Tūranga-a-Ruamatua; ka tahuri a Kiwa, ka whakaingoatia e ia te taha tonga o te whanga, a Tūranganui-a-Kiwa.
Tīmata mai ai ngā kōrero tuku iho a ngā iwi o Tūranganui-a-Kiwa i te taenga mai o Horouta i Hawaiki. I ū mai a Horouta ki Ōhiwa, i te rawhiti o te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi. Heoi, i te whakawhitinga i te tāhuna, Te Tukerae-o-Kanawa, ka tapotu te waka, ka whati te haumi. Ka haere a Pāoa mā ki uta ki te kimi i tētahi rākau tika hei whakapai i te waka. Kia pāmamao atu i te moana, ka tae rātou ki tētahi maunga tiketike, ka kitea te rākau. Ka whakaingoatia taua rākau ko Maunga Haumi. Ka mimi a Pāoa ki taua wāhi, ka rere ko te Mimi-a-Pāoa, ko te awa o Mōtū e rere ana ki te raki, ko te awa o Waipāoa, ka rere whakatetonga mā-rāwhiti ki tōna putanga ki te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa.
Kia tika rā anō te waka, ka huri āwhio ia i Te Tai Rāwhiti ki ngā takutai i te tonga. Ka tūtaki ngā tāngata o Horouta ki te tangata whenua; ka noho mai ētahi, heoi ka haere whakatetonga tonu te waka. Nāwai ā, ka tae rātou ki tētahi whanga nui, e tū ana te tūāhu a Kiwa. Ka tahuri rātou ki te taunaha i te rohe mō te iwi o Horouta.
Ka moe a Hine Akua, te tamāhine a Pāoa, i a Kahutuanui, te tama a Kiwa. Ko Hine Hakirirangi te tuahine a Pāoa, nānā te kūmara i mau mai i Hawaiki i tana kete. Ka whakatōngia e ia ngā purapura kūmara ki Manawarū me Āraiteuru hei oranga mō te iwi.
Ka whakapapa ngā iwi katoa o Tūranganui ki ngā tīpuna nei.
Ka heke ngā kāwai rangatira katoa o Tākitimu me Horouta ki runga i a Ruapani: he uri nō Kiwa, nō Pāoa, nō Hine Hakirirangi. Nā Ruapani tōna mana i pou ki runga i a Tūranganui-a-Kiwa. Ko Popoia tōna pā, i tū ki Te Waituhi-a-Māia (Waituhi), i te uru o te awa o Waipāoa. Tokotoru ngā wāhine a Ruapani, ka kapi katoa ngā iwi o Tūranganui-a-Kiwa i a ia.
Ko Māia te rangatira o Te Ikaroa-a-Rauru, nō muri kē i a Tākitimu rāua ko Horouta. E kī ana te kōrero, nāna te purapura hue i mau mai i Hawaiki. Ahakoa ka whai ia i ōna whanaunga ki Waikaremoana, i tōna matenga, ka whakahokia ōna kōiwi kia takoto ki te ana o Kohurau i te pae maunga o Maungaroa.
Ka tūtaki ngā iwi o Tūranga ki te Pākehā i te taunga mai o Kāpene Hēmi Kuki me tōna kaipuke a Endeavour ki Tūranga i ngā marama tōmuri o te tau 1769. I te ngana o ngā kauhoe a Kuki kia tae ki uta, ka riri rātou ki ngā Māori, ko te otinga i patua, i taotū ētahi o ngā Māori.
Kia tae ki te wāhanga tōmuri o te rau tau 1700, ka tīmata te taetae o ngā kaipatu tohorā me ngā tauhokohoko Pākehā ki te tai rāwhiti. Ko te tangata rongonui rawa atu o ēnei, ko Thomas Halbert, he Pākehā i makere mai i tētahi kaipuke whai tohorā i Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, i te tau 1832. Tokoono āna wāhine, tokotoru nō Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, tokorua nō Rongowhakaata, kotahi nō Ngāti Kahungunu. Ka rongo te rohe me te motu i ngā mahi a ngā uri o Thomas Halbert.
Nō ngā tau tōmuri o te tekau tau atu i 1830, ka tae te Rōpu Hāhi Mihinare (Church Missionary Society) ki te Whanga-o-keno (East Cape). Nā Te Wiremu (William Williams) te whare mīhana i Tūranga i waihanga i te tau 1840, ā, ka manaakitia e nga Māori huri noa i te takiwā.
I te marama o Mei, 1840, ka hainahia e ngā rangatira e 24 o Tūranga (ko te nuinga nō Rongowhakaata, ko ētahi nō Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki me Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti) tētahi tārua o te Tiriti o Waitangi. Nō muri, ka tīmata te hoko me te rīhi i te whenua, ka nui haere te Pākehā ka noho i te whenua.
He tokoiti noa ngā tāngata o Tūranga i kuhu ki ngā pakanga o ngā tau tōmua o te tekau tau atu i 1860. I taua wā, kua pakaru mai ngā riri i waenganui i ngā Māori - e hiahia ana kia pupuri ki ō rātou whenua – me te kāwanatanga – e hiahia ana ki ngā whenua, e hiahia ana hoki ki te whakatū i tōna mana. Heoi, nō te tahuritanga o te kāwanatanga ki te raupatu i ngā whenua o te Māori, ka mārō ngā whakaaro o ngā iwi o Tūranga ki te kāwanatanga.
Nō te tau 1865, ka tae ngā poropiti o te Pai Mārire ki roto i a Tūranga; tini te tangata i huri ki taua whakapono. Ka whāia ratou e ngā hōia a te kāwanatanga. I te riri ki Waerenga-a-hika, he Māori i tū ki tētahi taha, he Māori i tū ki tētahi taha. Ka kawea ngā mauhere a te kāwanatanga ki Wharekauri. Ko tētahi o ngā mauhere nō Rongowhakaata, ko tōna ingoa, ko Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Tūruki.
He tauira a Te Kooti mō tētahi wā ki te kura mīhana o Wiremu Wiremu. I te riri ki Waerenga-a-Hika, i te taha a ia o te kāwanatanga. Hāunga tērā, ka mauherea a ia i runga i te whakapae he pūrahorua a ia. Nā tana hara kore ka mauāhara ia. Nō muri i ana matakite, ka tū a Te Kooti hei poropiti mō ngā mauhere ki Wharekauri, ā, kawea rātou e ia kia puta ki waho. Neke atu i te 200 ngā tāngata i rere i runga i te kaipuke Rifleman. I te marama o Hūrae 1868 ka tau te kaipuke ki Whareongaonga ki Tūranga. I muri i tētahi pakanga ki ngā hōia a te kāwanatanga ka hāngai tana titiro ki te tāone o Tūranga. He tokomaha i patua, Māori mai, Pākehā mai. I ngā tau i muri mai, ka arumia a Te Kooti ki Te Urewera, tae atu hoki ki te rohe o Taupō. Kore rawa a ia i hinga i mau rānei. Taro rawa, ka puta ia i te rohe pōtae o Maniapoto, ki reira marumaru ai. E ai ki ētahi Pākehā, Māori hoki, he tangata weriweri a Te Kooti. Heoi, ki tōna iwi, he matakite, he poropiti a ia. Nāna i waihanga te Hāhi Ringatū, ko tā ratou tohu ko te ringa ka tū hei whakahōnore i te Atua i te mutunga o ngā inoi.
Whai muri i ngā pakanga o te tekau tau atu i 1860, ka whakawehia ngā iwi o te tai rāwhiti e te kāwanatanga i tana kī, ka raupatuhia e ia ō rātou whenua. Hei whakamāhaki i te whakapae nei, ka whakaae ngā rangatira kia tukua ētahi whenua ki te Karauna. Ka whakaae anō rātou kia rangahaua ngā taitara o ngā whenua o te rohe e te Kōti Whenua Māori. I te tau 1869 ka tīmata te Kōmihana o Tūranganui (Poverty Bay Commission) ki te tuku taitara whenua ki te hunga kāore i pakanga ki te Karauna i muri i te tau 1863. Ko ētahi iwi o Tūranganui-a-Kiwa i tāmia kinohia e ngā whakatau a te kōmihana, ko ētahi iwi ka whiwhi. Nō te tekau tau atu i 1870, ka horapa te Rōpū Whakahētanga Hoko Whenua (Repudiation Movement) ki roto o Tūranga, ko tāna kaupapa, he ātete i te hoko i ngā whenua Māori.
I te tau 1880 ka whakatūria e te Māori me te Pākehā Te Kamupene Whakanoho Whenua o te Tai Rāwhiti (East Coast Settlement Company), ki te rīhi i ngā whenua hei painga mō ngā kaipupuri Māori. Ahakoa i hinga te kaupapa, ka puritia ngā whenua ki raro i te kaitiakitanga o te ture East Coast Native Land Trusts Act 1902. Nō muri, ka whāia tēnei momo whakahuihui whenua Māori e ētahi atu. I te rau tau 1900, ka kuhu ngā iwi o Tūranganui-a-Kiwa ki ngā kaupapa ahuwhenua a Āpirana Ngata, te mema paremata o te tai rāwhiti mō ngā tau 1905 ki te 1943. Ka whakatūria ētahi kaporeihana nui rawa, i raro i ngā whakahaere o ngā iwi, e tōtika ai te whakamahi i ngā whenua.
I te Pakanga Tuatahi o te Ao, i kitea ngā iwi o Tūranganui-a-Kiwa i te Rōpū Paionia o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Pioneer Battalion), te rōpū o ngā hōia Māori. I te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao, ka kuhu ngā tama a Tūranganui-a-Kiwa ki te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) o Aotearoa (28th New Zealand (Māori) Battalion). Nā Kīngi Āreta Keiha o Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, o Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, o Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, te ope Māori i ārahi mō tētahi wā i te tau 1943. I kaha ngā tautoko a te iwi i ngā hōia i te wā o te pakanga me tō rātou hokinga mai ki te kāinga. Nā te wāhine ēnei kaupapa i ārahi; ngā wāhine rangatira pēnei i a Hēni Materoa Carroll, i a Lena Matewai Ruru mā. I kaha anō ngā iwi o Tūranganui ki te tautoko i ngā kaupapa pēnei i te Rōpū Wāhine Toko i te Ora.
I te tau 1986 ka whakatūria Te Rūnanga o Tūranganui a Kiwa hei māngai whakahaere mō ngā iwi o Rongowhakaata, o Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, o Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki. Ko tāna, he whakarato āwhina mō te hapori, te mātauranga, te hauora, ngā hākinakina, te whakawhanake hoki i ngā whenua me ngā rawa. Whakahaerehia ai anō e te runanga tētahi reo irirangi ka tuku kōrero i roto i te reo Māori. Kei te mahi tahi te runanga me te Gisborne Herald, ki te whakaputa i a Pīpīwharauroa, tētahi nūpepa ā-marama.
I ngā tatauranga o Aotearoa mai i te tau 1991 ka pātaihia ngā tāngata Māori nō tēhea iwi rātou.
Kei raro ko ngā nama e whakaatu ana tokohia ngā tāngata nō ngā iwi o Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (e whai pānga ana rānei ki ētahi atu iwi hoki). Kei raro anō whakaatuhia ai ngā iwi o ngā rohe nunui i te tatauranga o te tau 2013.
Binney, Judith. Redemption songs: a life of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki. Auckland: Auckland University Press/Bridget Williams Books, 1995.
Halbert, R. W. Horouta: the history of the Horouta canoe, Gisborne and East Coast. Auckland: Reed, 1999.
Robinson, Sheila. Gisborne exposed: the photographs of William Crawford, 1874–1913. Gisborne: Te Rau, 1990.