Nga Matauranga Onamata - Mahi o nga Tūpuna
Historic Knowledge - The Work of our Ancestors

This section highlights history and stories of our people.
It is being developed in conjunction with The Tawaroa Trust.
Contact Joseph or Michelle Potangaroa 06 377 4191.
Please feel free to use any material for research purposes. An
acknowledgement to J Potangaroa (2006) would be appreciated.
This section will be updated with new material regularly.


Te Ore Ore Marae

As you cross the bridge over the Ruamahanga River on Te Ore Ore Road you enter the area known as Te Ore Ore. Today locals know Te Ore Ore as being all the land between the Ruamahanga River and the first row of eastern hills that are dominated by Otahuao (Bennetts Hill). The area starts at the northern entrance to Lees Pakaraka Road and goes north to around the Bideford-Whangaehu Road intersection. Within this large area there were many Ngāti Hāmua pa and kainga, some of which are described in these pages. The mana whenua of these pa derived their principle descent from Tamahau and his children Te Raetea and Hinetearorangi. Tamahau had used the Ruamahanga River as a boundary marker with the land to the east being given to Te Raetea while Hinetearorangi received the lands to the west, which included the Opaki, Tirohanga and Kopuaranga areas right up to Pukaha. Another little known fact is that the course of the Ruamahanga River has altered over time. The remains of the old river banks can be seen running eastward along the bottom of Blackrock Road turning right to cut through Soldiers Settlement Road and then following a path south until it turned right again past the present Te Ore Ore marae. With the passing of time the descendants of both siblings married each other so that the earlier demarcation became very convoluted and people could demonstrate rights on either side of the river by stating whakapapa from one ancestor or the other.

The area got its name when the Whatuiapiti hapū of the central Hawkes Bay were visiting what was to soon to be called Te Ore Ore. At the time a young woman named Hine Mataki lived with her parents in a raupō hut. A Whatuiapiti warrior heard of her beauty and decided to visit her uninvited. Hine was asleep while her parents were out front by the fire. The young man slipped unnoticed underneath the wall of the raupo hut where Hine lay. The next thing her parents heard was “Ti Ori Ori” (a hearty laugh) coming from the room. It was Hine! So the full name for Te Ore Ore is “Te kata o te oriori o Hine Mataki”

Te Ore Ore proper is the land between Mairiirikapua (Blackrock Road) and southwards to the Masterton–Castlepoint Road. To the east were the Otahoua and Te Weraiti lands, to the north Okurupatu, Whangaehu and Kai o Te Atua. Within what I have just called Te Ore Ore proper there were smaller named areas. Travelling west along Blackrock Road there is Matapihi (at the end of Matapihi Road), Pahauhau on the left where an Olive plantation grows today and on the right Mairi-iri-kapua. Today the title of Te Ore Ore is given to a composite of Mäori lands that each has its own natural boundaries and history. There are two reasons that Te Ore Ore became known as a much bigger area than it once was. The first reason was that, following European settlement a single name was used to describe a ‘district’ and the second was that since 1880, Te Ore Ore Marae has been the singularly most prominent place associated with Māoridom within the Masterton District. The first meetinghouse burnt down in 1939 but was rebuilt shortly after. Since then Te Ore Ore Marae has developed into the focal point for Ngāti Hāmua in the Wairarapa. During the past 120 years it has been the only ancestral marae remaining on its own land during the entire period.

There was once an abundance of essential food resources that contributed to Te Ore Ore becoming a well-populated area. The Rumahanga flowed southwards along its western boundary. Flat lands in the south provided excellent soils for gardens. The Okurupatu hills were an attractive haven for kiore (rats). Birds and swamplands were located west across the river. For these reasons the wider Te Ore Ore area has seen a constant presence of Ngāti Hāmua people along with many of their relatives. In addition a greater concentration of people lived around Te Ore Ore because it was central to transportation and trade routes up and down the region and across that part of the North Island. The principal route travelling from south Wairarapa northwards followed the Ruamahanga River. Groups of people moved from the vicinity of Papawai through to Parakawhara (Gladstone) and on up to Te Ore Ore. By the 1840s there is more recorded about the Kaikokirikiri area than Te Ore Ore because this was the main base of the Ngāti Hāmua rangatira that lived closest to the lands that European settlers wanted to purchase as small farm and town lots. Naturally the pakeha negotiators would write about the people and places that they dealt with most often and also those that had the authority to commit to land sales.

Te Ore Ore Marae
Te Ore Ore Marae is situated on State Highway 52 four kilometres east of Masterton. Te Ore Ore was built for all hapü but is still commonly referred to as a Ngāti Hāmua marae. The marae is over 120 years old making it the oldest Ngāti Hāmua marae still standing. It is slightly older than its sister marae, Aotea at Makirikiri near Dannevirke.

Prior to Te Ore Ore being established, pa and kainga in the area were constructed along traditional lines, in other words the complex was either fortified on hills or a group of whare were built on flats, neither type of settlement had a large central meeting house as seen today. Therefore Te Ore Ore was one of the first major marae built according to the modern concept and design and it is certainly the most enduring because of this.

The meeting house Nga Tau e Waru was built between 1878-1879 though not officially opened until 1881. The principle chiefs responsible for its construction were Paora Potangaroa along with Whanganui rangatira and tohunga whakairo, Te Kere. At first the two high-ranking individuals co-operated with each other but Te Kere soon found that he could not work underneath of Potangaroa. He decided to abandon the project but before doing so he prophesised:

“E kore e taea te whakamutu te whare i mua atu i nga tau e waru (It is not possible to complete this in less time than eight years).”

Within 12 months of Te Kere uttering his parting remark the new 96 feet by 30 feet whare was ready to use, the sheer size of the building having been one point that Te Kere had objected to. The name Nga Tau e Waru (The Eight Years) was given to the new house to commemorate the unfulfilled vision and in the case of Te Kere to add insult to injury.

Wi Waaka Te Rangiwhakaewa, a high ranking Ngāti Hāmua chief, also had some problems with Potangaroa’s leadership, in particularly the popularity and therefore the influence that Paora was achieving. The chief and the prophet disagreed over certain aspects of the marae, something that may have led to the following incident. It was said that Potangaroa had asked Te Kere to create a special carving that would be hidden in the ridgepole above the front door of the house. This act was completed in secret so that no one else knew of its presence or of its purpose. The carving was said to represent male and female genitals in the act of coitus. Potangaroa had instructed this to happen as a demonstration of his own power because the intention of the carving was to remove the tapu of any chiefs who walked beneath it. Without their own spiritual powers the chiefs would be much easier to deal with, a fact that had not surpassed Paora. The first time that Wi Waaka entered the house he dropped to the ground convulsing becoming semi-paralysed at the time. Others had to help him exit the meeting house which he never entered again despite living less than 50 metres away.

As for the other carvings, Māori and Pakeha scholars alike came to show a keen interest in the carvings, kowhaiwhai and tukutuku on and in Nga Tau e Waru as the master carvers responsible for their creation used styles that to that point had never been seen before anywhere in New Zealand. The work of the tohunga whakairo Tamati Aorere of Ngāti Kahungunu and Hemi Taepa of Te Arawa were to become important examples of the new developments in these traditional artforms. Thankfully Professor J.T. Salmon of Auckland University took photos of Nga Tau e Waru in the 1930s; these survive today as the principle records of the first house, which was to burn down by the end of the decade.

Although the land had been given to build the marae it took until 1907 to establish a legal title. Haeata Henare and Waata Paraone each gave 1-½ acres to create the block known as Te Ore Ore No.1-E2. The trustees have since sold part of the block so that only 1-¼ acres remain.

The following people were appointed as the original trustees of the Te Ore Ore No.1-E2 Marae Reserve, Te Ore Ore Marae. Of interest is that many of the trustees, whilst having connections to the local people, are not from the Te Ore Ore area
List of original trustees for the Te Ore Ore No 1 E2 Marae reserve
1 Akuhata Mikaere - Male, Te Ore Ore
2 Wikitoria Eruha - Female, Te Ore Ore
3 Haeata Henare - Male, Te Ore Ore
4 Hami Potangaroa - Male, Mataikona
5 Henare Parata - Male, Ngai Tahu
6 Henare Te Atua - Male, Porangahau
7 Hoani Rangitakaiwaho - Male, Papawai
8 Hori Herewini Te Huki - Male, Tauweru
9 H.P. Tunuiarangi - Male, Hurunuiorangi
10 Te Heuheu Tukino - Male, Taupo
11 Ihaia Hutana - Male, Pirinoa
12 Te Kowai Hoera - Male, Ngai Tahu
13 Manahi Paewai - Male, Taniwaka
14 Matina Tamaiwhakakitea - Male, Te Ore Ore
15 Mohi Te Atahikoia - Male, Heretaunga
16 Niniwa I Te Rangi - Female, Huangarua
17 Nireaha Tamaki - Male, Hämua/Hawera
18 Otene Kuku Karaitiana Te Korou - Male, Te Ore Ore
19 Pene Te Uamairangi - Male, Akura
20 Piripi Waaka - Male, Okautete
21 Purakau Maika - Male, Hurunuiorangi
22 Ratima Maaka - Male, Te Ore Ore
23 Ropata Te Ao - Male, Whiroa
24 Takarangi Mete Kingi - Male, Whanganui
25 Wi Whatakorari - Male, Te Wharau
26 Te Whatahoro - Male, Papawai
27 Wiremu Ngaika te Tatere - Male, Taniwaka
28 Te Wirihana Hunia - Male, Te Ore Ore

Even today it is maintained that Te Ore Ore is for all tribes, welcoming those from the Wairarapa, nationally and even internationally. The local hapū associated with Te Ore Ore are Ngāti Hāmua, Ngāti Taimahu, Ngāti Wahatuara, Ngāti Te Hine, Ngāti Tangatakau, Ngāti Te Noti, Ngāti Tamahau, Ngāti Tohinga, Ngāti Whatui, Ngāti Hauiti, Ngāti Te Awariki, Ngāti Raetea, Ngāti Te Kai, Ngāti Umu.
Ko Nga Hapū o Te Ore Ore – the following is a list of hapū and rangātira associated to Te Ore Ore
Ngāti te Ama, Witinitara te Kaewa
Ngai te Aomataura, Te Ropiha
Ngāti te Hauitu, Karaitiana te Korou
Ngāti Kahukuraawhitia, Ngatuere Tawhirimatea
Ngāti Kahukuranui, Mita Anaru Tuhokairangi
Ngai Tahu, Ihaia Whakamairu
Ngai Tamahau, Ngatuere
Ngāti Te Tohinga, Kingi Ngatuere
Ngāti Te Whiunga, Karaitiana Te Korou
Ngāti Hāmua
Cairns K, 1981

The above list shows the main hapū of the named rangatira but neglects to identify the single ancestor from whom they all descended and therefore gained their recognition as chiefs of Te Ore Ore … that sole ancestor was Hāmua.

Over half a century later, on 31 May 1962, a recommendation was made for the marae to become a Māori reserve under section 439/53 of the Māori Affairs Act 1953. It took several more years before the reserve was gazetted. The significance of this move is not only of the recognition gained under the law but also provided for rates exemption, an important relief for a non-profit community facility.

On the morning of the 22nd September of 1939, a young Te Nahu Haeata Jnr looked towards the east from his family’s bedroom at Hiona Pa in Gordon Street Masterton. Across the Ruamahanga River he could see a bright glow near where Te Ore Ore Marae was. He thought that the sun was shining very brightly, so much so that he decided to wake up his parents to show them. As soon as his father Te Nahu Senior looked out the window he knew something was wrong and so raised the alarm at Hiona.

The men of Hiona reached Te Ore Ore Marae to find Nga Tau e Waru engulfed in flames. They joined their relations and other members of the Te Ore Ore community that lived close by and watched helplessly as the whare tupuna burnt to the ground. Others arrived only to witness the smouldering charred remains of the wharenui. Although no one could save the wharenui they collectively joined together to grieve over the loss of this important piece of history.

The loss of Nga Tau e Waru was a huge tragedy for the local community and the cause of the blaze remains unsolved even today. By 1940, plans for a new meeting house were being developed. The Te Ore Ore Tribal Committee decided that it would build a second house on the same spot. By calling upon the strong relationships that had been established by Māori and Pakeha, successful fundraising activities saw a new building completed and opened on 16th March 1941. The Hämua Glee Concert Party, a well-known action song group, held competitions with other groups such as Hui Mai, Tumapuhiaarangi (Homewood) and Maungaraki (Gladstone). The generosity and support of farmers in the surrounding districts is still remembered by our old people today. They gave all sorts of goods and even their own services to pitch in with the Marae fundraising. Some even gave goods and equipment later buying back their own items at auctions. When the fundraising turned to selling food, donations of meat were given. Raffles were run, with two of the most notable prizes being a draft horse, donated by Mr L Pike of Te Whiti patron of the Te Ore Ore tribal committee, and a greenstone patu.

An application was made to the Department of Internal Affairs for financial assistance for the project. Although the request was agreed to a stipulation was made that the name of the new meeting house would have to be ‘The Te Ore Ore Centennial Memorial Meeting House’. The government officials required that the building be built as a dedication to the men and women that served over seas in the Second World War. Although the people of Te Ore Ore did not like this idea they eventually relented passing a motion to accept the new name. Once the name change was settled the Internal Affairs Department agreed to give one pound for every three pounds raised by the committee.

When the meeting house was opened, a brass plaque with the new name thereon was placed on the outside of the front wall. Multitalented carver Te Nahu Haeata Senior created exacting copies of the original raparapa and amo maihi from both visual records and his own memory. Mr Hohepa Hutana from Porangahau carved the outside Poutokomanawa.

In 1962 construction on the dining room, ablutions and kitchen were commenced. Mr Fred Thompson headed a group of five carpenters and volunteers to build the extension. By 1966 the work was completed and officially opened on 2 April of that year for a total cost of around $8,000.00. This project not only doubled the size of the building but also added modern facilities to the marae.

I found it a bit of a hoot, though possibly I shouldn’t have to be told about the old latrines prior to the 1966 developments. Specifically that our kaumātua of today were responsible for covering over the old latrines and digging the new ones. This less than glamorous job was given to the teenagers of the marae as a part of their education. I asked the koroua who was telling me about this experience, ”Where were they?” and he told me with a distinct twinkle in his eye, ”By the fence behind the kitchen!” The fence in question is about 10 metres from the current kitchen and 1 or 2 metres from a large water tank. I said to the koro “You wouldn’t want to tell too many people about that”, and he replied, “Why do you think I haven’t”. But anyway it must be safe because I never heard of anyone getting sick from food at Te Ore Ore. Although the exact date has not been recorded, I think it was sometime in the 1970s a growing opinion had emerged that Nga Tau e Waru should once again have the name our tupuna had intended for it. This eventually led to kaumätua Dick Himona removing the brass plaque and opened the way for Nga Tau e Waru to get its proper name back.

By the late 1970s thoughts had come around to planning a centenary celebration for the marae. The building of a new kitchen was started in 1979 and completed in time for the centenary in March 1981. The jubilee celebrations culminated in a weekend of events on 21 and 22 March 1981. More than 2000 people attended the jubilee taking part in a range of cultural, religious, sporting and historical activities. On the following page is the original programme for the centennial. Of note is the list of kaumätua at the time. It includes: Kuini Te Tau, Kuini Reeside, Hinepa Anaru Tuhokairangi Haeata, Te Waro Haeata, Wattie Reeside, Dick Himona, Ihaka Rutene, Hoani Reiri, Pohipi Haeata and Hone (Johnnie) Walker.

More about Te Ore Ore Marae
The following sections relate to supernatural events that have been observed at Te Ore Ore Marae. Over the years, probably from around 1993 onwards I have asked Jim Rimene (Jim) to tell me about Te Ore Ore marae. Each time we revisit a story a new one comes up. The following are some of the stories and events that koro Jim and his brother Kuki have related to me.

The Flag
Joseph: “Can you tell me about the flag?”

Jim: “One of our old kaumātua set fire to the original flag of Paora Potangaroa because it had started to fade and crumble due to its age. In 1946 my wife Margaret had a visit from a man dressed all in white, a man not of this world but one who came to her from the spiritual world. Telling her father of the man in white he told her that he had come from Potangaroa bearing messages. One of these messages concerned the flag, to find and return it to the Pa. With her were her mother, Te Waro Haeata, Richard Tahuora Himona and Te Rewi Tamahau Tamihana. On hearing from others that the flag was at Ratana Pa these people set forth to see for themselves. On their arrival at Ratana they were told that the flag was not there but everything else pertaining to the mana of Potangaroa such as the greenstone was in their keeping.

When they returned home Margaret’s spiritual visitor told her to have a flag made and so with her mother, her father Tiaki and her Uncle Te Nahu Haeata they set about in the making of the second flag of Paora Potangaroa at the home of her parents. The flag was to be sewn by her uncle Te Nahu. Margaret’s spiritual guide gave to her the symbols and their meanings for the flag. After explaining to her father he in turn relayed them to his brother who sewed them on the flag.

The symbols on the flag were:
An army tunic (blue and red)
A Korowai cloak
Black borders
A Blue Triangle
Red Stars on an all white background.

Each of these symbols has a spiritual meaning. Paora predicted prophecies of these symbols, all of which have come true. I know of no other person who knew the meaning of the symbols apart from Margaret’s father Tiaki Haeata.

Thirty-five years after the flag was made I gained possession of the translation of the symbols. It was at the celebrations that I spoke to the secretary of the Ratana Church, Rapine Aperahama from Ngapuhi. I asked about Na kaupapa Ratana in other words Na kōrero o Potangaroa. I knew that in Ratana the whetu marama held records of the things pertaining to the movement of Paora Potangaroa, also records of Nga Tau e Waru, the first meeting house of Potangaroa. Two weeks later after I had spoken to Rapine I received the records from Ratana Pa Nga kupu whakaari and the prophecies of Paora Potangaroa. From the day the flag of Potangaroa was made in 1946 right up to this day it still carries the mana, Te Manaakitanga me te Wairuatanga on it. The flag is to be flown only on very special occasions.

There is a photo of the flag. It shows it flying in the wind on a day in which there was no breeze to be found. On a calm day when the flag is raised it will always flutter for an hour or so, hence the mana it still holds to this day. This is the true story of Paora Potangaroa’s flag that is kept at home with my wife who is considered the real caretaker and the only person who knows the real mana that it holds. Uncle Dick Himona was also one of the caretakers but Margaret was and is the main one because of the knowledge and mana she knows the flag carries.”

Joseph: "So what did the symbols stand for?"
Jim: "Well really Paora had recognised that Māori were losing too much land and that if they did not stop this process they would have nothing left. He could also see that his people were turning away from their own culture towards the ways of the pakeha. His view was that Māori would self-destruct without their own ways and especially if they did not have their lands. He was imploring Māori to retain what they had left through his words and the symbolism on the flag.
The korowai represented the Māori, the tunic the pakeha, the blue areas on the flag showed all of the land already transferred into European hands while the borders were all that remained of the Māori land."

Whirlwind
Joseph: “I have seen the whirlwind myself but can you tell me more”

Jim: “Many people have witnessed the whirlwind on the marae atea (the area in front of the marae). Some may not have noticed that it occurs when someone says or does something wrong in the meeting house. There have been many occasions when I have been thinking someone is talking rubbish and suddenly there is the whirlwind.”

Kuki “The big wind at the marae is a tohu, an omen of bad luck, we know of people who have passed away the day after the winds have come. An uncle of Jim’s and mine was at the marae. He was standing out front when the wind came. Straight away he got his grandson to take him home across the paddock. We wondered what he was doing, but the other old people said to leave him be. The next day he died.

Another time my son in law saw the whirlwind and the next day one of the whanau died.”

Circling birds
Joseph: “I had heard that there used to be blackbirds at the marae, were they a good or bad omen?”

Jim: “Whenever a black bird circled the marae and, perched on the Poutokomanawa of the Whare-tupuna the old people knew something was wrong. If the birds screeched the old people knew that there would soon be a death. It happened every time.”

Potangaroa dog
Joseph: “What about Potangaroa’s dog, are the stories about this true?”

Jim: “The three-legged dog that travelled with Potangaroa has been seen at Te Ore Ore. It stands between the meeting house and Potangaroa’s monument. If a person saw the dog bark but could not hear the any sound he or she was alright, if there was a noise a death was imminent, possibly the observer or maybe a family member. The last time it was seen was in the late 1980s just prior to one of our kuia passing away.”

Moving the Paepae
Joseph: “You moved the Paepae (speakers bench) a few years ago. There was a fair bit of controversy at the time. In fact some people still disagree with this action. Why did you and the other kaumātua move it?”

Jim: “Basically the paepae used to be on the left hand side as you face the meeting house. Somewhere along the way it got moved to the right side. There used to be an old poplar tree in between the marae and what is now Bill Graham’s place (to the left of the marae). The paepae was on the side of the poplar. I remember the old girls sitting under that tree smoking their corncob pipes. They would have all their hair tucked under a scarf so that they would lose no hair. This was a precaution so that no one could curse them. In those days people were very skilled in mākutu (black magic), they were very powerful, the kuia used to watch out for people who might try and bullet (curse = mākutu) one of the locals.”

The Carvings on Nga Tau e Waru
Joseph: “Who and what do the carvings on the centre pole at the front of Nga Tau e Waru represent?”

Jim: “First of all, the history behind the complete carvings has been lost, the old people took this knowledge with them. Uncle Boonie, Te Nahu Senior was one of the carvers. What we do know is that the man on the top is Tamahau Te Rangiwhakaewa. The little man at the bottom is Raniera. Raniera with his foot touching Papatūānuku is the mana whenua. You know sometimes the man at the bottom has his feet on a plank, well if his feet are not on the ground how can he be the mana whenua? In the middle you can see a taniwha in the shape of a lizard. This sits above a man and a pregnant woman. No one knows who these are. The centre pole of a house should always be carved first, this one tells the history of a people. Once this one is right the rest will fall into place. The tupuna are on the middle pole and if we think about a tree or a geyser all the strength comes from the middle and spreads out.”

Wi Waaka house
Joseph: “Where was Wi Waaka’s house?”

Jim: “It used to be on the northern side of the fence by where the Hinetearorangi Kohanga Reo is situated today. At one time Tawhio the Mäori King to the Waikato people spent some time with Wi Waaka. It is said that the king sat on the veranda drinking whiskey and allowed the Pakeha woman to admire his richly tattooed face.

Although I cannot remember the year it happened the house burnt down, the walls caved inwards while the roof stayed suspended in the air for a further minute and a half. My old people stood looking at each other where the walls should have been.

Wi Waaka was a powerful tohunga; his mana still resides where his house once stood. A number of taonga were buried underground. People used to walk around the place rather than across it. Those that walked across the area became sick with mate Māori (psychosomatic illness). Others who tried to dig up the taonga were known to have died.”

Takitimu
Joseph: “Was there another whare nui other than Nga Tau e Waru on Te Ore Ore?”

Jim: “Yes it was called Takitimu. My old people used to talk about it. It was a small house that used to stand in between Nga Tau e Waru and Wi Waaka’s place. Apparently it was built after the main house but had been pulled down before I was born.”

Joseph: “You do not hear much about it in fact I have never seen anything written about it or heard anyone talk about it. Why was this?”

Jim: “ I don’t really know but there was something wrong with that whare because the old people would always be arguing about it. They said at one point two brothers had a fall out concerning Takitimu so one of them put a light to it. Uncle Dick (Himona) just said that it became a wreck so they decided to pull it down.”