NZ Visual Diary - entry 320

Kupe’s presence - Hokianga Harbour | Northland

Hokianga Harbour, located on the West Coast of Northland, is where Māori oral history records that Kupe and his wife, Kuramārōtini, first landed in Aotearoa (New Zealand).

As Māori Studies scholar and author, Dr. Hazel Petrie, wrote in an email exchange with me:

‘The stream is called Waihuka and was a wahi tapu (sacred site) where human bones and other artefacts were found after a flood in 1860 and/or in 1904. People say it is where Kupe landed and that scene is depicted in a mural on the wall of the library in Kaitaia. A modern-day Māori navigator, famous for using the old navigation methods for long distance travel, said he believed it would have been their logical first stop re: the need for water.’

I have reproduced below an overview of Kupe, the legendary Māori navigator, and his wife Kuramārōtini.

In traditional Māori oral history, 1000 years ago Kupe, his wife, Kuramārōtini (sometimes known as Hine-te-aparangi) and tohunga, Pekahourangi, were the first explorers to discover Aotearoa, later renamed “New Zealand.

Sailing south from Hawaiiki across Te Moana a Kiwa (later named the Pacific Ocean), guided only by their ocean sailing experience and the stars, they travelled in their waka (canoe), Matahourua, to find out what lay beyond the horizon.

History has it that when they spotted a large land-mass shrouded in white cloud in the distance, Kurumārōtini cried out, "He ao! He ao! He aotea! He aotearoa" -"A cloud, a cloud! A white cloud! A long white cloud!" As a result, the land became known as “Aotearoa”, land of the long, white cloud.

On return to Hawaiiki (thought to be the East Polynesian islands encompassing Tahiti and the Marquesas), Kupe and Kurumārōtini spoke of a verdant land, abundant with birds, with tall, forested mountains, clear rivers and lakes and bountiful seas. This inspired many other adventurers to cross the ocean to find this beautiful new land. ¹

1. New Zealand Leadership Institute | University of Auckland
< https://nzli.co.nz/kupe-leadership-scholarships/the-legend-of-kupe/ >