Ngāti Whātua's territory or rohe is traditionally expressed as,『Tāmaki ki Maunganui i te Tai Hauauru』and "Tāmaki ki Manaia i te Rawhiti". The northern boundary is expressed as, "Manaia titiro ki Whatitiri, Whatitiri titiro ki Tutamoe, Tutamoe titiro ki Maunganui". The southern boundary is expressed as, "Te awa o Tāmaki". The area runs from Tāmaki River in the south to Maunganui Bluff (at the northern end of Aranga Beach on the west coast) in the north, and to Whangarei Harbour on the east coast. By the time of European settlement in New Zealand, Ngāti Whātua's territory was around the Kaipara Harbour and stretching south to Tāmaki Makaurau, the site of present-day Auckland.[2]
Ngāti Whātua descends from the ancestor Tuputupuwhenua (also known as Tumutumuwhenua). The iwi traces its arrival in New Zealand to the Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi canoe, which landed north of the Kaipara Harbour. They also descend from ancestors who migrated from Muriwhenua in the Far North and intermarried with the tribes in Ngāti Whātua's territory.[3] By the 16th and 17th century, Ngāti Whātua had become established around the Kaipara Harbour.[5]
Rivalry with Ngāpuhi escalated in the early 19th century when Ngāpuhi acquired muskets. Ngāpuhi attacked Ngāti Whātua in 1807 or 1808 in the battle of Moremonui north of Dargaville - probably the occasion of the first use of firearms in Māori warfare. Ngāti Whātua overcame the Ngāpuhi warriors with hand weapons while Ngāpuhi were reloading their muskets, winning a decisive victory over the attackers. Ngāpuhi, led by Hongi Hika, exacted revenge in 1825 when they defeated Ngāti Whātua in the battle of Te Ika a Ranganui near Kaiwaka.
On 20 March 1840 in the Manukau Harbour area where Ngāti Whātua farmed, paramount chiefApihai Te Kawau signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Treaty of Waitangi.[6] Ngāti Whātua sought British protection from Ngāpuhi as well as a reciprocal relationship with the Crown and the Church. Soon after signing the Treaty, Te Kawau offered land on the Waitematā HarbourtoWilliam Hobson, the new Governor of New Zealand, for his new capital.[7][8][9][10] Hobson took up the offer and moved the capital of New Zealand to Tāmaki Makaurau, naming the settlement Auckland.
Ngāti Whātua came to national prominence in the 1970s in a dispute over vacant land at Bastion Point, a little way east of the Auckland city centre, adjoining the suburb of Ōrākei. The land, which the New Zealand government had acquired cheaply for public works many decades before, largely reverted to the tribe after a long occupation and passive resistance.[11][12]
Te Runanga o Ngāti Whātua has a mandate, recognised by the New Zealand Government, to negotiate Treaty of Waitangi settlements for Ngāti Whatua. It is also a mandated iwi organisation under the Māori Fisheries Act, and an Iwi Aquaculture Organisation in the Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act. It represents Ngāti Whatua as an iwi authority under the Resource Management Act and is a Tūhono organisation.
The Runanga is a Māori Trust Board governed by 11 trustees from 5 takiwā or districts: 1 trustee from Ōrākei, 2 from South Kaipara, 3 from Otamatea, 1 from Whangarei and 4 from Northern Wairoa.[1] As of 2022, the co-chairpersons of the trust are Allan Pivac and Dame Rangimarie Naida Glavish DNZM. JP, the Manahautū is Alan Riwaka, and the trust is based in Whangarei.[13]
Ngāti Hinga hapū, based at Ahikiwi marae (Te Aranga Mai o te Whakapono wharenui), Kaihū
Ngāti Torehina, based at Taita marae (Kia Mahara Koutou wharenui), Māmaranui
Unidentified hapū, based at Kāpehu marae (Tāringaroa wharenui), Mititai, and Tama te Uaua marae (Tama te Uaua wharenui), Kaihū
Te Popoto, based at Ōtūrei marae (Rangimārie Te Aroha wharenui), Aratapu
Te Roroa, based at Pananawe marae (Te Taumata o Tiopira Kinaki wharenui), Waipoua; Te Houhanga marae (Rāhiri wharenui), Dargaville; Waikarā marae (Te Uaua wharenui), Aranga;
Te Uri o Hau, based at: Otamatea Marae, Kaipara, Maungataroto. Naumai marae (Ngā Uri o te Kotahitanga wharenui), Ruawai; Ōtūrei marae (Rangimārie Te Aroha wharenui), Aratapu; Rīpia marae (No wharenui), Rīpia, and Pouto; Waikaretu marae, Matakohe; Parirau Marae-Wharemarama (Te Uri-o-Hau).[1]
Ake 1179 is the official radio station of Ngāti Whātua, but is not officially part of the iwi radio network.[14] It broadcasts on 1179AMinAuckland, and features a combination of urban contemporary music and traditional storytelling.[15]
