Affiliated & Associated Organisations

There are five entities that represent the interests of Te Āti Awa in Te Whanganui a Tara (Wellington) including our organisation.

Te Tatou o Te Pō

Te Tatau o Te Pō Wharenui and Pukeariki Marae are located at 437 Hutt Road, Alicetown, Lower Hutt occupying whanau land since 1933. The Marae is closely associated with the old Pito-one Pā and the hapu of Ngāti Tawhirikura and Ngāti Te Whiti of Te Atiawa iwi. It is the oldest of the modern marae in Wellington.

Te Tatau o Te Pō and its associated Te Puni Urupa located in Te Puni Street with the close affiliation to the Te Atiawa hapu of Ngāti Tawhirikura and Ngāti Te Whiti with the tupuna being Honiana Te Puni kokopu and Pito-one Pā. Te Tatau o Te Pō is the whare and the Marae land is known as Pukeariki limking to the maunga of the same name in Maungaraki. Te Tatau o Te Po wharehui was built with support from the Taranaki Māori Trust board with the guidance of Thomas Heberley from the Dominion Museum on land provided for a number of the whanau whose descendants have been marae trustees over the years.

Te Atiawa Chief Te Puni and Pito-one pa [Heaphy], Charles 1820-1881:[Epuni, London, Smith Elder1845] ATL, PUBL-0011-02-2

It has been built with assistance from the Taranaki Māori Trust Board as a home in Wellington for Taranaki iwi when they visit Wellington. Pito-one Pā was the home of paramount chief Honiana te Puni kokopu and thus Te Tatau o Te Pō acknowledges his leadership.

Brief History of the Land of Te Tatau o te Po in Hutt Road

The land block on which Te Tatau o te Po is currently located was known as Hutt (Heretaunga) Section 16 which was allocated in the McCleverty awards and the resulting Crown Grant as a Tenths Reserve. The two sections 16 and 20 were known as Te Momi with section 16 awarded outright to Petone Maori and section 20 being shared with Waiwhetu Maori. Section 16 was some 100 acres bordered to the south by the Wairarapa Railway line and including the Hutt Road and later the Melling Railway line. The section extended up the hill towards Puketirotiro and Maungaraki.

Subdivision 21 of section 16 was vested in Tupeki Takarangi and 33 others. Set aside as a Native reservation on 27 October 1932. Vested in: Tiratu Meihana, Tupoki Takarangi, Te Manumataka, Ngahina Meihana, Rebecca Love with the Chairman and Secretary being that of Te Rōpu o te Whanganui a Tara.

An Order in Council in 1933 set apart 1 acres 1 rood 25 perches of section 16 as a native reserve. The order was revoked in 1971 and a smaller area of 26.8 perches was reserved. 1 In 1943, a number of subdivisions of section 16 had land taken under the Public Works Act 1928 for roading purposes.

1 New Zealand Gazette1933, p1406, New Zealand Gazette 1971, p 19

Te Tatau o te Po from Nga Motu to Pito-one

When the Nga Motu people came back to Wellington from the Wairarapa in 1835 they occupied many of the places around the harbour including establishing Pito One Pa at the Western end of the Beach at the northern side of the harbour. Outside the Pa and a little to the West the Wharehui of Te Tatau o te Po was located close to the present Te Puni Urupa.

Te Tatau o te Po and its marae, Pukeariki were located on the site at 437 Hutt Road since its completion and opening on 18 October 1933. The current marae site is 657.6 m2 (0.07 ha) and was vested as a Maori Reserve under section 439 (7) of the Maori Affairs Act 1953 on 14 January 1971 (Now s338(7) of Te Ture Whenua Maori).

Opening of Te Tatau o te Po in October 1933 in Hutt Road

LEFT: Honiana Te Puni kokopu - Alexander Turnbull Library Reference: 1/2-029567; RIGHT: Te Tatau o Te Po meeting house at Petone ATL F1236351/2 acknowledge Mrs Takiri Love, Paraparaumu.

Author: - Morris Te Whiti Love - April 2024

Location

437 Hutt Road, Lower Hutt

Available services

  • Te Tatau o te Pō Marae offers a warm place for small hui & meetings, noho and wānanga. 
  • Te Tatau o te Pō is smoke, vape and alcohol free and maintains strict Covid rules.

Opening of the Marae 18 October 1933

At the opening Mr Hapi Love welcomed the Governor General, Lord Bledisloe and Lady Bledisloe to formally open the marae. Also present was the Prime Minister G W Forbes and Minister Hon Gordon Coates and Mrs Coates. Mr Love gave a brief history of the marae and meeting hall. In 1919 a committee was set up and from that in 1929 came the society named Te Ropu o te Whanganui a Tara. The first hearing of the Wellington District claims before the Waitangi Tribunal was held at Te Tatau o Te Po Marae, starting on 25 March 1991 and many hearing were held there over the years until the 15 hearing was held there starting on 29 March 1999. The Waitangi Tribunal issued its Te Whanganui a Tara me ona Takiwa - Report on the Wellington District in 2003. There was a 75th Jubilee was held in 2008 to celebrate this notable date in its history.

A New Structure for the Marae

When the marae was opened it was operated by Te Rōpu o te Whanganui a Tara for many years with a set of Trustee appointed by the Māori Land Court from time to time as the land is a Māori Reservation as it the Te Puni Street Urupa.

The Marae is undergoing updating of its administrative arrangements under a proposed Charter and a new Marae Committee, and it anticipates the revival of the Marae. However, in the meantime the Marae is fully operative except for brief periods of maintenance to extend the life of the building and its facilities.

Ko Pukeariki te mounga

Ko Te Korokoro o Te Mana te awa

Ko Pukeariki te marae

Ko Te Tatau o Te Pō te pouwhare

Ko Te Ātiawa te iwi

Ko Ngāti Te Whiti, raua ko Ngāti Tāwhirikura ngā hapū

Resources available for download

TE TATAU O TE PO - 75 TH ANNIVERSARY

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Contact details

Lee & Malesha Hunter

Telephone: 021 612 667

  Te Ohu Kaimoana work to advance Māori interests in the marine environment, including customary fisheries, commercial fisheries and aquaculture as well as providing policy and fisheries management advice to iwi and the wider Māori community.

  Friends of Waiwhetū Stream  is local community group that began in 2011 with a vision to ensure that Waiwhetū Stream is a healthy functioning ecosystem and is treasured and enjoyed by our community.  

Remutaka Conservation Trust  is committed to preserve and restore the natural biodiversity and historic resources of the Remutaka Forest Park valleys and environs.  

  The Ministry for the Environment is the Government’s primary adviser on environmental matters.    Incorporating te ao Māori into our work is valuable to all of Aotearoa.  We acknowledge the role of tangata whenua to help create a flourishing environment for every generation.