Ngāti Pūkenga is a
MāoriThe Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand . The group probably arrived in southwestern Polynesia in several waves at some time before 1300...
iwiIn New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori populations. The word iwi means "people" or "folk"; in many contexts it may mean "tribe" or "clan", and sometimes a larger grouping of tribes...
centred in
TaurangaTauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.Settled by Europeans in the early 19th century, and constituted as a city in 1963., Tauranga City is the fifth largest urban area in New Zealand, with an urban population of The city lies in the...
in the
Bay of PlentyThe Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BoP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
region of
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
. According to the 2006 census, 1,785 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. Ngāti Pūkenga is one of the three Tauranga Moana tribes, maintaining close ties with
NgaiterangiNgāi Te Rangi is a Māori iwi , based in Tauranga....
and
Ngāti RanginuiNgāti Ranginui is a Māori iwi centred in Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Ngāti Ranginui is one of the three Tauranga Moana tribes, maintaining close ties with Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Pūkenga. In the 2001 census, 6,120 people claimed affiliation to the iwi, representing 9 hapu...
. The Tauranga Moana iwi all consider Mt Maunganui ("Mauao") to be sacred. Ngāti Pūkenga have tribal holdings in
HaurakiHauraki is an suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the North Shore City Council.The population was 5,631 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 261 from 2001.-Education:...
,
WhangareiTe Hihi to airport|-| bgcolor="#FFCCBB" | Territorial
Authority| bgcolor="#FFEEDD" | Name || Whangarei District Council|-| bgcolor="#FFCCBB" | Regional
Council| bgcolor="#FFEEDD" | Name || Northland Regional Council|-|}...
and
MaketuMaketu is a small town on the Bay of Plenty Coast in New Zealand. It is located on Okurei point and has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow out of, it is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on the south eastern side of Okurei point. The name is sometimes informally abbreviated...
.
Pūkenga is the founding ancestor of the iwi.
Ngāti Pūkenga is a
MāoriThe Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand . The group probably arrived in southwestern Polynesia in several waves at some time before 1300...
iwiIn New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori populations. The word iwi means "people" or "folk"; in many contexts it may mean "tribe" or "clan", and sometimes a larger grouping of tribes...
centred in
TaurangaTauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.Settled by Europeans in the early 19th century, and constituted as a city in 1963., Tauranga City is the fifth largest urban area in New Zealand, with an urban population of The city lies in the...
in the
Bay of PlentyThe Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BoP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
region of
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
. According to the 2006 census, 1,785 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. Ngāti Pūkenga is one of the three Tauranga Moana tribes, maintaining close ties with
NgaiterangiNgāi Te Rangi is a Māori iwi , based in Tauranga....
and
Ngāti RanginuiNgāti Ranginui is a Māori iwi centred in Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Ngāti Ranginui is one of the three Tauranga Moana tribes, maintaining close ties with Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Pūkenga. In the 2001 census, 6,120 people claimed affiliation to the iwi, representing 9 hapu...
. The Tauranga Moana iwi all consider Mt Maunganui ("Mauao") to be sacred. Ngāti Pūkenga have tribal holdings in
HaurakiHauraki is an suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the North Shore City Council.The population was 5,631 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 261 from 2001.-Education:...
,
WhangareiTe Hihi to airport|-| bgcolor="#FFCCBB" | Territorial
Authority| bgcolor="#FFEEDD" | Name || Whangarei District Council|-| bgcolor="#FFCCBB" | Regional
Council| bgcolor="#FFEEDD" | Name || Northland Regional Council|-|}...
and
MaketuMaketu is a small town on the Bay of Plenty Coast in New Zealand. It is located on Okurei point and has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow out of, it is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on the south eastern side of Okurei point. The name is sometimes informally abbreviated...
.
History
Pūkenga is the founding ancestor of the iwi. Pūkenga was of
MataatuaIn Māori tradition, Mataatua was one of the great voyaging canoes by which Polynesians migrated to New Zealand. Māori traditions say that the Mataatua was initially sent from Hawaiki to bring supplies of kūmara to Māori settlements in New Zealand...
descent, and spent his life in
RuatokiRuatoki is a settlement 15 kilometres south of Whakatane in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. The town became well known when homes were searched and road blocks were set up by police in the 2007 New Zealand anti-terror raids. It is the centre of the Tūhoe separatist movement. Ruatoki is also...
. Upon his death, his people, known as "Ngāti Hā", moved east towards
OpotikiOpotiki is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Opotiki District Council and comes under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.-Ethnicity :* Maori 54%...
. This resulted in the displacement of the tribe of Rōmainohorangi. Later, the displaced tribe, now known as "Ngāti Te Rangihouhiri", requested the help of Ngāti Hā in battle. For their assistance, Ngāti Pūkenga, as they were now known, were gifted land in Tauranga, where their main settlements still stand today.
In the 19th century, the iwi of the Tauranga Moana fought against Crown troops stationed in Tauranga. In 1864, a notable victory was achieved at
Gate PāGate Pā was the name of a Māori Pā or fortress built in 1864 only 5 km from the main British base of Camp Te Papa at Tauranga, during the Tauranga Campaign of the New Zealand Land Wars...
. Nevertheless, the Tauranga Moana iwi were defeated and suffered the loss of thousands of acres of land.
Ngāti Pūkenga today
The Tauranga Moana iwi including Ngāti Pūkenga continue to seek redress with the New Zealand Government for their losses in the
New Zealand Land WarsThe New Zealand Wars, sometimes called the Land Wars and also once called the Māori Wars, were a series of armed conflicts that took place in New Zealand between 1845 and 1872...
. No settlement thus far has been reached.