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Te Wehi-a-Te-Wera is the Māori name for The Neck, the long, narrow peninsula at the entrance to Te Whaka-a-Te-Wera (Paterson Inlet) at Rakiura (Stewart Island). The name refers to the well-known Ngāi Tahu tipuna, Te Wera, who escaped to Rakiura following a series of inter-tribal conflicts in Otago.
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Moturau is the correct Māori name for Lake Manapōuri in Te Rua-o-te-Moko (Fiordland). Roto-Ua is an earlier name for the lake, and was given by the Waitaha explorer Rākaihautū when digging the lake with his kō, on account of the persistent rain that troubled his party here. Puhiruru (Rona Island) is the island in the…
Read MoreRuapuke Island, 15 kilometres southeast of Awarua (Bluff), guards the eastern approaches to Te Ara-a-Kiwa (Foveaux Strait). This 1600 hectare island was the location of a major Ngāi Tahu settlement in the 19th century, and was the home of the great southern chief Tūhawaiki and his successor Topi Pātuki.
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In 1863 Dr James Hector recruited Henare Paramata and five other Māori guides for his Fiordland expedition. On 26 August 1863 Paramata guided Hector into Whakatipu Waitai, where they were looked after by Tūtoko and his whānau. The snowy peak of Mount Tūtoko, which was named by Hector, can be seen in the background.
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Taramakau The Taramakau River rises in Kā Tiritiri-o-te-moana (the Southern Alps) and flows into Te Tai-o-Rehua (the Tasman Sea) south of Greymouth. The upper reaches of the Taramakau are renowned as a source of pounamu, with several significant pounamu working sites located at the river mouth.
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Awarua (the Haast River) flows from Kā Tiritiri-o-te-moana (the Southern Alps) into Te Tai-o-Rehua (the Tasman Sea) north of Ōkahu (Jackson Bay). Awarua was part of the traditional travel route over Tioripātea (Haast Pass) and along the Makarore (Makarora River) that connected Te Tai Poutini (the West Coast) with lakes Wānaka and Hāwea. During the…
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Moeraki Onekakara is the beach on the northern coastline of the Moeraki Peninsula, where the main Moeraki wharf is located today. In the 19th century, the name Onekakara was used to refer to the shore whaling station (established on the beach in 1836), and the European settlement that formed nearby. Traditionally, the name Moeraki specifically…
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Horomaka Horomaka Island in Koukourārata (Port Levy) commemorates the arrival of the Makawhiu waka in Canterbury. After Tūtekawa killed the wives of his brother-in-law Tūāhuriri at Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), he escaped to Te Waipounamu, where he established Waikākahi pā on the eastern shore of Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere). Determined to exact revenge, Moki, the son…
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Otago Harbour Ōtākou was the name for a channel that ran down the eastern (southern) side of the Otago Harbour from the mouth to Harwood Point, past the whaling station site and main Māori villages. Aramoana ran down the western (northern) side through to Port Chalmers. Today the name Ōtākou specifically refers to the small…
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