09/06/2026
𝐇𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐚 🌋
Today we pause to remember the tragedy that struck our whanaunga of Tūhourangi and Ngāti Rangitihi 140 years ago.
As our Chief Rotohiko Haupapa wrote shortly after:
“I te po o te Wenerei e ao ake ai tera ko Taite, i taua po, te tahi o nga haora ka ru te whenua, i te rua o nga haora, ka p**a tetahi harurutanga nui he mea ahu ake i raro i te whenua he mea wahi tonu i Tarawera maunga…”
“On Wednesday night, approaching dawn Thursday, at around one o'clock, the earth shook. At two o'clock, a powerful rumbling emerged from beneath the ground, splitting Mount Tarawera open…”
From the relative safety of our own settlements, our people emerged from their homes dazed as the ground heaved and the heavens crackled in the distance. South of Rotorua, entire settlements including Te Wairoa, Te Tapahoro, Moura, Te Ariki, Totarariki and Waingongongo, were buried beneath ash and volcanic debris. Lives, homes and taonga were lost, while Te Ōtūkapuarangi and Te Tarata, the magnificent Pink and White Terraces, disappeared forever beneath the landscape.
In the immediate aftermath, many of the survivors made their way towards Rotorua. The eruption had not only destroyed homes and communities, it had left entire populations displaced and grieving. It was in Rotorua that they found refuge among their Te Arawa kin:
“…Ka tae mai nga Morehu o Tuhourangi ki Ohinemutu, ka noho i reira, ka p**a hoki te aroha kia ratou ki te hunga i haere mai i te aitua, i tangohia mai i roto i te atarangi o te mate. I haere katoa hoki nga iwi o nga rohe o te Arawa ki te tangi i a ratou, ehara i te mea he tangi ki te hunga kua mate, kahore, erangi he tangi kia ratou ki te hunga i haere mai i te aitua. E toru pea nga wiki e noho ana ki Ohinemutu, e whiriwhiri ana i tetahi kainga hei hekenga mo nga morehu, ka haere ki Te Awahou, ki te kainga o Ngati Rangiwewehi. Ka tuturu ranei ki reira, ka heke ranei ki Rangiuru, i Maketu.
I tae mai ano a Te Heuheu ki Rotorua, ki te tono i a Tuhourangi kia heke ki Taupo, otira kihai I whakaae a Tuhourangi; no te mea, ko nga iwi katoa o Te Arawa e kii ana tena iwi, me noho ki a ia, e kii ana tena me noho ki a ia. Katahi ka kitea te aroha nui o tenei iwi o Te Maori ki o ratou whanaunga”
“When the survivors of Tūhourangi arrived at Ōhinemutu, they stayed there. Great compassion was shown towards them, to those who had come through the disaster and had been brought out from the shadow of death. All the tribes throughout the Te Arawa district came to mourn with them. It was not mourning for those who had died, no, but rather mourning and sympathy for those who had survived the catastrophe. They remained at Ōhinemutu for about three weeks while discussions were held about a place where the survivors might settle. Then they went to Te Awahou, the settlement of Ngāti Rangiwewehi. It was still uncertain whether they would remain there permanently or move on to Rangiuru at Maketū.
Te Heuheu also came to Rotorua to invite Tūhourangi to relocate to Taupō, but Tūhourangi did not agree. The reason was that all the tribes of Te Arawa were saying, ‘Let that people stay with us’; each tribe was insisting that they should stay with them. Then the great love and affection of the Māori people for their relatives became evident.”
These expressions of aroha were not merely words of comfort. Across Te Arawa, such as Ngati Wahiao at Whakarewarewa, and beyond, such Ngāti Maru and Ngāti Tamaterā at Te Aroha, practical offers were made for shelter, land and support to ensure the survivors could rebuild their lives and maintain their communities.
Among those who responded were Ngāti Whakaue. In December 1887, Ngāti Whakaue rangatira Aporo Te Tipitipi recorded a gift of land at Ngāpuna made the year before for the displaced people of Tūhourangi, writing:
“I nga ra i noho manene ai taua iwi i Ohinemutu, i tuku te whenua nei e matau ko Ngati Hurunga me Ngati Whakaue hei nohonga tuturu mo taua iwi, a kua noho taua iwi ki runga kua hanga whare kua mahi kai.”
“In the days when the people (Tūhourangi) were living as visitors at Ohinemutu, we of Ngāti Hurunga and Ngāti Whakaue granted this land (Ngāpuna) to them as a permanent place of residence. Since then, that people have remained there, built houses, and cultivated food.”
Today, 140 years later, we remember the tragedy that struck our whanaunga of Tūhourangi and Ngāti Rangitihi. We remember those whose lives were lost, the homes and communities buried beneath the ash, and the generations who carried the weight of that loss thereafter.
We also remember the survivors who emerged and, despite unimaginable grief and displacement, endured. Their descendants remain among us today, a living testament to the strength and resilience of those who faced the devastation of Tarawera and carried forward.
Sources: HW Mitchell Collection, Korimako newspaper dated 23 August 1886 (online), Letter from Aporo Tipitipi to the Chief Judge dated 7 December 1887 (Māori Land Court), Tarawera Eruption (Wikipedia), Hinemihi (Auckland War Memorial Museum), Survey ML5939 Owhatiura-Ngapuna (LINZ)
