09/06/2026
TE PŌ O TE HŪ – THE NIGHT OF THE ERUPTION
E ai ki ngā kōrero a ētehi o te hunga noho ki Te Wairoa kāre he rerengakētanga o te pō o te 9 o Hune ki ētehi atu. I te 11 o ngā haora o taua pō, ka mea atu tētehi kairuri whenua, a John C. Blythe, ‘What a lovely night! We will have a fine day tomorrow!’
12.30am: Ka rongo tuatahi te hunga e noho ana ki Te Wairoa i te rū o te whenua. He nui ngā rū engari e tīrama tonu ana te marama, kāre hoki e pupuhi ana te hau. The first earthquake was felt by those living at Te Wairoa. There followed many quakes even though the moon was still shining, and there was no wind.
“Te riri o te atua i whiua ki te tāngata, i whiua ki te whenua…”
At least 108 people died during the night: 6 Pākeha, 102 Māori.
At first light, the Tūhourangi survivors made their way to Ōhinemutu:
“… the pā was in mourning, not the mourning which characterises the ordinary tangi whereat it is etiquette to shed tears and magnify one’s sense of loss, but inconsolable grief was dominant. Crushed with woe and despair.”
THE DIASPORA BEGINS
A mass movement of Tūhourangi from Ōhinemutu took place on 15 July 1886, to Te Awahou where the majority stayed a couple of days but the majority made their way to Whakarewarewa to stay with their Ngāti Wāhiao relations (and possibly to Te Puke to Ōtūkawa).
In October 1886, some of Tūhourangi journeyed to Ngāti Tūwharetoa at Taupō. The Government assistance was limited to offers of work on road building projects. At that date, the government had not found any promised land for resettlement.
TE KARI KAPIA – GUM DIGGING
In March 1887, a large Tūhourangi delegation led by Wī Kepa Te Rangipūawhe (aka Major Kepa) left Whakarewarewa to settle in the Coromandel area.
Tūhourangi leadership made a considered decision to move en masse to Hauraki , to the Ngāti Marutūāhu and Ngāti Tamaterā lands of Ōhinemuri and Thames. Over and above the lands, the appeal was gum digging, a thriving industry from 1845 – 1920. They called the much-valued taonga kapia, and used it for fire starting, torches, and for medicinal purposes, and when burnt and mixed with animal fat it made a dark pigment for tattooing.
TE HOKINGA MAI
In 1908, Mita Taupopoki opened his new wharepuni, Wāhiao, at Whakarewarewa. He sent a message to Tūhourangi still living in Coromandel, “Come home, bring everyone home to Whakarewarewa!”
Kaikinikini ai te mamae i taku kiri ki te iwi ka wehe. 140 years to the day we continue to mourn the lives lost to the eruption. We commemorate the strength, resilience and fortitude of Tūhourangi uri that was fostered by the compassion and care shown by iwi within Te Arawa and throughout the motu.
