Author(s): Marion Mare & Aloma Parker

History | Educational Resources

This book traces the history of the Wahiao people, weaving oral and recorded history to illustrate their relationship with the thermal valley of Te Whakarewarewatanga-o-te-ope-taua-a-Whiao. Whakarewarewa is New Zealand's most famous thermal tourist resort and has been home to Ngti Whiao for more than 300 years. The history of Ngti Whiao is recorded in the names of hot pools, mud pools, geysers, fissures, and streams in the valley. The bones of Ngti Whiao tupuna lie in caves in Te Puia and the surrounding Pohaturoa hills. This is a true David and Goliath saga. Whiao have a clear unbroken customary association with the land over hundreds of years. But other larger tribes also claim to have occupied Whakarewarewa at different times and have laid claim to the thermal valley. The stories describe the ancient and bloody wars fought, lost, and won by Whiao, and their more recent courtroom battles. From these encounters tribal heroes have emerged. It is their stories that are the focus of this book, from the war parties of the ancestor Whiao after whom the valley is named to the modern heroes who have fought for recognition of their mana whenua over their ancestral land. These heroes faced the forces of adversity over the last 120 years.

Illustrating the history of the W?hiao people through their relationship with the
thermal valley of Te Whakarewarewatanga-o-te-ope-taua-a-W?hiao, W?hiao is a true
David and Goliath saga. The stories recorded here describe the ancient and bloody
wars fought, lost and won by W?hiao along with their more recent courtroom battles.
Handsomely designed and illustrated, W?hiao makes fascinating reading, bringing to
life the forces of adversity faced by the many heroes, both historical and modern, in
their fight for recognition of their mana whenua over their ancestral land.