“Te Waha o Rerekohu”

Forest and Bird, Issue 105, 1 August 1952, Page 12

“Te Waha o Rerekohu”

\V7E have received the following information from ” Mr. Jackson, Head Teacher of Te Araroa Maori District High School, in whose grounds the big pohutukawa of the above name, illustrated in our last issue, stands. The information was given him by Mr. W. A. Brown and Mr. E. Patae, members of the local tribal committee who in their turn received it from an old Maori gentleman named Tu Terangiwhiu Puha, who has an extensive knowledge of the local history and genealogy. Under the Maori rule of possession, the land which a Maori wished to keep must be occupied, and custom required a Maori to keep his “fires burning” on the land. The land on which the tree stands was given by Hati Houkamau for the building of a school, and the fact that there was no protest is proof that it had been continuously in occupation since the day of his ancestors. His ancestor was Rerekohu, a descendant of a senior line from the Paramount Chief Tu Whakairiora after whom the tribe is now called. The Ngati Manu and Ngati Harau, tribes which were “offspring” of the chief Whakairiora but not of a senior line, brought food to Rerekohu, whose house, near the pohutukawa, was called Poho Tawiriwiri, and whose store house where the food was kept was called Pataka. For that reason the pohutukawa was given the name of Te Waha o Rerekohu (the mouth of Rerekohu). When Hati Houkamau gave the land for the school, he stipulated that Te Waha o Rerekohu, which is regarded as tapu owing to an incident in an inter-tribal war, be preserved. There is a school rule that pupils do not touch or climb the tree. As genealogists hold the opinion that Rerekohu lived 450 years ago, the tree must be of considerable age. It is also of interest because of the fact that Sir Apirana Ngata was born “under” Te Waha o Rerekohu; his parents lived nearby.