Ko Wai: Who Are We?
Established in 1985, Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust is the mandated Iwi Authority and decision-making body for Ngāti Rehua which is an Iwi in its own right and also for Ngātiwai ki Aotea a Hapū of Ngāti Wai. The Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust engages in various activities and initiatives to support the cultural, social, economic, and environmental aspirations of the Iwi and its members. The establishment of the Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust demonstrates the recognition and acknowledgement of Ngāti Rehua’s unique identity and history as the Tangata Whenua of Aotea. Designed to encapsulate the heart of our past and present landscapes, to futureproof our tomorrow.
Our tomorrow comes from a place of māmae, challenges, and survival, reshaped and strengthened by resilience to our whakapapa, and to our Mana Motuhake. As the Mana Whenua of Aotea, the Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust acknowledges those who have served the people and have passed on to the next world, lest we forget their courage and fortitude.
It is the kāranga of Ngāti Rehua, that embodies all who descend from Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea, to unite and give life back to our Iwi through our Rāngatiratanga, and our Mātauranga, by upholding the korero passed down from our Tupunā.
Progressing Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea to a post-treaty settlement entity inevitably brings its own challenges. The Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust views the challenges not as threats to the well-being of our beneficiaries, but as opportunities to heal historical wrongs and work towards health and prosperity. The future envisaged is one in which Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea becomes renowned as a leading Iwi in its management of resources and taonga. As part of Vision 2050 we will provide choices to beneficiaries to return to their tūrangawaewae on Aotea, Hauturu and the surrounding islands.
The predominant function of the Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust in this plan, is to ensure that the Treaty Settlement negotiation is completed in its entirety, this will be the genesis of the strategic direction and blueprint of Vision 2050, in which the aspirations and Moemoeā of our Tupunā and all beneficiaries is realised in the future design of our identity as Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea.
Our Whakapapa
Te Iwi o Ngāti Rehua
Ngāti Rehua Pepeha
Ko Hirakimata te Maunga
Ko te Moananui ā Toi te Moana
Ko Paepae ki Rarotonga te Waka
Ko Ngāti Rehua te Iwi
Ko Te Rangituangahuru raua
ko Te Ikaamimirua ngā hapū
Ko Kawa raua ko Motairehe ngā Marae
“Rehua ki te Rangi! Rehua ki te Motu!
Rehua ki te Wai!
Toi tū te Iwi o Ngāti Rehua e!”
Video produced by DOC Aotea - Will Prosor (director of photography), Alyssia Hargest (camera assistant), Luke Thornborough (editing and direction)
Our History
Te Iwi o Ngāti Rehua
The History of Te Iwi o Ngāti Rehua begins with Toi Te Huatahi, who arrived on the island of Aotea in the 12th Century on his waka Paepae ki Rarotonga, bringing with him the Tikanga of Hawaiki. His name is forever encapsulated within the islands of Te Moananui ā Toi (The Ocean of Toi) and Ngāti Rehua are his direct descendants.
Kō Aotea te moutere rongonui
Kō Hirakimatā te Māunga tapu
Kō te moana nui ā Toi te moana
Kō te Tuatara, te Mauri, rātou kō te Tukaiaia ngā kaitiaki
Kō Aotea te kāinga ō ngā uri ō Ngāti Rehua
Anei te whenua e manaakitia tātou. E whakapiritia tātou. E whakaoratia tātou.
Te waahi ō ngā tāonga maha, ngā taonga tapu, ngā taonga matahīapo.
Na ngā whetū e kanapu ki Te rāngi ki ngā aitenga a pūnga e kōhimuhimu ana ki ngā ngāhere.
Kō Aotea te taonga motuhake ō te moana nui ā Toi.
Kō Aotea toku tūrangawaewae.
Aotea is the renowned island. Hirakimatā is the sacred mountain.
The Moana of Toi is the ocean that embraces our island.
The Tuatara, Mauri, and the Tukaiaia are the guardians.
Aotea is the home for the descendants of Ngāti Rehua.
Here is the land that protects us, brings us together, and keeps us alive.
A place of many treasures, sacred treasures, precious treasures.
From the stars shining bright in the sky to the insects that whisper in the forest.
Aotea is the prize of the moana of Toi.
Aotea is my place of standing.
Our Marae
Ngāti Rehua continue to live in various locations and small islands around Aotea including two marae at Kawa (Te Uri ō Te Rangituangahuru) and Motairehe (Te Uri ō Te Ikamimirua). We have a rich history and continue to have close Whānaungatanga through whakapapa to other Iwi such as Ngāti Wai, Marutūahu and Ngāti Manuhiri. To Ngāti Rehua, Aotea and its surrounding islands and connecting waters are a unified and living entity that our people have had a continued unbroken connection to “ahi kaa roa” for over 800 years from the time of Toi Te Huatahi to the present day.
