Te-Pātunui-o-āio: Beyond Hawaiki

Waitaha trace our origins to Te-Pātunui-o-āio, a peaceful and sacred homeland beyond Hawaiki-pamamao. War forced us to leave, journeying through many Hawaikis before crossing Te Moananui-a-Kiwa in search of a new life.

Around 850 AD our people began a migration that would light the first fires of occupation in a new land and begin an unbroken legacy of guardianship.