Waituhi

Waituhi is a small settlement in the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located in the Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (Gisborne) region, 21 km northwest of the city of Gisborne, on the western bank of the Waipaoa River. It is notable as the historic site of Popoia pā, and as the location (and setting) for several novels and short stories of Witi Ihimaera. Members of the Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki iwi (Māori tribe) are the tangata whenua (“the people of the land”). In 2009 a project to develop a community drinking water supply was started.

Ruapani was regarded as the paramount chief of all the Tūranganui-a-Kiwa tribes around 1525. His influence also extended widely around the region. It is said that the aristocratic lines of descent from Paoa and Kiwa of the Horouta waka converged upon him and his rule was undisputed. Ruapani lived at a pā, Popoia, near Waituhi.

He had three wives. His first wife was Wairau. His second wife was Uenukukōihu and his third wife was Rongomaipāpā, who was a daughter of Kahungunu and Rongomaiwahine. When Ruapani died, Tūhourangi took Rongomaipāpā as his wife and founded the present Tūhourangi tribe in Rotorua, which is part of the Te Arawa confederation of tribes. The importance of Ruapani is clearly shown in the whakapapa (genealogy) lines of all the tribes in the Tūranganui-a-Kiwa district. With the emergence of these tribes, like Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata and Ngāi Tāmanuhiri — Ruapani’s influence began to wane and he retreated inland to the home of his relations in the Lake Waikaremoana area, where he lived out his days. The Ngāti Ruapani still consider themselves as the descendants of Ruapani.

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