Ko Wai : Who We Are
Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea
“Aotea moutere rongonui, Aotea whakahirahira, Aotea utanganui, Aotea taonga maha”
Aotea, also known as Great Barrier Island, is the ancestral land of Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea. We are the tangata whenua and hold mana whenua and mana moana of Aotea, Hauturu-a-Toi, Pokohinu, Rakitū; Rangiahua and other outlying islands, rocky outcrops and seascapes.
Our whanau continue to dwell on Aotea and its outlying islands with papakainga established in Katherine Bay within a native reserve, following questionable land aquisitions, treaty breaches and forced resettlements across the island.
Despite these impacts, the mana and tino rangatiratanga of Aotea remains with Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea. Our people subsist from the bounty of our whenua and our moana. We are Kaitiaki of this whenua and moana as our Tupuna before us.
We continue to seek redress from the Crown for these and other breaches.
Our tupuna established two marae located in the north of Aotea; Kawa and Motairehe. We also acknowledge our whakapapa connections to whanau and marae at Whangaruru, Whananaki and Matapōuri. Ngāti Rehua-Ngatiwai ki Aotea maintains strong whakapapa ties with Ngātiwai.
Ngāti Rehua have occupied Aotea exclusively and undisturbed since the 17th century and we hold fast to our ahi kā roa for the benefit our tamariki, mokopuna.
Ko Hirakimata te maunga tapu,
Ko te Moananui o Toi Te Huatahi te moana
Ko Rehua raua ko Te Rangituangahuru nga tupuna
Ko Tukaiaia, ko te Tuatara, ko Te Mauri nga Kaitiaki
Ko Ngati Rehua-Ngatiwai ki Aotea te mana whenua
Ko Ngatiwai te iwi
Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust
The Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust Board was incorporated as a charitable trust on the 11th of September in 1985. We acknowledge the many whānau who have fulfilled past roles on the board as leaders and kaitiaki for our people. At the heart of our collective mission is the need to safe guard our whenua, moana and our people.
Through protection of our air and water, of our land itself, and of the health and existence of our communities, we reinforce the message that the old values of looking after the welfare of our future generations still has meaning and, perhaps most importantly, still remains.
Following the AGM held on 31 July 2021, new trustees were elected as below:
- Opo Ngawaka (Chair)
- Rosanna Beazley-Whaanga (deputy)
- Tipi Howe
- Taumata Toki
- Aaron Ngawaka
- Fletcher Beazley
- Marilyn Stephens