Our story

Ko wai mātou

  • Ko Māhuhu ki te rangi te waka

    Ko Maungakiekie te maunga

    Ko Waitematā te moana

    Ko Ngā Oho, Te Taoū, ko Te Uringutu ngā hapū

    Ko Ngāti Whātua te iwi

    Ko Tuperiri te tupuna

    Ko Ōrākei te marae

  • Ko te Kāhu pokere ki te rangi, Ko te Kahu Tōpuni o Tuperiri ki te whenua

    We are Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, one of the hapū from the wider Ngāti Whātua iwi. Located in and around the Tāmaki isthmus, in the largest city in Aotearoa. We hold firm to our mana motuhake, history, culture, identity and language.

    Occupation of Ngāti Whātua in Tāmaki Makaurau began in the 17th Century under the leadership of our rangatira Tuperiri. As such, every member of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei can trace their whakapapa to our shared ancestor Tuperiri and are descended from the three hapū; Ngā Oho, Te Taoū, me Te Uringutu, collectively referred to as Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

    We are the tangata whenua of Tāmaki with our mana over the land and sea being underpinned by take tupuna (ancestral relationships), take raupatu (taking of the land and sea by traditional warfare), ahi kā (unbroken occupation) and tuku whenua (traditional gifting of land ) 

  • Today, the collective affairs of the sub-tribe are looked after by the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust with approximately 7000 registered hapū members throughout Aotearoa and the world.

Te Kahu Tōpuni o Tuperiri

Te Kahu Tōpuni o Tuperiri is a figurative term in pepeha form which likens the ‘outstretched cloak of Tuperiri’ to the tribal territories of Ngāti Whātua ki Tāmaki.

Tuperiri is the common ancestor from whom all uri of Ngāti Whātua ki Tāmaki descend.

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Our Brand

Our tohu is a circular shape, representing ‘O’ for Ōrākei with two koru designs on each side.

The koru on the left-hand side is representative of our whakapapa to Ngā Oho, Te Taoū and Te Uringutu, collectively known as Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

The right-hand side is our strategic focus. It represents the past, the present, the future and acknowledges that we are intergenerational. Strong. Proud. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

Since it's initial launch in 2002, our tohu has been an integral part of our brand for over 20 years.

Mātakitaki

Graham Tipene, ringa toi, shares the story behind the creation of the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei tohu