THE ACTION OF A WOMAN NAMED WHAKATANE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 19, 12 November 1948, Page 5

THE ACTION OF A WOMAN NAMED WHAKATANE

Nearly • all Maori place names have a meaning. Some are named after incidents that occurred at some time or another in the past and have quite a story attached to them, i Whakatane is one of them. It is a ! story well known among the Maoris | and is' especially remembered by those who trace their ancestry back j to the original canoes. Whakatane is an historical name dating back five or six centuries. To the time when it is generally accepted the Maoris came to. New Zealand. To*this part of the Bay of Plenty the ancestral canoe Matatua made a ; landfall. The chief was Toroa, who I had commanded his canoe from j Hawaiki. With him he had his j daughter, Wairaka, and it is to her that the credit of naming Whakatane is given. There are several stories as to what actually happened but there is one that is generally accepted, j The Matatua beached at the WhaI katane Heads. Toroa and the remainder of the party, with the exception of Wairaka, went ashore to look round. Wairaka was ill and de- ! cided to remain with the canoe. While the party were away the in- | coming tide refloated the canoe, which started to drift out. Wairaka •called for the others to return but none came, so jumping to her feet she ran into the water, saying as ,she did so: i “Ka whaka-tane ahau” (“I shall act like a man”). ' By her action she saved the canoe, j The crew of the Matatua settled in the district and their descendants people the Eastern Bay of Plenty today.