EXPLOIT OF MAORI CHIEFTAINESS

Chronicle (Levin), 16 February 1948, Page 2

EXPLOIT OF MAORI CHIEFTAINESS

The swim re'calls the exploit of the chieftainess Te Rau-o-te-rangi (the grandmother of the latc Sir Maui. Pomare), wlio swam from the northeru end of tlie. island to Te Uruhi, about two miles south of Waikanae, with a child on' her back, a feat far greater than the more pubiicised accompiishment of Ihe famed lieauty, Hinemoa, in Lake Rotorua. >She swam to save the life of lver clrild and herself, having been' warued by a slave of the approach of a flotilla from the direction of Otaki. The slave, it is said, dreamt of the advent of tl;e invaders, wlio were anxious to evict Te Rauparalia from the island. It has been estimated that from there to Te Uruhi, where the chieftainess Ianded on the mainland, is a distance of seven miles. Before she began her famous swim, however, she underwent the appropriate ritual in order to safeguard herself from both taniwhas and sharks. Tradition says. that ohe was assisted by a pad of raupo, on which she rested. Makere (Margaret), the infant, was attached to her mother-'s slioulders.