The Travels of Chief Tauraroa

Tu Tangata, Issue 8, 1 October 1982, Page 28

The Travels of Chief Tauraroa

Chief Tauraroa and his family had migrated from Auckland to settle in the Kaipara harbour. His tribe had grown and become rich and content. Other neighbouring tribes became jealous and they secretly planned an attack on the village which would provide rich plunder.

Chief Tauraroa heard of this from wandering tradesmen. He was very worried and he called a meeting of all the men in his tribe. The men argued long into the night, and the only conclusion they came to was that they weren’t strong enough and they didn’t have enough good weapons to defend themselves.

So Chief Tauraroa was left to make the decision on what to do. After consulting his tohunga he decided to embark on a very dangerous journey in search of greenstone, which would be made into mighty clubs.

The canoe was made ready and food and water packed aboard. The ten warriors picked to go with Chief Tauraroa stood proudly beside the grand canoe. The canoe was cast off, and with Chief Tauraroa in the bow they paddled swiftly towards the entrance of the Kaipara harbour, and the sea.

Their luck held and they journeyed to Auckland without any fights or mishaps. At Mangere, Chief Tauraroa was greeted by his father and invited to stay for a few days.

Chief Tauraroa explained to his father why they were journeying south. His father promised him the help of his weapon makers if he returned with the greenstone.

Chief Tauraroa paddled confidently towards Mount Taranaki, which could soon be seen in the distance. They rounded Taranaki and in a week Kapiti Island was in sight. From there it would be a short but rough trip across Cook Strait to the South Island.

After buying supplies at Kapiti they paddled out into Cook Strait. The waves were higher than they had ever seen, and the canoe rolled and bucked over the mighty waves towards the South Is-

land. They reached the South Island surprisingly none the worse for wear, and after a days rest they continued their journey down the west coast of the South Island.

The farther south they went the colder and rougher the weather became. They took shelter in caves when the sea was too wild and warmed themselves in front of fires.

They finally came to the mouth of the river which led to the greenstone up river. In fact Chief Tauraroa wasn’t certain that this was the right river, for he could only guess where the greenstone was by second-hand legends. Some Canterbury tribesmen get it by crossing the Southern Alps from the plains on foot and carry back the greenstone.

The canoe was paddled up the river and to the joy of the crew and the relief of Chief Tauraroa the greenstone was found shining in shallow water near a bank of rock. The crew boistrously splashed around in the chilly water heaving the heavy greenstone slabs onto the bank, and from there into the canoe.

The canoe was soon as low in the water as Chief Tauraroa dared make it and he ordered his men to leave the valuable greenstone and come aboard. They reluctantly left their fortune and paddled the now not too seaworthy canoe towards the sea. They stayed close to shore in the fairly calm water, and they slowly made their way to Cook Strait.

The Cook Strait was as wild as ever and the canoe had no chance of crossing it in its over-loaded state, so Chief Tauraroa decided to hide the heaviest stones at a cave near Picton.

With a more seaworthy canoe and better weather the canoe set off bravely across Cook Strait. Soon the canoe started bucking up and down over the mountainous waves. Men were knocked from their seats, and it took three strong men to hold the canoe on course. Chief Tauraroa was tempted to throw some greenstone overboard but he held on to it all determinedly.

Everyone was greatly relieved when they came within the shelter of Kapiti Island and thanked the gods for saving them from the terrifying sea.

After repairing and restocking the canoe they set off north again. The jounrey to Auckland was slow but rather uneventful. Many of the men were bored and looked forward to getting home.

At Mangere they were once more greeted by Chief Tauraroa’s father and invited to stay a few days. Chief Tauhari congratulated his son on his great adventure, and he ordered some of his weapon-makers to go with him as he had promised. Chief Tauraroa gave some greenstone in return and they separated contentedly the next day.

The final trip home was made quickly for it had been rumoured that his en-

emies had already been readying for war.

They returned home to a hero’s welcome and the hangi and celebration were enjoyed by all.

The village soon settled down to the serious business of preparing for war. The chipping of the weapon-makers and the cries of practising warrior could be heard echoing throughout the valley.

As it turned out a battle was not fought, for when faced with the dreaded greenstone axes the enemies faded away back to their own homes.

G. Robinson

Whangarei Boys’ High School

Form 3