There is no evidence that there were any people in New Zealand before the Maoris. Certainly there were people here long before the historic migration in which the Arawa, Tainui, Takitimu, and other canoes took part. But those earlier people were likewise Polynesians. Some Melanesians would also be driven here, and the mixture of these two peoples, but in which the Polynesians were dominant, formed the Maori people who were here before the principal migrations. It is these older immigrants who are referred to as “the people of the land.” Sometimes they are loosely referred to as the Moriori. But even the Moriori of the Chatham Islands is a Polynesian of the Maori type.

Early Maori history is very confused. But from researches carried out amongst old Maoris it is possible to set down the main outlines.

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As some historians take 20 years for a generation—Stack, for instance—and others take 25, dates in Maori history vary considerably. The late Mr. Percy Smith, using the 25 year generation, correlated New Zealand, Rarotongan and Tahitian traditions, and arrived at the following approximate dates:—

925 A.D.—Kupe sailed from Rarotonga for New Zealand.

975 A.D.—Early waves of migration to New Zealand.

1150 A.D.—Time of Toi.

1175 A.D.—Moriori migration from New Zealand to Chathams.

1250 to 1325 A.D.—Voyages of the second Kupe, Ngahue, and others.

1350 A.D.—New Zealand settled by the “Fleet.”

Tribal Accounts Differ Greatly.

To give an indication of the uncertainties of writing precise Maori history a quotation from Elsdon Best's “The Land of Tara” will serve:—

“The peopling of the South Island is not clearly explained in tradition, for accounts given by different tribes do not agree. T. E. Green of Ngai Tahu, has stated a tribe named Hawea occupied that island prior to the arrival of Waitaha, but the Takitumu tribes of the East Coast of the North Island maintain that the Waitaha and Rapuwai clans, who came from Eastern Polynesia in the vessel Tikitimu were the first people to settle there. Te Rapuwai was an offshot clan from the Waitaha. The former folk were known at Te Tine o Te Rapuwai, but the collective name of all these people in their former home had been Ngati Kohuwai. The Mamoe aborigines are supposed to have settled in the South Island after the advent of the above peoples, and the Ngai Tahu followed in still later times.”

Rakaihaitu: The Great Digger Of Lakes.

To some people the “Uruao” canoe is a mythical one, and Rakaihaitu is a mythical hero. In the Journal of the Polynesian Society, volume 27, page 142, Mr. Beattie sets down an old tradition:—

“The Uruao canoe brought here the people called Waitaha, Te Kahui–tipua, and Te Kahui–roko, who were the same kind of people as Toi and Rauru…

“It brought here the people of Matiti, and landed on that (North) Island, which was full of people, so they came on to this island, which had no man on it…

“Rakaihaitu and his men started to go through the middle of the island, and he took his spade Tu–Whakaroria to dig the inland lakes and the lakes near the sea. The names of those lakes are Takapo, Pukaki, Ohou, Hawea, Wanaka, Whakatipu–wai–Maori page 29 (Lake Wakatipu), and Whakatipu–wai–tai (Lake McKerrow). He went on to Te Anau and down the Waiau River till he came to the end of the island, where he left people… He then returned by Te Roto–nui–o–whatu (now called Lake Tuakitoto …) Maranuku (district of Port Molyneux), Waihora (Lake Waihola), Kaikarae (now called Kaikorai), Wainono (Lake Studholme), Okahu (lagoon at Otaia), Te Aitarakihi (near Waitara–kao), Waihora (Lake Ellesmere), and Wairewa (Lake Forsyth).”

In South Island tradition this first canoe “Uruao” brought the earliest, people; the “Takitimu” brought the next wave.

South Island Traditional History.

Some Maori authorities may consider that this next section errs on the side of too great a simplification of the Maori occupation of Otago and Southland, but it is an attempt at simplification.

Apart from the shadowy Kahui–tipua folk, of whom legends are many, old South Island Maoris agree that the colonisation in the South has been (1) Te Rapuwai, (2) Waitaha, (3) Kati Mamoe, (4) Kai Tahu.

It will be observed that the southern form of spelling is used. The “ng” of northern or classical Maori turns into a “k.” So we have Waitaki in place of Waitangi, and Kai Tahu and Kati Mamoe instead of Ngai Tahu and Ngati Mamoe.

Te Rapuwai.

Of these ancient people there is very little known. The old Maoris say that the reason why no one knows of their origin is because no natives claim descent from them. They were finally absorbed into the Waitaha people, but they left many place names to record their presence. Round about the Kaitangata lakes was a favourite haunt, and almost certainly there were settlements at the mouth of the Matau.

The Waitaha People.

The South Otago name Waiwera—often translated “wai,” water, and “wera,” hot—is a place name preserved from Waitaha times. In North Auckland there is a place called Waiwera, and there are hot springs in the neighbourhood. There are no hot springs in South Otago, and the water in the Waiwera River could never be described as even warm.

Place names in Otago were set down by early travellers and surveyors. Mostly these people came from the north, and did not appreciate the fact that there was a southern dialect. As early place names were set down without any inquiry as to their traditional page 30 meaning, it is not possible to–day to take a list of place names in one hand and a Maori dictionary in the other and so compile a satisfactory account of what place names mean.

From the traditions of the Waitaha people we get the real reason for the naming of Waiwera.

Were There Two Different Waitaha Tribes?

North Island traditions give the story of the Waitaha people who came in the Takitimu canoe. But some southern family trees go farther back than the Takitimu story of 1350. The explanation probably is that there were two Waitaha tribes, as suggested by Mr. Herries Beattie:—

• (1) Those who came about 850 A.D. in the “Uruao” canoe.

• (2) Those who came in the “Takitimu” canoe about 1350 A.D..

Mr. Beattie suggests that it is likely that the people who came in 1350 and called themselves Waitaha found themselves among another tribe called Waitaha, who arrived centuries earlier.

It is safe to say that when the Takitimu party arrived the land was already inhabited. Whoever the earlier people were, they became amalgamated with the Takitimu people, and were known as Waitaha.

Bearing in mind, then, that there was an earlier wave of Waitaha people, we go on to consider the coming of the Takitimu.

The canoe Takitimu arrived from Tahiti in 1350, and made a landfall in the Bay of Plenty. She sailed down the coasts of both islands, leaving people at several points. The farthest south party was left somewhere near the Waiau River, in Southland.

The captain of the Takitimu was Tamatea. When we say, “Oh, that happened in the dim and distant past!” meaning a long time ago, the Maori says, “That happened in the time of Tamatea.” So anything very old is indicated—for instance, the great fires that swept the countryside after the coming of the Maori are referred to as “the fire of Tamatea.”

Two extracts from their traditions as set down by Mr. Herries Beattie are as follows:—

“The Waitaha, living in peace, increased in numbers and spread over the land. A great resort of theirs was Lake Te Anau… They also had pas at Mataipipi and Otupatu, near the mouth of the Molyneux River.”

The second extract is interesting:—

“A large number of place names in Otago and Southland are named after Waitaha men and women… A tributary of the Matau (Molyneux) is called Waiwhero, and is usually translated page 31 ‘red water’ because of its supposed colour, but it is really named after a Waitaha chief.”

In the Maori dictionary “whero” is given as red or reddish brown. But the chief Waiwhero is a historical person. He died on the banks of the river, and the river, whatever it was called before that, from the time of the chief's death was known as Waiwhero. And it is interesting that through the Kati Mamoe and Kati Tahu invasions the Waitaha place name survives.

The Coming Of The Kati Mamoe.

This was a North Island tribe, some say “half Polynesian and half Melanesian,” who were descended from the old people of the land in Hawke's Bay. They were driven south, and settled near Wellington. They crossed to the South Island, and Judge Mackay in his “Native Affairs—South Island,” says:—

“These people Waitaha did not continue long in undisturbed possession of the hills and plains of Te Wai Pounamu, as another tribe arrived to dispute their rights to the rich fishing and hunting grounds.”

These newcomers were the Kati Mamoe. It is not possible to assign dates, for although there are references to the “Waitaha swarming like ants,” Mackay says they were not left “long in undisturbed possession.” Canon Stack, who had opportunities of working on some family history tables, estimates the arrival of the Kati Mamoe as about 1577.

The Kai Tahu People.

When the early whalers and missionaries arrived in New Zealand, the dominant tribe in the South Island was the Kai Tahu. This tribe was a sub–tribe from Gisborne way, who crossed over from the North Island somewhere about 1650–75.

Another party went down and lived on the West Coast about Arahura and Greymouth. Later, a further party settled at O–Takou (Otago Heads), and further strife ensued between the Kati Mamoe and the newcomers.

Just as the Waitaha and Kati Mamoe fought and then intermarried, so did the Kati Mamoe and the Kai Tahu. When the Otago block was bought for settlement, chiefs descended from both Kai Tahu and Kati Mamoe signed, as we see in the case of Tuhawaiki.

When the early whalers started to work the southern coasts, the dominant tribe was the Kai Tahu. It used to be assumed that the Kati Mamoe were practically wiped out and that their sole remnants were the isolated fugitives in the West Coast sounds, but a surprisingly large proportion of southern Natives show Kati Mamoe ancestry and to–day are proud of it.

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A note here about the hill near Clinton known as Popotunoa will serve to illustrate this phase and will also put on record its proper spelling. It is recorded that “after the Kai Tahu had pressed the Kati Mamoe back from Canterbury into Southland, and peace made, a post was erected at Poupou–tu–noa to mark the tribal boundary. The Kai Tahu were supposed to have no territorial rights beyond that.”

Early Fighting At Matau.

In an attempt to disentangle the confusing traditions of Kati Mamoe–Kai Tahu fighting in Otago and Southland, Mr. Beattie worked out some approximate dates. From that list I have extracted the Matau fighting:—

1650.—Kai Tahu first invasion of South Island.

1680.—Campaign against Clutha Natives.

1750.—Fight at Iwikatea (Balclutha). Kati Mamoe won.

1765.—Fight near Kaitangata Lake. Kai Tahu won.

1775.—Massacre at Kauwae Whakatoro or Hillend. Kai Tahu won.

1800.—Fighting at Port Molyneux. Kai Tahu won. “The fighting started at Murikauhaka, the old village at the mouth of the Molyneux, and then the scene shifted to the Whawhapo (the creek at the northern end of the Karoro Reserve).”

After this time, the introduction of firearms and boats altered the complexion of warfare. The new order of things made Otakou and Ruapuke the fighting headquarters.

We see in the family history of Tuhawaiki an illustration of the attempt to patch up a peace between Kati Mamoe and Kai Tahu.

The Hapu At Matau.

Within each tribe were sub–tribes or hapus. The hapu most frequently mentioned in latter days as residing at Matau was called Huirapa, which has been described as “a mixture of Kai Tahu and Kati Mamoe with some Waitaha blood.” This hapu called Huirapa also had representatives living at most places in Southland and Otago, even as far north as Waikouaiti.