A journey remembered in the whenua
The Māori history of Māngere reaches across the ocean to Hawaiki. Among its treasured ancestral stories is the journey of Hape, carried to Aotearoa by Kaiwhare, a great taniwha in the form of a stingray.
Te Ihu o Mataoho, a business under Te Ahiwaru Trust, remembers Ihumātao as the place where Hape arrived, before the Tainui waka. His journey belongs to a landscape where whakapapa, ancestral traditions and the responsibilities of caring for the whenua remain alive today. [1]
Left behind, but determined to follow
Makaurau Marae shares an account passed from Jack Haki Manutapuwaenui Wilson to his son, the late kaumātua Maurice Wilson.
In this telling, Hape was a tohunga born with inward-turning feet. Excluded from the migration, he watched the waka depart. He appealed to his ancestor Tangaroa through karakia. After three days and nights, a vast shape rose from the sea: a taniwha taking the form of a great stingray.
Hape climbed aboard. Together they crossed the ocean to the Manukau Harbour. [2]
Where did Hape land?
The marae's account names Elletts Point, Māngere, in the Ihumātao area, as his landing place. After Hape came ashore, Kaiwhare returned to the harbour's depths, remembered as its keeper.
Hape climbed a nearby hill to watch for the waka. This resting place is remembered in the name Te Puketāpapatanga ā Hape. When his people arrived, they recognised his footprints in the rock. A tohunga called to him asking forgiveness, and Hape answered with a karanga. [2]
The call of Hape
Karanga-a-Hape means “The Call of Hape”. Accounts locate that call differently. Auckland Transport's published telling places his welcome at the Cornwallis Peninsula, across the Manukau. This article follows the Ihumātao account shared by Makaurau Marae, while acknowledging that other traditions carry their own details. [3]
A story that continues in Māngere
At Nga Iwi School, the names of two learning teams honour this journey. Te Kawenga o Kaiwhare expresses carrying and supporting; Te Aumangea a Hape honours Hape's perseverance and strength. Children encounter these ancestors as sources of encouragement in their own learning. [4]
For visitors, the story invites a more thoughtful way of seeing Māngere: listening to the people whose ancestral relationships give these places meaning, and respecting the whenua and harbour that hold the kōrero.
Explore more of Tāmaki Makaurau's Māori stories with Kia Ora Tours. Enquire about an Auckland Māori cultural tour. Tour prices are available on request.
Source acknowledgement: This retelling draws on publicly shared accounts, particularly Makaurau Marae's local history. It does not claim to represent every iwi or hapū version.
Sources and further reading
Read more: The Māori History of Māngere →
How Māngere got its name: gentle winds and ancestral stories →