May 2018 Project Martha – Historical & Archaeological Background 3 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Maori Settlement Situated at the foothills of the Coromandel Peninsula, the inland area of Waihi formed part of the Ohinemuri district, which comprised two lowland zones divided by the Karangahake Gorge, bounded to the north by the Coromandel Range and to the south by the Kaimai Range. East of the Karangahake, the Waihi plain was a poorly drained circular basin from which the headwaters of the Ohinemuri River emerged and was predominantly covered in scrub and fern.1 Nearby navigable rivers included the Ohinemuri, Piako, and Waihou, whose river flats were covered with large stands of kahikatea. Waterways supported stocks of eel and other marine resources and a number of native bird species, including brown and grey ducks, pukeko, bitterns, and migratory waders, were plentiful among the swamplands of the region’s plains.2 The rich resources of Ohinemuri attracted Maori to the area and occupation can be traced back over centuries; evidenced by the numerous archaeological sites (namely middens, pits, terraces, and pa) and associated place names throughout the district. Several different iwi and hapu groups claim affiliation with the land including Ngati Hako, Nga Marama, Marutuahu Tribes, Ngati Koi, and Ngati Tara, whose tribal territories commonly changed in response to warfare, migration or intermarriage.3 The earliest Maori settlers in the wider Hauraki region (which stretched from Katikati near Tauranga in the south to Mahurangi in the north) are acknowledged to be Ngati Hako.4 By the 18th century the Hauraki region was dominated by the settlement of the Marutuahu confederation which comprised Ngati Rongou, Ngati Tamatera, Ngati Whanaunga, Ngati Maru and Ngati Paoa. The tribes traced their descent from a common ancestor, Marutuahu, whose forebears arrived in Aotearoa aboard the Tainui waka.5 Other tribes also maintained a presence alongside the Marutuahu including Ngati Tara, relatives of Ngati Maru and Ngati Tamatera, who followed their kin into the Hauraki region but maintained their own distinct identity. Ngati Tara formed alliances with Ngati Hako through intermarriage and eventually controlled land between the Waihou River and Owharoa, near Ohinemuri. In the process, they also acquired the alternative name – Ngati Koi.6 Ngati Tara/Koi clashed frequently with Nga Marama groups in and around the areas of Waihi and Katikati until the early 1800s and formed alliances with Ngati Tamatera at that time.7 By the early 19th century many of the tribes had intermarried, forming complex ties to one another, and the Hauraki region was subsequently ‘occupied by an intricate patchwork of groups, 1 L. Barber, No Easy Riches: AHistory of Ohinemuri County, Paeroa and Waihi, 1885-1985, 1985, Auckland, p.19. 2 Ibid., p.20; Waitangi Tribunal, The Hauraki Report (Volume One) Wai 686, Wellington, 2006, p.34. 3 While based on reliable documentary sources, this information should not be viewed as complete or without other context. There are a large number of iwi historically associated with the Auckland region and many other histories known to tangata whenua. Taimoana Turoa, Te Takoto o Te Whenua o Hauraki: Hauraki Landmarks, Auckland, 2000, p.194. 4 Te Ahukaramu Charles Royal, ‘Hauraki Tribes’, in Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Maori Peoples of New Zealand, Nga Iwi O Aotearoa, Auckland, 2006, pp.77-78; Waitangi Tribunal, The Hauraki Report (Volume One) Wai 686, Wellington, 2006, p.35. 5 Ibid., pp.40-41; Te Ahukaramu Charles Royal, ‘Marutuahu Tribes’, in Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Maori Peoples of New Zealand, Nga Iwi O Aotearoa, Auckland, 2006, p.87. 6 Waitangi Tribunal, The Hauraki Report (Volume One) Wai 686, Wellington, 2006, p.42. 7 Ibid.
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