Ngāti Awa

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Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) from the eastern Bay of Plenty region in New Zealand. It has 22 hapū (sub-tribes) and about 15,258 people who identified as Ngāti Awa in 2006. Most Ngāti Awa live in towns on the Rangitaiki Plain, such as Whakatāne, Kawerau, Edgecumbe, Te Teko and Matatā, with two urban hapū in Auckland and Wellington (Ngāti Awa-ki-Tamaki and Ngāti Awa-ki-Poneke).

Origins: Ngāti Awa traces back to the Mātaatua canoe. Awanuiarangi II, a chief descended from Toroa, is the ancestor after whom the iwi is named. Descendants settled in the eastern Bay of Plenty after moving south from northern areas due to conflicts.

History: Ngāti Awa were involved in many conflicts during the Musket Wars in the early 1800s, sometimes defending friends and making alliances with other iwi. They fought and negotiated with groups such as Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pukeko, Tūhoe, Ngāti Whātua, and Whakatōhea at various times.

Land and settlements: In the 1860s, during the New Zealand Wars, the Crown confiscated more than 1,000 square kilometres of Ngāti Awa land. In 1999 the Waitangi Tribunal ruled these confiscations illegal, and in 2003 a settlement with the government was reached.

Ngāti Pūkeko: Ngāti Pūkeko was once considered a separate iwi but is now treated as a hapū of Ngāti Awa.

Governing body and assets: In 2005 Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa became the iwi’s main governing body. It manages the tribe’s assets, supports cultural, educational and economic development, and represents Ngāti Awa in aquaculture, land issues, and resource consent. The rūnanga has one representative from each of the 22 hapū and is based in Whakatāne.

Territory: Ngāti Awa’s area lies within the Kawerau District and Whakatāne District, and is part of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council area.

Sun FM: Ngāti Awa runs the radio station Sun FM, on 106.5 FM in Whakatāne. It began as Te Reo Irirangi o Te Manuka Tutāhi in 1990, was known as Tumeke FM from 1991, and became Sun FM in 1994, increasing Māori language content by the late 1990s.