Ōhinemutu Village

This post is about the Ngāti Whakaue village of Ōhinemutu, which is located in Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

Ōhinemutu was named by the Arawa adventurer, Ihenga. Sadly, he discovered his daughter had been killed on the north-western shores of Rotorua. In her memory, he erected a large rock in the vicinity of St Faith’s Church, and named it Ōhinemutu, which means ‘The girl whose life was cut short’. Although the rock was destroyed during roadmaking of the 1880s, the name remains.

Ohinemutu (c. 1882), watercolour painting by Gertrude Flora Cooke Yarborough. Original Held by Alexander Turnbull Library (reference number E-881-f-048-2). 

In December 1864 a small expedition from Auckland led by a Lieutenant Meade, arrived at Ōhinemutu and left this description: 

The whole village is built on a thin crust of rock and soil, roofing over one cast boiler. Hot springs hiss and seethe in every direction; some spouting upwards and boiling with the greatest fury, others merely at an agreeable warmth. From every crack and crevice spurt forth jets of steam or hot air, and the open bay of the lake itself is studded far and near with boiling springs and bubbling steam-jets. So thin is the crust on which these men have built their little town and lived for generations, what in most places after merely thrusting a walking-stick into the ground beneath our feet, steam instantly followed its withdrawal.

- The Rotorua Legend, Vol 1 Number 1, pp.41-43.

Ōhinemutu became a popular tourist spot and by the 1870s shops, four hotels, a blacksmith, a police station, and court house. European residents and traders occupied land at the discretion of Ngāti Whakaue. At that time, very little land had been alienated and the village was the most populated in the Rotorua district.

The map below, which dates from the early 1880s, illustrates how the Utuhina ‘Creek’ bounds Ōhinemutu to the north. The blocks had been surveyed in preparation for the founding of a future township. Some of the block names are gardens such as Whakatōringaringa (planted by hand) and Harakekeroa (long flax). The now defunct pool Kahukura, from whence the Rugby club took its name is clearly visible. As are a number of the chiefs of the time who were claiming blocks in the Native Land Court. 

Cadastral plan ML 5181: Plan of Native Claims at Ōhinemutu (1885). Original held by Land Information New Zealand.

 

Ōhinemutu sat at the feet of Pukeroa Hill, which was a fortified pā but there formerly stood a fortified pā adjacent to the lake, called Muruika. Don Stafford related the story of Te Aratukutuku, a woman of mystical powers affiliated to Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Tūhourangi. She visited Ōhinemutu and unwittingly entered a restricted pool to bathe, she was roundly abused. In retribution, she demonstrated her supernatural powers by causing Muruika to slump into the lake.

The following map shows both block names and claimants to those blocks, all Ngāti Whakaue chiefs, and an area set aside for a church.

Cadastral plan ML 5330: Plan of Native Claims at Ōhinemutu (c. 1885).

Original held by Land Information New Zealand. 

Muruika has subsequently become a soldiers urupā (cemetery). Due to the instability of Muruika, the graves are raised tombs. The great majority of the soldiers interned here fought in World War II, as part of the 28th Māori battalion. However, at least one of the soldiers fought locally in what was called the Gilbert Mair’s Te Arawa Flying Squad of the 1870s, that was formed to capture Te Kooti Arikirangi, the prophet-guerilla fighter.

Palisade posts on the west side of Muruika Pa, Ōhinemutu (c. 1890), black and white photograph by Edward William Payton. Original held by Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa (OP-1581)

In 1882, Rev. Ihāia Te Ahu of Ngāpuhi, arrived in Ōhinemutu from Maketū after having a long association with Rev. Thomas Chapman. He spent three years re-building the parish and a church.

In April 1914, the new St Faith’s Church was opened. It was the fruition of nearly a decade’s worth of fundraising by Rev. Frederick Bennett, his parishioners and cultural performers. It was sited perpendicular to the old Church, Te Hāhi o Te Whakapono – The Church of the Faith, that had been built in 1885. The old church continued to serve as the venue for Sunday School until blown over by a storm in 1936.

The exterior of St Faith’s is Tudor-style, like many major buildings of Rotorua but Bennett designed the interior along the lines of a whare whakairo, with room for carvings, tūrapa (tukutuku) panels, tāniko and kōwhaiwhai.  

Church of St. Faith's, Rotorua, New Zealand (2012), digital photograph by Reinhard Dietrich. 

Te Papa-i-ōuru complex is one of three marae in Ōhinemutu – the others being Paratehoata and Te Kuirau. It is considered the premier marae of Te Arawa. The meeting-house, Tamatekapua, is named to honour the captain of the Arawa Canoe and is the third to have carried the name. The present meeting-house was a centennial Project for 1940 (100 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840). The build was slightly delayed and Tamateakpua opened in March 1943, along with Tawakeheimoa at Awahou.

The street names of Ōhinemutu represent important ancestors. For example, the northern entry to Ōhinemutu is via Ariariterangi Street, a grandson of Tūtānekai, and major progenitor of Ngāti Whakaue. At the end of this main thoroughfare, Ariariterangi connects to a street named after his son, Tūnohopū. This street runs past Paratehoata marae, whose meeting-house is also named in honour of Tūnohopū. Finally, Tūnohopu Streets runs into a street named after one of his brothers, Hurunga Street , which ends at the entrance to Te Papaiōuru Marae.