Maori legends

Brief History of Wairaka

Whakatane (to act as a man) - This story springs from the 12th Century Great Migration. The women of the Mataatua Waka, left to themselves when the men went ashore for the first time, found a waka (canoe) drifting out to sea again.

The paddles were tapu to women, but a high-spirited teenager, Wairaka, who was the daughter of Chief Toroa, boldly seized one of the paddles and paddled the waka back to shore. As she did this, she shouted, "Kia Whakatane au i ahau", and her actions saved the women but also coined the name of the town.

A bronze statue of Wairaka stands on a rock at the Whakatane Heads to commemorate this act.