Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa
The Iwi of Whaingaroa are the Whānau, Marae, Hapū that reside within Te Rohe o Whaingaroa bound together by strong Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahu whakapapa.⠀
The land boundary commences at the river mouth of the Oruaiti River in the north, moving in a southerly direction encompassing the Puketi Forest, and then moving in a northeasterly direction in the Takou River area.⠀
The coastal boundary commences at the mouth of the Oruaiti River, follows the eastern side of the Mangonui Harbour, then directly out to sea moving in a southeasterly direction along the coast to Rupurapura (Needles) off Pureura and includes the Whaingaroa Harbour, its rivers estuaries and island within this role.⠀
The rohe is further described as those areas that the hapu of the marae within the above boundaries exercise manawhenua and manamoana.⠀
Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa was established in 1991, to access resources and deliver services for the whanau of Whaingaroa.
Iwi Chair
Mariameno Kapa-Kingi
Mariameno Kapa-Kingi from Te Aupōuri and Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa has worked in iwi and Māori social and health services for over 30 years. Kapa-Kingi is currently the project specalist for Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa, but previously helped transform Māori health provider Te Kohao in Hamilton from a small whare with one doctor to a health provider offering a range of social, health and education services.
She has also worked in suicide prevention in the Far North, has driven the Kāinga Ora programme, and recently helped secure temporary housing for whānau Māori in the north who were homeless.
"All of that work puts me in a space where I can cross between the realities of a Māori reality and working in a very mainstream, systemised reality, and I understand both those worlds completely."