Ngāti Huarere

Ngāti Huarere is a Māori iwi. It descends from Huarere, who arrived via the Arawa in the 14th century.

History

Ngāti Huarere was established by Huarere in the mid to late 14th century, from which time it inhabited the Moehau Range, in the Coromandel Peninsula. Before they took over this area, it was inhabited by descendants of Mokoterea, with whom the Ngāti Huarere intermarried.

12 generations later, the Ngāti Huarere began settling Te Tātua a Riukiuta. They subsumed the Ngāti Riukiuta who already resided there.

Before the Marutūāhu confederation expanded into the Coromandel Peninsula, the Ngāti Huarere consisted four main hapu:

• Ngāti Pare, residing at Whangapoua.
• Ngaāi Piri and Ngati Koheri, residing at Manaia harbour.
• Ngāti Raukatauri, residing at the coast around Moehau.

At one point, the Ngati Huarere were also described as having a fifth (minor?) hapu, Ngati Hinu, somewhere along the west coast.

At one point, Ngāti Huarere waged a war with Ngāti Hei. Ngāti Tamaterā (a member of the Marutūāhu confederation) assisted Ngāti Huarere, for which Ngāti Huarere awarded them the territory of Harataunga, which they had previously inhabited.

By the middle of the 16th century, after or prior to the Ngāti Huarere-Ngāti Hei conflict (chronology uncertain), Ruamano was a chief of the Ngāti Huarere. Ruamano would find himself at war with Ngāti Tamaterā following the death of a tribesman named Mahanga at the hands of Ngāti Huarere. This war resulted in the Moehau Range being abandoned by Ngāti Huarere, who emigrated to the north to unite with the Te Kapotai iwi (inhabiting the Hokianga and Bay of Island district). Ngati Rauakatauri (a Ngāti Huarere hapu) continued to occupy parts of the Coromandel Peninsula.