Wai ManawaLe Roys Bush Reserve
Between 133 and 137 Hinemoa Street, Birkenhead

Wai Manawa

Ko te kōrero kei muri i te ingoa

Ko Wai Manawa te ingoa taketake o te takiwā e karapoti nei i a Le Roys Bush me Little Shoal Bay Reserve. I ngā rautau e hia nei, i mua i te taenga mai o te Pākehā, he kāinga tēnei takiwā nō te maha o ngā hapori Māori. Ko te rangatiratanga o konei ka mau i ngā iwi o te rohe i roto i te hia tau kāpīpiti.

He mana nui tō tēnei wāhi ki a Te Taoū me Ngāoho, he hapū nō Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. E pātata ana te wāhi nei ki tētahi pā nui whakaharahara, ki tētahi kāinga hoki e kīia nei ko Te Ōnewa.

I te takiwā o te tau 1740, ka arataki ētahi toa o Te Taoū rātou ko Wahaakiaki, ko Waitāheke i tētahi taua raupatu ki roto o Tāmaki Makaurau. Nō muri i te pakanga nui o runga o Paruroa, ka nohongia te whenua o Te Ōnewa e Wahaakiaki me tana iwi. Ka noho a Waitāheke ki tāwāhi o te whanga, ki Te Oka.

I te whakatipuranga o muri mai, ka mahi māra a Apihai Te Kawau ki runga ake o konei. He mea ngaki ngā māra i te kaupeka o te kuaka, ka mutu, ka whakamahia i a rātou e noho puni ana i aua wā rā.

He repo ātaahua a Wai Manawa. Nāna i hono ai te whenua ki te whanga o Waitematā. Ko Waitematā Kupenga Rau tōna ingoa tūturu. E ai ki te kōrero, he wā tōna i taea ai e te tangata te hoe tōna waka i te whanga ki te roma o Wai Manawa, tae noa atu ki te waihīrere i te ngahere.

I ngā tekau tau i muri mai, ka keria ētahi wāhanga nui o te repo, ā, ka whakakapia ki te kongakonga kōhatu. Ka kapi hoki te wai me ngā kūkūwai i ngā papa hākinakina me tētahi tapātai i āta whakarewaina mai i te moana. Ahakoa tērā, ka ora tonu te ngākau o Wai Manawa, ka mutu, ka noho tonu te takiwā nei hei wāhi whaimana ki te iwi. Ko ngā mahuetanga mai o te wao me te repo wai māori e noho tonu ana hei punanga iti mō ngāi tipu māori, mō ngāi kīrehe māori hoki, i waenga i te toritori me te turituri o tēnei ao hurihuri.

He mea tuku mai te kōrero e Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

Wai Manawa

The story behind the name

Wai Manawa is the traditional name for the area encompassing Le Roys Bush Reserve and Little Shoal Bay Reserve. For centuries, before European arrival, this area was home to many Maori communities. Various local iwi successively held authority here.

It is a place of significance to Te Taou and Ngaoho, the hapu (sub tribes) of Ngati Whātua Orakei. It sits near a great pa site and village named Te Onewa on Northcote Point.

Around 1740, Te Taou warriors, Wahaakiaki and Waitaheke lead a conquest into Tamaki Makaurau (Auckland). After their first great battle at Paruroa (Big Muddy Creek), Wahaakiaki and his people occupied Te Onewa. Waitaheke established himself on the other side of the harbour at Te Oka (Point Erin).

A generation later, Apihai Te Kawau established gardens above here. They harvested the gardens during the kuaka (godwit) season and used them for camping over that time.

Wai Manawa was a beautiful wetland. It connected the whenua (land) to the Waitemata Harbour. The harbour was traditionally called Waitemata Kupenga Rau (the place of many nets). It is said that you could once paddle a canoe from the harbour into the Wai Manawa stream, and all the way up to the waterfall in the bush.

Over later decades, large portions of the wetland were drained and filled with rubble. The open water and salt marsh gave way to sports fields and a reclaimed shoreline. Yet the heart of Wai Manawa endures, and this area will continue to be a place of significance to iwi. The remnant forest and freshwater swamp remain as a small sanctuary for native flora and fauna, amongst the hustle and bustle of this modern world.

Narrative provided by Ngati Whātua Orakei.