Early History

Ngāti Ruanui whakapapa links them to maunga Taranaki. The iwi name comes from the tupuna Ruanui o Pookiwa and Ruanui o Taaneroroa, the latter being the grandson of Tui Ariki (leading and navigator of Aotea waka).

The Aotea waka was built by Toto from half a great tree from Hawaiiki, the other half was used for the canoe Mataahourua. Toto gave the waka to his daughter Rongorongo who was married to Tui Ariki.

The Aotea waka arrived at Aotea Harbour (south of Raglan) on the west coast of the North Island and its people eventually settled in the South Taranaki region (between the Whenuakura River in the south to the Stratford side of Maunga Taranaki in the north).

Ngāti Ruanui Settlement

Negotiations between Ngāti Ruanui and the Crown began in April 1999 and a Heads of Agreement recording agreement on the main components of a settlement was signed on 7 September 1999. A full Deed of Settlement, the formal Crown offer to settle Ngāti Ruanui’s historical claims under the Treaty of Waitangi, was initialed by the Ngāti Ruanui negotiators and Crown representatives on 1 March 2001. The Deed was subsequently ratified by the members of Ngāti Ruanui through a postal ballot. The Deed is implemented following the passage of the required legislation through Parliament.

The Crown apologises to Ngāti Ruanui for past dealings that breached the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi including the Taranaki wars and the confiscation of large areas of land that left Ngāti Ruanui largely without land in spite of their desire to retain land. And, as a result of the perpetual leases imposed by the Crown, much of the land subsequently returned to Ngāti Ruanui was no longer under their control.