Tamatea Ure Haea originated from the Takitimu waka, which is considered by some as being one of the most tapu of the waka that voyaged to Aotearoa.

The Canoe Takitimu left Hawaiki for New Zealand about A.D. 1350. It carried sacred relics and those tohunga where those schooled in the old-time lore of Hawaiki. It arrived at the western end of Ninety-mile Beach at a place called Awanui, and then travelled on round the island to the safe landlocked harbours of the East Coast. As Tamatea decided to stay at Tauranga, Tahu took charge of the canoe as it travelled on in search of greenstone.

Tamatea-Ariki-nui was the commander of the waka Takitimu and some tribal traditions consider Tamatea-Arikinui and Tamatea-Ure-Haea, to be the same person. However, the most common version is that Tamatea-Ure-Haea was the grandson of Tamatea-Arikinui, also known as Tamatea-Mai-Tawhiti. When Tamatea-Arikinui had decided to settle he took to wife, a descendant of the Toi people, and acquired the name Tamatea-Mai-Tawhiti (Tamatea-from-afar). He was respected for his past accomplishments and died shortly after the birth of his son, Rongokako.

Rongokako himself was to become a notable ancestor as a tohunga who could take giant strides. He was not academic like his father and was an average student at the school of the learning (whare-wānanga).

The fact that he was an older student may have accounted for the fact he proved as a poor scholar. He was many time times out of the house for drowsiness, and but for the personal interest of Tupai, whom we remember as one of the high priests of the Takitimu Canoe, Rongokako would have been expelled. Was it not Tupai who had travelled with the late commander from Hawaiki?

The story of Rongokako was told throughout the east coast. Below was an extract taken from Elsdon Best’s book “Tuhoe, Children of the Mist”,

This story reminds us of the legend of Paoa and Rongo-kako, the champion strider of the East Coast. These two ancestors were travelling up the East Coast of the North Island. Paoa rowed steadily forward, not being gifted apparently with any extraordinary powers of locomotion. Rongokako would wait until Paoa got far ahead of him and take a huge stride and so overtake him. This procedure seems to have annoyed Paoa, who fixed up a tāwhiti, or spring trap, in order to trap the agile Rongokako. But Rongokako the strider was not to be so caught. He took a long step, passing over the trap and springing it with his toe, so that taratara, or the setting stick of the trap, flew violently off into space, eventually coming to the earth in the Waikato district, where it said to still exist in the form of a tree.

And so, Tamatea – Ure – Haea was born to be an explorer. He had in his veins the blood of a Pacific Ocean viking, his grandfather, Tamatea-mai-Tawhiti; and the blood of one who could stride over geographical obstacles, his father, Rongokako.

Tamatea – Ure – Haea was born of the highest rank and was considered an Ariki. The attributes and achievements of his forefathers were widely known. Thus, the skills and accomplishments of Tamatea-Ure-Haea, both personal and inherited, gave him mana and tapu.

As a child, Tamatea would have been fussed over by the iwi (people), and from the conception special karakia, oriori and waiata would had been written and recited in his honour. Like his father Rongokako, Tamatea would have attended the whare wānanga (school of learning) set aside for special and potential leaders. This is where he would have acquired the knowledge and skills of navigation, karakia tūturu (sacred prayer) and other attributes, in order to lead his people as a great leader.

He (Tamatea-Ure-Haea) chose as his crew forty able-bodied men as bold as himself, and set out to cruise around the island. He called at many places and made the acquaintance of the people living in many parts of the island. He circumnavigated and travelled throughout the land, and from the splendid accomplishment he got his third and fourth names… Tamatea-Pokai-Whenua and Tamatea-Pokai-Moana.

The other, longer version is:

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (the hill where Tamatea the great explorer, mountain climber, and circumnavigator of the land played his flute in lament to his loved one).

This place has gained a measure of fame as one of the longest place names in the world, and has featured in many jingles, advertisements, and songs. The name is often shortened to “Taumata” by locals for ease of conversation.

For many decades the romantic notion was held that Tamatea played his flute to a lover, and this was promoted in pictures and sign posts. However, today this account is less accepted with local hapū actively being involved with the new interpretation board and signage.

The tranquil view from Taumata stretches along the coast in the East from Te Paerahi (Pōrangahau) to Parimahu (Blackhead point), across to the Ruahine and Puketoi ranges in the West. This view was once only assessable to individuals willing to hike over the hills to reach the site and other sites of significance to local hapū. However, due to the increased interest in this place of significance, the landowners opened a dirt road to public in the 1990’s which has made the Taumata site more accessible for four wheel drives. The drive to the top of the hill takes 25-35 minutes from the Wimbledon main road.

Traditional Māori society used in community and very rarely for entertainment, highlighting a conflict with the western concept of music. A variety of musical instruments were used by Māori in birthing, for healing, helping things grow, and in death to help usher people from the living world to the next, says University of Waikato performer and lecturer in Taonga Pūoro, Rangiiria Hedley.

Today, the resurgence and knowledge base with regards to taonga puoro is owed to a lifetime of understanding, playing, making and recording of Māori instruments by the likes of the late Dr Hirini Melbourne, Richard Nunns and Brian Flintoff.

There are a large variety of flutes that were commonly used by tangata whenua in traditional times. The Nguru, Putorino, Pumotomoto, Rehu and perhaps others.

The Koauau is the most common flutes. It is essentially an open cylinder made from bone, wood, or less commonly, stone. The Koauau Ponga Ihu (nose flute) is another type of koauau that has been argues as the type played by Tamatea, as stated by James Foster in the early 1930s.

Richard Nunns, a performer, and presenter of Taonga Pūoro, describes the use of the Koauau and other instruments,

The voice of both the Koauau and Koauau Ponga Ihu is exquisite…(the sound) arouses extraordinary animation from the elders that hear these instruments (and) is quite powerful…what we hear from elders is whakatangi, te hotuhotu manawa e tangi kōrero ana – aesthetic qualities of sobbing, crying and weeping…emotional things you will only hear with this instrument.

Richard Nunns also discusses the essence of playing an instrument like the koauau,

I am much more a performer of ngā taonga pūoro than a song writer, but the kinds of emotion and meaning I try to breathe into my playing are such things as tangi or sounds of crying; hotu or suppressed and sad sighing. In short, I try to sound like an old singer of mōteatea.

Hence, the taumata site is associated with the process of mourning or tangi. The term tangi or tangihanga describes a Māori approach to the process of grieving for someone who has died. It is a tikanga (protocol) that enables people to express their sense of mamae (pain), pouri (sadness), or wehe (loss), not only for their loved one, but for those who have passed before them. In essence, Taumata was a place of lament for Tamatea Ure Haea, the great traveller.

This tikanga (tradition) has been maintained by local hapū members who continue to use the Koauau during tangi (bereavements) at Te Kaiwhitikitiki, the local urupā (cemetery) at Porangahau.

Tamatea had several wives, one of these being Muriwhenua. From this important union came their son, Kahungunu, the eponymous ancestor of Ngāti Kahungunu.