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Story: Take whenua – Māori land tenure

Patu parāoa – whalebone club

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Patu parāoa – whalebone club

This patu (club), made from whalebone, is known as a patu parāoa. The blade of a patu was known as the rau. This gave rise to the term for conquest, raupatu – land was conquered using the blade of the club.

Using this item

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Reference: MA_I035779

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Paul Meredith, Take whenua – Māori land tenure – Discovery, ancestral right and conquest, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/object/18386/patu-paraoa-whalebone-club (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Paul Meredith, published 1 March 2009.