Story: Te Arawa

Mts Tongariro, Ngāuruhoe and Ruapehu

Mts Tongariro, Ngāuruhoe and Ruapehu

Mt Tongariro (the flat-topped mountain in the left foreground of this photograph) marks the southern boundary of the Te Arawa peoples. In Te Arawa tradition the explorer Ngātororoirangi climbed Tongariro as a storm was raging. When he finally reached the summit, Ngātororoirangi cried out for his sisters Kuiwai and Haungaroa in Hawaiki to send him some fire. With this fire he created a volcano and named it after his sacrificed slave, Ngāuruhoe. In this view Mt Ngāuruhoe can be seen in the middle ground, and Mt Ruapehu on the right.

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GNS Science
Reference: 5322/11
Photograph by Lloyd Homer

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How to cite this page:

Paora Tapsell, 'Te Arawa - Settlement and migration', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/1517/mts-tongariro-ngauruhoe-and-ruapehu (accessed 16 April 2024)

Story by Paora Tapsell, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Mar 2017