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Kōrero: Ngāti Toarangatira

Roadside Stories: Mōkau, whitebait capital

The Mōkau River is famed as a source of whitebait – the juvenile forms of native freshwater fish, often made into delicious fritters. In the 1830s it was the site of a trick by the migrating Ngāti Toa tribe, who lit many fires and dressed their women as chiefs to make their party appear larger and scare off pursuers.

Listen to a Roadside Story about Mōkau. Roadside Stories is a series of audio guides to places around New Zealand.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

YouTube: Manatu Taonga's channel

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Mīria Pōmare, Ngāti Toarangatira – Migration from the north, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/interactive/35261/roadside-stories-mokau-whitebait-capital (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Mīria Pōmare, i tāngia i te 9 January 2012, updated 1 March 2017.