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Story: Ngāi Tūhoe

Signs at Rūātoki

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Signs at Rūātoki

These signs, photographed in 2004 near Rūātoki, a Tūhoe community in the Urewera, echo similar signs erected in the 1870s. After the wars of the 19th century, Tūhoe closed off their borders and erected a carved post at Rūātoki to ‘keep off the white man and his works’.

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How to cite this page

Rangi McGarvey, Ngāi Tūhoe – Self-imposed isolation, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/2725/signs-at-ruatoki (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Rangi McGarvey, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 March 2017.