The Wairarapa is a large and bountiful region with a long and complex history. Māori oral tradition tells us the area is a part of the huge fish ‘Te Ika a Maui’, hooked and caught by Maui. The fish is the North Island of New Zealand. Te Karu o Te Ika a Maui, the eye of the fish, is Lake Wairarapa (Wairarapa moana) and its mouth, Te Waha o Te Ika a Maui, is Palliser Bay.

The epic journey of the great Polynesian explorer Kupe left ancient names on the Wairarapa landscape, Ngā  waka a Kupe, the canoes of Kupe, are located near Martinborough and Ngā  Ra o Kupe, Kupe’s sail, is located on the south coast at Mātakitaki a Kupe (Cape Palliser).

Traces of the earliest settlements in 1200 have been unearthed on the south coast of the Wairarapa, but it was around 1600 when Rangitāne and then Ngāti Kahungunu iwi arrived and settled in the Wairarapa. There were many Māori villages along the banks of the rivers surrounding Martinborough (Ruamāhunga and the Huangarua) and below are some explanations and translations of the places we know today.

Hau Ariki Marae – meaning “Wind God” was founded in the early 1980s and is unique because it is a community marae, not affiliated directly to a particular iwi.

Wairarapa – meaning “Glistening waters” reminiscent of the sun reflected off Lake Wairarapa (or Wairarapa moana).

Martinborough's Te Reo name is Wharekākā or Huangarua.

Wharekākā – When the township of Martinborough was laid out in 1879 by John Martin it was on an area known as the Wharekākā plain. The original European town, now the southern end of Martinborough was also called Wharekākā at one stage. The first sheep station, south of the town, in 1844 was called Wharekākā. Possible meaning: nesting place of Kākā, the native parrot.

Huangarua Road – named after the Huangarua River and Māori settlement based near the banks of the river. There is no known oral history of the meaning, but some think it may have been named after a Rangitane ancestor, Huanga.

Pūruatanga Road – came from Pūruatanga Farm Station which was divided from Huangarua Station for John Martin’s sons. It translates to “confluence, junction of two streams” perhaps referring to the confluence of the Ruamāhunga and Huangarua rivers.

Today Huangarua Road, Pūruatanga Road, and Martin’s Road are often referred to as "the golden mile".

Waihinga/Waihenga – The Māori village south of modern day Martinborough was called Waihinga and the European town built in 1870 was briefly known as Wharekākā, Bairdsville, and Bairdstown before eventually becoming called Waihenga.

Today, despite an NZ Gazette ruling (29 July 1948 Notice No.42 ) the spelling  Waihenga is still used and we have the Waihenga Bridge, Waihenga cemetery on Dublin Street and Waihenga Lane just south of the town. The refurbished Town Hall and library complex is correctly spelt as the Waihinga Centre.

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Many of Martinborough’s vineyards have Te Reo names:

Ngā Waka – named after “Ngā waka a Kupe” or “The canoes of Kupe”. These are the three hills that lie side by side like upturned canoes behind Te Muna Road and form the backdrop for Martinborough in the photo above. They are also the basis of the three curves in our Martinborough Wine Tours logo.

Te Muna, by the way, means secret place.

Ata Rangi – means “Dawn Sky” or “New Beginning”

Te Kairanga – means “Where the soil is rich and the food is plentiful”

Martinborough Vineyard’s other well known label, Te Tērā, means “the other”. Its wine is made from grapes at Martinborough Vineyard’s plantings south of the village.

Te Hēra – translates to “The Sail”

Tiwaiwaka is one of the Te Reo names for the native fantail bird

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