The marae of Christchurch
A directory, not a history: name, wharenui, affiliation and address as each rūnanga and the public directories state them. A listing is a lead, not a claim, each marae’s own kōrero lives with its people and is linked, not retold, here. Coordinates pin the marae site as the map layers and directories place it.
What the record says
- 6 papatipu marae hold the ancestral ground, rūnanga of Ngāi Tahu hapū, 5 of them on Māori Reserves named in the district plan.
- Tuahiwi Marae is the mana whenua of Christchurch, Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga.
- Ngā Hau e Whā National Marae is the only national marae on the roll, open to Māori of every iwi.
- From Tuahiwi to Taumutu, Rāpaki, Ōnuku, Wairewa, Koukourārata, Tuahiwi, Ngāti Moki.
- 3 institutional whare round it out, Te Hepara Pai Marae, Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi, Te Puna Wānaka.
- Every wharenui on the roll carries a name.
Where they stand
The papatipu marae, mana whenua 6
wharenui Wheke · Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke — papatipu rūnanga of Ngāi Tahu
37 Rāpaki Drive, Rāpaki · papatipu marae
Ōnuku Maraewharenui Karaweko · Ōnuku Rūnanga — Ngāi Tārewa and Ngāti Irakehu of Ngāi Tahu
Ōnuku Road, The Kaik, Ōnuku · papatipu marae
Wairewa Maraewharenui Te Makō · Te Rūnanga o Wairewa — Ngāti Irakehu and Ngāti Makō of Ngāi Tahu
4345 Christchurch–Akaroa Road, Little River · papatipu marae
Koukourārata Maraewharenui Tūtehuarewa · Te Rūnanga o Koukourārata — Ngāi Tūhaitara, Ngāti Huikai and Ngāi Tūtehuarewa of Ngāi Tahu
9 Puāri Road, Port Levy · papatipu marae
Tuahiwi Maraewharenui Maahunui II · Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga — the mana whenua of Christchurch
219 Tuahiwi Road, Tuahiwi · papatipu marae
Ngāti Moki Marae Te Pā o Moki, Taumutuwharenui Ngāti Moki · Te Taumutu Rūnanga — Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki of Ngāi Tahu
Pohau Road, Taumutu · papatipu marae
The city’s marae 2
wharenui Aoraki · Te Rūnanga o Ngā Maata Waka — a national marae, open to Māori of every iwi
250 Pages Road, Aranui · the city’s marae
Rehua Maraewharenui Te Whatu Manawa Māoritanga o Rehua · the city's urban Māori community — under the korowai of mana whenua Ngāi Tūāhuriri
79 Springfield Road, St Albans · the city’s marae
The institutional whare 3
wharenui Te Whakaruruhau · Te Hui Amorangi o Te Waipounamu — the Māori Anglican bishopric of the South Island
290 Ferry Road, Phillipstown · institutional whare
Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi Te Iho o te Orawharenui Te Iho o te Ora · Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi — a kaupapa Māori youth and whānau organisation
77 Windermere Road, Papanui · institutional whare
Te Puna Wānaka Te Mātauranga Māoriwharenui Te Mātauranga Māori · Ara Institute of Canterbury — the tertiary whare on the city campus
Coventry Street, Christchurch Central City · institutional whare
The kāinga and pā the record names 6
Older than every marae on the roll, the settlements and fortresses the district plan schedules as sites of Ngāi Tahu significance. They are places, not functioning marae; the schedule names are the district plan’s own.
the Waitaha settlement on the Ōtākaro bank — the oldest village the city centre covers, and later the market where Ngāi Tūāhuriri sold produce
Victoria Square and north along the river · Ngā Tūranga Tūpuna 55 — Market Square; Wāhi Tapu/Wāhi Taonga 20 — Puāri Pā Urupā
the seasonal camp of the chief the city is named for — Tautahi, son of Huikai of Koukourārata — on the Avon Loop
the Avon Loop, near Oxford Terrace and Barbadoes Street · Ngā Tūranga Tūpuna 47 — Tautahi Pā
the Māori reserve gazetted in 1858 at Little Hagley Park — the resting place on the old trail; in the 1970s its claim was settled in exchange for the Pages Road land that became Ngā Hau e Whā
Little Hagley Park, Harper Avenue · Ngā Tūranga Tūpuna 56 — Waipapa (Little Hagley Park)
the great fortified capital of Ngāi Tahu — Tūrākautahi's pā, sacked by Te Rauparaha in 1832 after a siege of months; its fall is why the rūnanga moved to Tuahiwi
north of the Waimakariri, near Waikuku · Heritage New Zealand list 5733 — Kaiapohia
the Ngāi Tahu fortress on the Akaroa Harbour peninsula where the defenders made their last stand against Te Rauparaha in 1832 — a wāhi tapu headland
the Ōnawe peninsula, Akaroa Harbour · Wāhi Tapu/Wāhi Taonga 11b — Ōnawe Peninsula
the Ngāti Māmoe pā at Birdlings Flat where Makō — the ancestor Wairewa's whare is named for — first settled
Birdlings Flat, Te Roto o Wairewa · Wāhi Tapu/Wāhi Taonga 45 — Waikākahi Pā
Sources: the marae and rūnanga sites each entry links · Māori Maps · Te Puni Kōkiri’s Te Kāhui Māngai directory · Ngāi Tahu’s papatipu rūnanga list · Environment Canterbury’s Ngāi Tahu map layers · Christchurch City Libraries' Ti Kōuka Whenua. Something wrong here is a bug to fix, file a correction.
Questions, answered briefly
11 on this roll, 6 papatipu marae, 5 urban and institutional whare, plus 6 kāinga and pā sites the district plan schedules.
Rāpaki Marae (Rāpaki), Ōnuku Marae (Ōnuku), Wairewa Marae (Little River), Koukourārata Marae (Port Levy), Tuahiwi Marae (Tuahiwi), Ngāti Moki Marae (Taumutu), the kāinga of the papatipu rūnanga, as the rūnanga’s own lists name them.
The marae and rūnanga sites each entry links, Māori Maps, Te Puni Kōkiri’s Te Kāhui Māngai directory, Ngāi Tahu’s papatipu rūnanga list, and the district plan’s schedules for the kāinga and pā sites. Something wrong is a bug, the page takes corrections.