Uenuku is a name that resonates throughout Whanganui tradition and first appears when the infamous chief Uenuku of Hawaiiki was reputed to have driven the tupuna of the Tainui and Te Arawa confederations from their homeland of Hawaiiki.

It is reputed that Ngati Uenuku’s heartland was deep within their famous valley- the Manganui o te ao. English journalist James Kerry-Nicholls visited the valley in 1883 and reported local Maori assertions that no-one would have “attempted to penetrate into its fastness with any prospect of returning alive.”

Kerry Nicholls wrote: “We learned that since time immemorial this wild and secluded valley had been a place of settlements for different hapu of the iwi inhabiting the region of the Whanganui River; and that those presently dwelling there were the Ngati Hau, Ngati Apa, Ngati Maringi, Ngati Tamakana, Ngati Atamira, Ngati Ruakopiri, Ngati Hekeawai and Ngati Tara. Their common ancestor was Uenuku, and their forefathers came from Hawaiiki in the Tainui, Arawa and Aotea canoes.”

The first tupuna in Upper Whanganui named Uenuku was Uenuku Poroaki who resided on the Whanganui River below Pipiriki. His descendants were awarded land in the Whakaihuwaka block.

Later Rangatira include Uenuku son of Tukaihoro- the tupuna of Topia Turoa; and Uenuku Tuwharetoa-an important chief in the late 19th Century.

In the 20th Century hapu from Manganui o te ao shifted residences to Raetihi. Over time they became Uenuku. The hapu count in the 1949 Western Maori electoral roll show Uenuku as the largest hapu of Whanganui iwi.

A modern hapu is Ngati Uenuku Tuwharetoa for his descendants and those of his son Taurerewa Tuwharetoa. The contact person for this hapu is Rangi Bristol- phone 0274 424 593.