ko mātou tēnei

this is us

ngāti huia ki matau

'Land was offered and accepted by the trustees for the purpose of building a new marae'

It is recorded that Ngāti Huia – Ngāti Kainganui – Ngāti Huri arrived to the horowhenua region during the 3rd migration, Te Heke Mai-i-Raro led by Kainganui and many others in 1837-1838.

Some land in Poroutawhao was set aside by Ngarangiorēhua of Ngāti Te Mania who had previously arrived to the region during earlier migrations some years earlier.

The land our hapū now reside on in Poroutawhao was gifted to Ngarangiorēhua and in turn, this land was gifted to Ngāti Huia on our arrival.

Although the former Matau Marae had been unused for many years, it was during the Wāhine storm of April 1968 that saw the wharekai of the previous marae crumble. Such was the ferocity of the strong winds and rain. Pine trees that were in part, wind protection came crashing down on the old wharekai during the storm. This disaster coupled with ongoing access issues, stirred the emotions of the elders at the time to establish Matau Marae to its former glory.

Land was offered and accepted by the trustees for the purpose of building a new marae. This process of offer and acceptance was long due to the desire of some to regain the lost site and rebuild there, and also the desire of some to rebuild Matau next to his brother, Huia Marae.

On 1st of April 1978 after appropriate karakia were offered, the old whare tūpuna was dismantled; the tekoteko was taken and buried directly below the new one along with what couldn’t be salvaged and reused was burned and the ashes buried below the site of the new whare tūpuna. Construction finally got underway mid 1978 and was completed in 1985.

The physical labour was achieved through the efforts of many whānau members giving their time freely and willingly. Whānau would gather religiously every weekend and undertake all tasks at hand. Aunties would bring kai for the uncles who had toiled for hours and it would sustain them for a few more hours. This was the extent of the female involvement in the construction until the completion of the building and the karakia to lift the ‘tapu’ had been performed.

Matau Marae was officially opened by Te Arikinui Te Atairangi Kaahu on November 16, 1985.

Old Matau previously located behind the current whare tūpuna

The old wharenui years after the wāhine disaster
Dismantling of the old wharenui
Rebuild Photos

Have A Pātai

There are three (3) steps to our marae registration process.

  1. Create a website user account on our marae website by completing a basic sign-up form.
  2. Review ‘Ngā Tīkanga ō Pātaka Kōrero’. A summary of tīkanga to be observed while using Pātaka Kōrero and complete a short quiz based on your understanding of this.
  3. Once you have completed Ngā Tīkanga ō Pātaka Kōrero, you will be automagically re-directed  to the online marae registration form for completion. 

To register with the marae, you must whakapapa to Matau. Once your application to register is submitted,  your whakapapa will be verified at our marae meeting.

You maybe asked to provide further information or attend the monthly marae meeting if required.

Once your registration application has been verified and approved, you will receive a final email confirmation.

The confirmation email will also contain a link to access Pātaka Kōrero.

Pātaka Kōrero stores our digital taonga and it is expected that all registered members  respect our digital space and taonga.  As a registered member, you will have access to videos, photo gallery, document library and a marae forum.

You will also have access to your website user account where you can change your password, update details and access/review your submitted registration form.

The marae kōmiti reserves the right to revoke access should the platform administrator detect suspicious activity.

We still like to do things ‘old school’. If you have not booked our marae before, or live out of the region please attend the monthly marae meeting or send a representative to come on your behalf. We always like to meet those who make bookings. This also allows us to give you some ‘in’s and out’s’ of operating the marae.

You can make contact or email us from our website contact page

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