earth science

Kiwi Tāmaki

Kiwi Tāmaki is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kiwi Tāmaki rather than just read about it. In short: Kiwi Tāmaki (died c. 1741) was a Māori warrior and paramount chief of the Waiohua confederation in Tāmaki Makaurau (modern-day Auckland isthmus). The third generation paramount chief of Waiohua, Kiwi Tāmaki consolidated and extended Waiohua power over Tāmaki Makaurau, making it one of the most prosperous and populated areas of Aotearoa.

Key takeaways

Kiwi Tāmaki belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kiwi Tāmaki to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kiwi Tāmaki from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kiwi Tāmaki (died c. 1741) was a Māori warrior and paramount chief of the Waiohua confederation in Tāmaki Makaurau (modern-day Auckland isthmus). The third generation paramount chief of Waiohua, Kiwi Tāmaki consolidated and extended Waiohua power over Tāmaki Makaurau, making it one of the most prosperous and populated areas of Aotearoa. Kiwi Tāmaki's seat of power was at Maungakiekie, which was the most elaborate pā complex in Aotearoa. Around the year 1740, Kiwi Tāmaki angered Ngāti Whātua tribes to the north-west, by murdering guests at a funeral feast held at South Kaipara. This led the Ngāti Whātua hapū Te Taoū to wage war on Kiwi Tāmaki and the Waiohua confederation, defeating him at a battle in the lower Waitākere Ranges. Kiwi Tāmaki's death signalled the end of the Waiohua mandate in Tāmaki Makaurau, and the beginning of a permanent Ngāti Whātua presence on the isthmus. Kiwi Tāmaki's direct descendants through his son Rangimatoru became the chiefs of the Te Ākitai Waiohua iwi based in South Auckland and around the Manukau Harbour, while relatives of Kiwi Tāmaki were married to members of Te Taoū who stayed in the region, eventually becoming the modern hapū Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, based on the Auckland isthmus and Waitematā Harbour. Much of what is known about Kiwi Tāmaki is through Ngāti Whātua leader and folklore recorder Paora Tūhaere, 19th century court cases in the Māori Land Court, and oral traditions from Tāmaki Māori tribes including Te Ākitai Waiohua, Ngāti Te Ata and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.

History

Early life and reign

Kiwi Tāmaki's grandfather Huakaiwaka was the founder of Waiohua, a union between the Tāmaki Māori tribes of Ngā Oho, Ngā Riki and Ngā Iwi under a single banner. His parents were paramount chief Te Ika-maupoho and Te Tahuri. His mother was from the Waikato tribe Ngāti Mahuta, and was a famed agriculturalist, who managed Nga Māra a Tahuri, extensive kūmara (sweet potato) plantations located between Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill and Onehunga. Kiwi Tāmaki was born on Maungawhau / Mount Eden. When he was a young leader, Kiwi Tāmaki shifted the seat of power of the Waiohua from Maungawhau to Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. The 46 hectare Maungakiekie pā complex was the largest pā in the Tāmaki Makaurau region. By 1720, Waiohua confederation were thriving under the leadership of Kiwi Tāmaki, and had established pā and kāinga at most of the volcanic peaks of the Auckland isthmus and the Māngere peninsula, including Maungarei / Mount Wellington, Māngere Mountain / Te Pane-o-Mataaho, Ihumātao, Onehunga, Remuera, Omahu, Te Umuponga at Ōrākei, Kohimarama, Taurarua (Point Resolution in Parnell), Te Tō (Freemans Bay), Rarotonga / Mount Smart, Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta / Three Kings and Ōwairaka / Mount Albert. Kiwi Tāmaki primarily stayed at Maungakiekie, but would also shift seasonally between the different pā throughout Tāmaki Makaurau, based on when the harvest times for various seafood, bird and vegetables were. He was based at Māngere during the Manukau Harbour shark season and at Te Tō (Freemans Bay) during the Waitematā Harbour shark season. During the migratory season of the kākā parrot, Kiwi was based at Ngutuwera (in modern-day Chatswood on the North Shore) where birds could be snared in the forested gullies, and at Te Pāhī (Herald Island). When it was time to preserve the birds, Kiwi Tāmaki moved to Ōwairaka / Mount Albert. The Maungakiekie pā complex (also known as Te Tōtara-i-āhua, after a tōtara tree planted at the peak of the mountain to commemorate the birth of a rangatira) could house as many as 4,000 people. Kiwi Tāmaki's rule is associated with the time of the greatest unity and strength of the Waiohua confederation, and was one of the most prosperous and populated areas of Aotearoa prior to the arrival of Europeans. Kiwi Tāmaki owned a gigantic pahū pounamu, a greenstone gong, that could be heard from across the isthmus as a calling for warriors to assemble, especially in times of war. It was known as Whakarewa-tāhuna ("Lifted from the Banks of the Sea"), and was located at either Maungakiekie or Maungawhau. The gong had been in possession by Tāmaki Māori for generations, however was hidden near Maungawhau during the end of Kiwi Tāmaki's reign and never recovered. Kiwi Tāmaki married Paretutanganui (who descended from the Waiohua hapū Ngāti Te Aua and Ngāti Pare), and together they had a son, Rangimatoru. Kiwi Tāmaki's sister Waikahina (also known as Waikahuia) was married to Mana, a chief of Te Kawerau ā Maki, the iwi who primarily resided in West Auckland and the Waitākere Ranges. Together they lived at Mangonui (modern-day Chatswood on the North Shore). Alternatively, according to Ngāti Tamaoho tradition, Waikahina married Noia, a Ngāti Pou chief who settled at Te Maketū (Drury) in South Auckland, after fleeing the isthmus. Kahutoroa, another sister of Kiwi Tāmaki, married Tautini of Ngāti Tāhinga. While there are many explanations for the etymology of Māori language name for Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau ("Tāmaki of a Hundred Lovers"), one tradition links the name to Kiwi Tāmaki.

Massacre at the Ngāti Whātua funeral feast

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kiwi Tāmaki

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kiwi Tāmaki claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kiwi Tāmaki before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kiwi Tāmaki ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kiwi Tāmaki

In research: Kiwi Tāmaki appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kiwi Tāmaki in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kiwi Tāmaki is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1740s deaths, 18th-century Māori tribal leaders, 18th-century births, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kiwi Tāmaki outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Kiwi Tāmaki” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Kiwi Tāmaki in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kiwi Tāmaki means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kiwi Tāmaki out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kiwi Tāmaki in simple terms?

Why does Kiwi Tāmaki matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kiwi Tāmaki?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kiwi Tāmaki.