Members of Ngati Rahiri, look to Te Ra, the first-born son of Maikuku and Huatakaroa as our ancestral reference point which is how we differentiate ourselves from the other hapu who stem from the same marriage. Te Ra is the great-grandson of Rahiri, the ancestor who ties the whole of Ngapuhi whakapapa together and who currently reigns as the largest tribe in Aotearoa NZ.

Over a thousand years ago, Rangiātea was a central place in Polynesia where Pacific Nations assembled to convene meetings, exchange gifts, arrange marriages, and train High Priests and Navigators. Where the carved pou stand here at Tou Rangatira, there is a raised mound symbolising Taputapuātea, the ancient marae at Rangiātea.

This site is central to the deep relationship between mana whenua and the Reverend Henry Williams, who arrived to Paihia in 1823 to lead the Church Missionary Society.

The Treaty of Waitangi is the agreement that allowed for the relationship with the British Crown following our founding Declaration Of Independence in 1835. It has been hotly debated, and at times ignored and disregarded, but it still remains a source of hope and optimism for our future.

Our tūpuna signed He Wakaputanga 1835, securing and laying the constitutional framework for our Nation, acknowledged and recognised internationally