Māori Culture in Auckland
Experiences, tūpuna maunga, Bastion Point, marae, the iwi of Tāmaki Makaurau and what the names mean.
Tāmaki Makaurau is the home of many iwi and hapū, and its volcanic cones are tūpuna maunga, ancestral mountains. Here’s where to experience Māori culture in Auckland: guided experiences, maunga, museums and galleries to visit at your own pace, events, the story of Takaparawhau / Bastion Point, how a marae welcome works, the iwi, te reo classes and what the names mean.
Auckland in Māori: what Tāmaki Makaurau means
Tāmaki Makaurau is one of the traditional Māori names for the Auckland region. Auckland Council translates it as “Tāmaki desired by many”, for the harbours, waka portages and food sources that drew people here. Te Ara gives Tāmaki-makau-rau as “Tāmaki of a hundred lovers”. Tāmaki on its own is often used for the isthmus and the city.
Tāmaki
Te Ara records several traditions for the name. One says it refers to the narrow neck of land between the Waitematā and Manukau harbours; others name an ancestor called Tāmaki.
Te Waitematā
The northern harbour. In Te Arawa tradition it was named “the obsidian waters” by the ancestor Tamatekapua, who placed a volcanic stone as a mauri near Birkenhead.
Manukau Harbour
Tainui traditions name it Te Mānukanuka-a-Hoturoa, “the troublesome waters of Hoturoa”, for its sandbanks and quick tides. Manukau means “wading birds”.
Maunga names
Maungawhau means “hill of the whau tree”, Maungarei “watchful mountain”, and Ōtāhuhu recalls the ridgepole of the Tainui waka.
How to say it: Auckland Council’s guide splits it Tā-ma-ki Ma-kau-rau. The macron on the first ā makes it a long vowel.
Ways to experience Māori culture in Auckland
Book a guided experience, explore the maunga, museums and galleries at your own pace, or join in. Check with each operator for dates and prices.
Guided experiences
Living Taonga at Auckland Museum
The museum’s Māori cultural experience: songs, haka and stories with indigenous artists and orators. Adult $35, child $17.50, family $94, on top of museum entry.
Book or find out moreMāngere Mountain Education Centre
Guided walks on Te Pane o Mataoho with the stories of how Māori settled the maunga and Tāmaki Makaurau. Adult tours $35 + GST each, minimum five people.
Book or find out moreTe Hana Te Ao Marama
Māori cultural centre with guided tours of a replica 17th-century village and pā, cultural performances and overnight marae stays. Bookings essential.
Find out moreAt your own pace
Takaparawhau / Bastion Point
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei land and the site of the 1977–78 occupation, with the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial and wide harbour views. Visits to Ōrākei Marae are by arrangement.
Read our guideMaungakiekie / One Tree Hill
Once the largest pā in Tāmaki, with its terraces still clear on the slopes. Free, with gates open from 7am.
Read our guideMaungawhau / Mount Eden
Maungawhau means “hill of the whau tree”. Once an enormous pā; the summit has been closed to private vehicles since 2016, so walk up.
Read our guideTe Pane o Mataoho / Māngere Mountain
“The head of Mataoho”, the deity who guards the secrets hidden in the earth. Walk it yourself, or book a guided visit with the education centre at its foot.
Read our guideŌtāhuhu / Mount Richmond
The name recalls the ridgepole of the Tainui waka, carried across the portage from the Waitematā to the Manukau just south of the maunga.
Read our guideMaungarei / Mount Wellington
“Watchful mountain”: a strategic lookout and one of the best-preserved maunga pā in Auckland, lived on from around 1400.
Read our guideAuckland War Memorial Museum
Te Ripo o Te Moana: Taonga Through Time, on Level 1, includes Te Rā, the only known customary Māori sail. The Māori Court is closed for now. Free for Auckland residents.
Read our guideAuckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Ngā Taonga Tūturu: Treasured Māori Portraits, with whakairo and Lindauer portraits, is on in the Te Kawau Galleries until 2 July 2028.
Read our guideArataki Visitor Centre
Auckland Council lists Arataki among the places to learn about mana whenua connections to the natural environment. Gateway to the Waitākere Ranges.
Read our guideTe Wharekura
A Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and Auckland Council cultural and marine education space in the 108-year-old heritage kiosk on the waterfront.
Find out moreJoin in
Paddle a waka ama
Waka Ama Aotearoa NZ lists clubs from Ōkahu Bay, Takapuna and Waiheke to Ōtāhuhu, Māngere Bridge, Panmure and Helensville.
Club list and contactsMatariki Festival
Auckland’s Matariki Festival marks the Māori New Year with ceremony, kai, kōrero and entertainment across Tāmaki Makaurau.
Matariki FestivalLearn te reo Māori
Beginner classes with no fees at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, at its Māngere and Waitākere campuses and venues around Auckland.
See the classesMāori events through the year
Waitangi Day
Free whānau events every year. In 2026 they included Waitangi ki Manukau at Manukau Sports Bowl (running for more than 20 years), Waitangi ki Ōmaru at Point England Reserve and Waitangi @ Waititi at Parrs Park, plus a Harbour Bridge light show designed by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
Te Matatini, nearby
The national kapa haka festival is at Hopuhopu Sports Park, Ngāruawāhia, from 22 to 27 February 2027.
ASB Polyfest
The secondary schools’ Māori and Pacific festival in Manukau. Te Paparewa Māori, the Māori stage, ran from 30 March to 2 April in 2026.
Matariki Festival
Two weeks of Matariki events across Tāmaki Makaurau, from a dawn karakia on a maunga to family days. It ran from 4 to 19 July in 2026; the Matariki public holiday in 2027 is Friday 25 June.
Takaparawhau / Bastion Point
Takaparawhau, the headland above Ōkahu Bay, is the land of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. On 5 January 1977 the Ōrākei Māori Action Committee, led by Joe Hawke, occupied the Bastion Point reserve. Ngāti Whātua said the land had been unjustly taken from them, and opposed plans to subdivide it for private housing.
On 25 May 1978, 506 days after the occupation began, a large police force evicted the occupiers, arrested 222 people and demolished their buildings. Joe Hawke’s Ōrākei claim was the first historical claim heard by the Waitangi Tribunal. Its 1987 report recommended returning land to Ngāti Whātua, and the following year the government agreed.
Today the headland holds Ōrākei Marae and the Whenua Rangatira, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei land co-managed by a reserves board since 1991, next to the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial, opened in 1943.
The occupation
The 1977–78 occupation, the eviction and the Waitangi Tribunal’s 1987 report.
Read on NZHistoryMichael Joseph Savage Memorial Park
The memorial, the gardens and the views over the Waitematā from Bastion Point.
Read our guideNgāti Whātua Ōrākei
The hapū of Takaparawhau and Ōrākei, and the restoration of the whenua.
Whenua RangatiraVisiting a marae in Auckland
Marae are the gathering places of hapū and iwi, and there are many across Tāmaki Makaurau, from iwi marae to urban marae. They are not visitor attractions: you visit a marae when you’re invited, or by arrangement with the marae, often with a group, a school or an event. Each marae has its own kawa (protocol), and the best advice is to ask your hosts what they expect. This is how a welcome usually goes:
- Arrive and waitArrive early and wait at the gate. Don’t walk on until you’re called.
- KarangaA woman from the hosts calls you on, and a woman from your group answers. Walk on together as the calling continues.
- Whaikōrero and waiataSpeeches from hosts and visitors, each followed by a song.
- KohaA gift, usually money in an envelope, laid down by your last speaker.
- Hongi and harirūShake hands and press noses with the hosts.
- KaiThe shared meal lifts the tapu of the welcome. Wait for the karakia (blessing) before eating.
Iwi of Tāmaki Makaurau
Many iwi have lived on the land between the two harbours, some from the earliest times. Auckland Council recognises 19 iwi authorities as mana whenua. Thirteen iwi and hapū, Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau, settled together with the Crown in 2014, and the tūpuna maunga are governed by an authority they share equally with Auckland Council.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei
Descendants of Tuperiri, under whose leadership Ngāti Whātua settled Tāmaki Makaurau in the 17th century. Their marae is Ōrākei and their maunga is Maungakiekie.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei websiteTe Kawerau ā Maki
A West Auckland based iwi with interests across the northern half of the region, and the northernmost iwi of the Tainui waka.
Te Kawerau ā Maki websiteNgāi Tai ki Tāmaki
One of the 13 iwi and hapū of Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau, in the Waiohua Tāmaki rōpū.
Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki websiteThree rōpū
Marutūāhu: Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Whanaunga, Te Patukirikiri. Ngāti Whātua: Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua. Waiohua Tāmaki: Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Tamaoho, Ngāti Te Ata, Te Ākitai Waiohua, Te Kawerau ā Maki.
Tūpuna Maunga AuthorityTūpuna Maunga Authority
Set up in 2014 to govern 14 tūpuna maunga, with equal members from mana whenua and Auckland Council. The council looks after the maunga day to day under its direction.
About the AuthorityThe 19 iwi authorities recognised by Auckland Council
- Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki
- Ngāti Manuhiri
- Ngāti Maru
- Ngāti Pāoa
- Ngāti Rehua Ngāti Wai ki Aotea
- Ngaati Tamaoho
- Ngāti Tamaterā
- Ngaati Te Ata Waiohua
- Ngāti Wai
- Ngāti Whanaunga
- Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara
- Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei
- Te Ahiwaru
- Te Ākitai Waiohua
- Te Kawerau ā Maki
- Te Patukirikiri
- Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua
- Te Uri o Hau
- Waikato-Tainui
Māori history and stories
Māori History in Auckland
The first people of Tāmaki Makaurau, the volcanic cones as pā, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and the key historical sites.
Read the historyLearning te reo Māori in Auckland
Free and low-cost te reo Māori classes for adults. Check each provider for the latest dates.
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa
Te Kahupapa o te Reo, Level 1 for beginners, has no fees and starts in February 2027. Day and evening classes at both campuses and at venues around Auckland, from Devonport to Pukekohe.
Find out moreAUT
Beginner courses MAOR505 and MAOR506 run for 15 weeks, with evening and morning classes. Check AUT for 2027 dates and fees.
Find out moreSay Auckland’s names
How to say the maunga, islands and places of Tāmaki Makaurau, with links to courses and the Te Aka Māori Dictionary.
Place names guideKōhanga reo
Kōhanga reo are Māori-language early learning centres. There are 44 in the Auckland region, 30 of them in South Auckland. Find one on the Kōhanga Reo National Trust map.
South Auckland (30)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Awaruaiti (Waiuku)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Ngā Hau e Whā o Pukekohe (Pukekohe)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Manurewa (Manurewa)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Tahuri Mai (Weymouth)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Atawhai (Manurewa)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Mata-paeroa (Wattle Downs)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Puāwaitanga ki Manurewa (Manurewa)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Tīmatatanga (Manurewa)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Wiri (Wiri)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Paa Harakeke (Māngere)
- Te Kōhanga Reo ki Pikitia (Māngere)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Makaurau Marae (Māngere)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Mataatua ki Māngere (Māngere)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Whāia Te Mātauranga (Māngere East)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Hūmārie (Takanini)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Kiwitoa (Papakura)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Ngā Puāwai o Wikitoria (Papakura)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Pukeroihi (Papakura)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Maunga Kōhungahunga (Papakura)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Rāhuitanga (Papakura)
- Te Kōhanga Reo ki Puhinui (Papatoetoe)
- Te Kōhanga Reo ki Papatoetoe Whānau (Papatoetoe)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Ngāti Ōtara Marae (Ōtara)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Huinga Reo (Ōtara)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Kupenga (Ōtara)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Otinga ki Tāmaki (Ōtara)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Piringa ki Ōtara (Ōtara)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Reo Rangatira ki Whaiora (Ōtara)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Whakatupuranga ki Ōtara (Ōtara)
- Te Kōhanga Reo ki Tāmaki Rāwhiti (Ōtara)
West Auckland (7)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Puawairua (Massey)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Pōmāria (Henderson)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Kōtuku (Te Atatū Peninsula)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Māungarongo (West Harbour)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Ngākau Mahana (Henderson)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Hoani Waititi Marae (Glen Eden)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Kākāriki (Glen Eden)
North Auckland (4)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Hau Kapua (Bayswater)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Ngā Pihi o Te Purapura Pai (Birkenhead)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Ngā Tikanga Pono (Glenfield)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Ngā Whare Maha (Mairangi Bay)
Central Auckland (3)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Rongomau (Mount Albert)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Pūau Te Moananui-a-Kiwa (Glen Innes)
- Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Arapeta (Panmure)
Kura: schools that teach in te reo Māori
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Maungarongo
Kura kaupapa Māori, Years 1 to 15.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Pūau Te Moananui-a-Kiwa
Kura kaupapa Māori, Years 1 to 15.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Raki Paewhenua
Kura kaupapa Māori, Years 1 to 15.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi
Kura kaupapa Māori, Years 1 to 15.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Kotuku
Kura kaupapa Māori, Years 1 to 8.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Māngere
Kura kaupapa Māori, Years 1 to 15.
Te Kura Māori o Ngā Tapuwae
Kura ā iwi, Years 1 to 15.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Piripono Te Kura Whakahou ki Ōtara
Kura kaupapa Māori, Years 1 to 8.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Manurewa
Kura kaupapa Māori, Years 1 to 8.
Te Wharekura o Manurewa
Wharekura, Years 9 to 15.
Te Wharekura o Tāmaki ki te Tonga
Kura ā iwi, Years 1 to 8.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Papaonekura
Taught in te reo Māori, Years 1 to 15.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Waiuku
Kura kaupapa Māori, Years 1 to 8.
Māori health and community services
Te Whānau o Waipareira
West Auckland trust for whānau. Its Wai Health clinic at 16 Catherine Street, Henderson, is open weekdays 8.30am to 5pm.
Find out moreTe Hā Oranga
Kaupapa Māori health and social services under Ngāti Whātua tikanga, free for everyone living in the Ngāti Whātua rohe.
Find out moreNgāti Whātua Ōrākei Toi Ora
Iwi health and wellbeing services, including the Tend Ōrākei clinic. Many programmes are for registered hapū members.
Find out moreMāori Land Court
By appointment only: email ml***************@**********vt.nz before you go. You can search Māori land records online through Pātaka Whenua without registering.
How to search Pātaka WhenuaAbout this page
Explore Auckland is an independent local guide. This page draws on Te Ara, NZHistory, Te Kāhui Māngai, the Tūpuna Maunga Authority, the iwi’s own websites, Auckland Council, Auckland Museum, Auckland Art Gallery, the Ministry of Education and the Māori Land Court. Spotted something to add or correct? Let us know.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Tāmaki Makaurau mean?
Auckland Council translates it as “Tāmaki desired by many”, for the harbours, portages and food sources that drew people here. Te Ara gives Tāmaki-makau-rau as “Tāmaki of a hundred lovers”.
What is Auckland’s Māori name?
Tāmaki Makaurau, often shortened to Tāmaki. Te Ara also records Tāmakinui (great Tāmaki) and Tāmaki-herehere-ngā-waka (Tāmaki that binds many canoes).
How do you pronounce Tāmaki Makaurau?
Auckland Council’s guide splits it Tā-ma-ki Ma-kau-rau. The macron on the first ā makes it a long vowel.
What happened at Bastion Point?
From 5 January 1977 the Ōrākei Māori Action Committee, led by Joe Hawke, occupied Takaparawhau / Bastion Point, land Ngāti Whātua said had been unjustly taken. On 25 May 1978, after 506 days, police evicted the occupiers and arrested 222 people. The Waitangi Tribunal’s 1987 report recommended returning land to Ngāti Whātua, and the government agreed the following year.
Who are the iwi of Auckland?
Auckland Council recognises 19 iwi authorities as mana whenua, including Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, Te Kawerau ā Maki, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Tamaoho, Te Ākitai Waiohua, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Manuhiri and Waikato-Tainui.
What iwi is West Auckland?
Te Kawerau ā Maki describe themselves as a West Auckland based iwi. Ngāti Whātua groups also have interests in the west.
Where can I experience Māori culture in Auckland?
See Living Taonga, the daily Māori cultural experience at Auckland Museum, book a guided walk at Māngere Mountain Education Centre, or visit Te Hana Te Ao Marama north of Wellsford. For free, walk the tūpuna maunga, visit Takaparawhau / Bastion Point, Te Wharekura on the waterfront, and the Māori portraits at Auckland Art Gallery.
Is Auckland Museum free?
General admission is free for Auckland residents (bring proof of your address) and by donation for other New Zealanders. International visitors pay NZ$32 for adults and NZ$16 for children aged 5 to 15. The Māori cultural experience costs extra.
Can you just walk onto a marae?
No. You are welcomed onto a marae by invitation or arrangement, usually through a pōwhiri. Contact the marae first: Ōrākei Marae, for example, takes bookings through its marae office.
What is the Māori name for the Manukau Harbour?
Tainui traditions name it Te Mānukanuka-a-Hoturoa, “the troublesome waters of Hoturoa”, for its sandbanks and tides. Manukau itself means “wading birds”.
Where can I learn te reo Māori in Auckland?
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa runs beginner classes with no fees at its Māngere and Waitākere campuses and venues around Auckland, starting February 2027. AUT runs 15-week beginner courses at its City and North campuses.