Pae Tū Mōkai ō Tauira is an Incorporated Society established to give Featherston a Māori voice on the South Wairarapa Māori Standing Committee and to support Mana Whenua. Since our official establishment in July 2018, Pae Tū Mōkai ō Tauira Incorporated Society has had two representatives on the South Wairarapa Māori standing committee and is also registered with the Charitable Services Trust.


Origins of the name ‘Pae Tū Mōkai o Tauira’.

Pae tū Mōkai o Tauira is the original name given to the area now known as Featherston. One translation of the name is - the ridge where my pet named Tauira stands, referring to the famous Polynesian navigator, Kupe. On appreciating the beauty of the area, told his pet dog (named Tauira) to watch over the takiwā (area).

Another version talks about the rohe being known amongst local hapu as a taupahi or a place for seasonal gathering of food because the kai was so abundant. The bird life seemed so tame that they could have been someone’s pet – hence the term ‘mokai’. Another pūrakau pays homage to the name of Hine Tauira who was the sister of Te Rerewa, a Rangitāne chief. She was also the mother of Te Rangitawhanga (Nga Kahungunu) who moved to Lake Onoke and established peace with Rangitāne.

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Te Rangitawhanga offered to give his uncle Te Rerewa various gifts in exchange for land, but Te Rerewa asked instead for four waka to be built so that his hapu could migrate to Te Waipounamu (South Island). This was agreed and Te Rangitawhanga was able to live peacefully in Wairarapa. It is said that one of the waka given to Te Rerewa was named Otauira; along with the other waka named Te Ara-o-Tawhaki, Potaka, Kiriwai and Kahutara.