Te Mata Park is renowned as an outdoor recreational playground, but it’s so much more…
It’s an area steeped in rich human history and culture spanning several centuries; it’s home to unique flora and fauna; it has a variety of geological features and its ecology is fascinating.
The Physical Environment
Te Mata Park is a significant area of open space in Hawke’s Bay and is loved by locals and visitors for its unspoiled beauty. Its famous Peak stands at 399 metres above sea level at the western boundary of the bountiful Heretaunga Plains. The panoramic views take in all directions – as far as Mt Ruapehu on a clear day.
Native vegetation clings to the cliffs and several of the plants on these cliffs are unique to Te Mata Park, and as a result are some of the rarest in New Zealand. Bush remnants and wetlands remain nestled in the valleys. Find out more…
History
Te Mata Park is part of the land associated with the ancestor Te Rehunga of Ngāti Ngarengare, a sub-tribe of Ngāti Kahungunu. The Park has a rich human history spanning several centuries. The upper parts of the Park in particular have a strong cultural importance to Maori. There is evidence of past settlement including pa sites and other earthworks. The Karaka groves in the upper Te Hau Valley area and Moa bones found on the slopes suggest intensive Maori settlement.
The land that makes up Te Mata Park was included in a block purchased in 1862 by early settler, John Chambers. Read more about the park’s history…
The Legend of Te Mata
The well-recited legend of Te Mata Peak protrays the hill as the prostrate body of the chief Rongokako, the grandfather of Kahungunu and ancestor of all iwi of Ngāti Kahungunu.
Many centuries ago the people living in pa (fortified villages) on the Heretaunga Plains were under constant threat of war from the coastal tribes of Waimarama. At a gathering at Pakipaki (5km south of Hastings) to discuss the problem, the solution came when a kuia (wise old woman) sought permission to speak in the marae: “He ai na te wahine, ka horahia te po,” she said. (The ways of a woman can sometimes overcome the effects of darkness). Read more of this legend…
