Ōhinetahi valley at the head of Whakaraupō (Lyttelton) harbour, was once the site of a heavily stockaded Ngāti Māmoe pā that was stormed by Te Rakiwhakaputa of Ngāi Tahu around 300 years ago.
After its capture, Te Rakiwhakaputa’s son Manuhiri occupied the pā with a party of Ngāi Tahu.
Manuhiri fathered many sons but only one daughter. He named the pā after this solitary daughter. Ōhinetahi means The Place of One Daughter
.
It is also from this area that the whole of the harbour derives its name. Whakaraupō means Harbour of the Raupō Reed
, and at the head of the harbour at Ōhinetahi there was once a swamp filled with a thick and high growth of raupō.
Sources
- James Cowan, Māori Folk Tales of the Port Hills, Canterbury, New Zealand, Third Edition, facsimile of First Edition, with index, 1995, Cadsonbury Publications (First published 1923)
