Our team

Moana, Parehuia, Aljay, Dionne.

We interviewed people who have been part of our school for many years.

Some of us are from te Whānau o te Kākano Māori classroom.

We are standing in front of our carving which tells the legend of Whātaitai and Ngake.

Whātaitai rāua ko Ngake
He taniwha kau moana a Whātaitai rāua ko Ngake, nā rāua Te Whanganui-a-Tara i keri. E ai ki ngā kōrero, he roto kē taua whanga i ngā rā o mua. He taniwha okeoke a Ngake, nāna tētahi huarahi i para kia puta a ia ki te moana o Raukawa. Hāunga Whātaitai, i haere mā huarahi kē; waihoki, ka paea ia ki te whenua, mate atu. Ka whakatopa tōna wairua kia rere ki runga o Tangi-te-keo.

Whātaitai and Ngake
Whātaitai and Ngake were sea taniwha who created Wellington Harbour. In tradition, the harbour was once a lake in which these taniwha lived. But Ngake was restless and smashed his way through to nearby Cook Strait. Whātaitai tried to get out a different way and became stranded on dry ground. It is said that his spirit took the form of a bird named Te Keo, which flew to the top of Wellington’s Mt Victoria and mourned (tangi), hence the name of the mountain, Tangi te keo.

These legends can be found on the Te Ara website.