Te Wai-o-Rongomai and Te Puna-o-Rongomai
The iwi history names Te Wai-o-Rongomai as the traditional name for the Paraparaumu waterfront and describes Te Puna-o-Rongomai near Takamore.
A landscape remembered through names
Te Wai-o-Rongomai is recorded in the iwi history as a traditional name for the Paraparaumu waterfront. Te Puna-o-Rongomai refers to a spring east of the Weggery Homestead in the Takamore wāhi tapu area. Both names carry the memory of Rongomai and belong to the cultural geography of the coast.
The account shared with Whale Song connects these places with Haunui-a-Nanaia, whose ancestral journey is remembered through place-naming traditions across the lower North Island. In that telling, Rongomai appeared as a celestial light and the spring was associated with its descent. The spring is also remembered in the supplied iwi-history material for healing and birthing practices.
These places are not merely old names on a map. The waterfront, spring and surrounding wāhi tapu connect ancestral narratives with the lived landscape of present-day Paraparaumu.
Source: iwi-history material supplied to Whale Song and the Te Ātiawa ki Kāpiti historical account; see linked sources on this page.
The iwi history identifies Te Wai-o-Rongomai as a traditional name for the Paraparaumu waterfront. Te Puna-o-Rongomai is described as a spring east of the Weggery Homestead within Takamore wāhi tapu. The iwi account says Muaupoko ancestors used the spring for healing and birthing rites.