LEGEND OF MAUAO
Out of the mists of morning and the days of legend Maori mythology tells the
story of three mountains in the foothills of the Kaimais. One was Puwhenua, a
shapely, bush clad maiden mountain who was in love with the lordly Otanewainuku
who stood nearby. But another mountain was also in love with Puwhenua and he
strove to press his suit with her. When she asked his name he confessed he had
no name and for this she spurned him in favour of Otanewainuku.
In his despair the nameless one sought the aid of the Patupaiarehe or fairy folk
to cast him into the ocean. That night (for the Patupaiarehe can only work in
darkness) they gathered and strove to drag him through the forest and foothills
to the sea. His track gouged through the land created the Waimapu Valley and Te
Awanui (Tauranga Harbour).
But as the first rays of the sun lightened the sky the task was incomplete. The
Patupaiarehe had to abandon the mountain and he became stranded there forever at
the head of the isthmus that guards the entrance of the harbour. He stands there
to this day and the inhabitants of the region named him 'Mauao' which means,
'trapped by the light' or 'greeter of the sun'.
