A home for the descendants of our tupuna, Irihapeti Howearth née Patuawa

Our tupuna was born in 1894, and every one of us traces back to her. All nine branches of our whānau begin with Irihapeti, and she is part of why the whenua at Mamaranui, Kaihu is so close to our hearts.

You will find her name, sometimes spelt Riripeti, in the Māori Land Court records for Ōpanake 1C South 6B. In 1916 a Court order named her as owner of block 6B. In 1943 she was awarded a replacement 6B block of about 73 acres, and by 1958 the owner list shows her holding it in full. For more than seventy years her name is there on the paper, written beside this land, and ours is written into her whakapapa.

In 1987 the Court dealt with her estate, and the whenua passed on to her successors. That means each of us, in our own branch and our own way, is part of what she began. Every one of us carries a different story of Nanny Irihapeti, our tupuna, and none is more right than another. If you have a photo, a memory or some whakapapa to add, share it in the Forum or on the Photos page.