I’d bind my eyes so carefully to cross Raukawa’s rolling sea least I imprudently behold the dread crags of Nga Whatu. And when we’d safely cross the Straits and free to gaze around again I’d see the shores of Karaurupe [sic]. The wondrous works of Kupe. Our ancestor who sailed these seas, and severed the island from the main. But where is my love d one? I’m left behind to mourn alone, my heart swells high with sorrow. Te Rau o Titapua (the feather plume of the Albatross) is said to be an island that stood at the east entrance to Te Moana o Raukawa that sank beneath the sea. This narrative ties in with the stories of how Te Whanganui a Tara (Wellington Harbour) was formed by nga taniwha Ngake and Whataitai. Ngake escaped, forming the entrance to the harbour, and as the water shallowed from what is now Wellington Harbour, Whataitai became stranded. The body of Whataitai became the hills close to the harbour entrance. The soul of Whataitai left him in the form of a bird named Te Keo. Mount Victoria is known by Maori as Tangi Te Keo or the weeping of Te Keo. This ngeri or chant is taken from the whakapapa book of Miriama Ngapaki of Ngati Toa Rangatira who was a daughter of Horipoti Thoms. Ka tito au, ka tito au, ka tito au ki a Kupe te tangata nana I hoehoe te moana Te tangata nana I topetope te whenua. Tu ke a Kapiti, tu ke a Mana tau ke a Arapaoa Ko nga tohu tena a taku tupuna a Kupe, nana I whakatomene Titapua, Ka toreke I a au te whenua nei. I sing I sing I sing of Kupe the man who paddled over the ocean. The man who divided off the land. Solitary is Kapiti, separated is Mana, removed is Arapaoa. Such are the great signs of my ancestor Kupe. It was he who caused Titapua to sink then left this new found land. Te Moana o Raukawa was central to the development of Ngati Toa Rangatira‟s maritime trading domain. Its strategic importance became apparent to Te Rauparaha during the Amiowhenua expedition when a trading ship was seen passing through the Strait. Te Rauparaha saw the ship from Omere, an important lookout commanding wide views over the Strait, located on the ridge above Cape Terawhiti (just north of Oteranga Bay). Te Rauparaha was advised by allied chiefs to seize these lands as the ship indicated potential access to Europeans and their technologies, particularly muskets and steel. A maritime domain which included the Straits would also bring Ngati Toa Rangatira closer to pounamu. Following their migrations south from Kawhia in the 1820s, Ngati Toa Rangatira quickly established themselves in the Cook Strait Region. In 1824, only six years after the iwi’s first taua, Amiowhenua, into the southern North Island, a coalition of southern North Island tribes and northern South Island tribes attacked the Ngati Toa Rangatira pa at Waiorua on Kapiti Island only to be defeated by Ngati Toa Rangatira and their kinfolk of the Ngati Mango confederation. With Kapiti Island safely under its mana Ngati Toa Rangatira was able to establish its influence over the extended Cook Strait region based on further battles with other iwi, invasions of key sites on both sides of the Cook Strait, and on its relationships with other related iwi groupings. Tapu Te Ranga Island on Wellington’s south coast is another important site to Ngati Toa Rangatira and their association with the Cook Strait region. In 1827, Ngati Toa Rangatira were part of a force that attacked Tapu Te Ranga, the last refuge of the iwi residing on the south coast. Eventually, the defending force fled around the coast to Owhiro Bay where the greenstone mere Tawhito Whenua was relinquished to Te Rangihaeata. Widespread coastal settlements provided the iwi with access to the abundant resources of the ocean, including extensive fisheries and shellfish resources. Their coastal Te Tau Ihu Statutory Acknowledgements Page 155 of 163