Kia ū koe ki tō marae, mā tō marae ka kiia koe he tangata
Hold fast to your marae, for it is your marae that makes you a whole a person.

Urenui Pa holds a special significance for Ngati Mutunga within Taranaki. It is our only remaining marae and has been the focal point for Ngati Mutunga Iwi activities since the early 1870s.

Urenui Marae is the site of three of Ngati Mutunga’s most important taonga. These are our ancestral houses of Mahi Tamariki, Te Aroha and Te Titohea.  Mahi Tamariki and Te Aroha are both Wharenui and Te Titohea is the Wharekai. Urenui marae remains the cultural heart and key gathering place of Ngati Mutunga.

Important Ngati Mutunga hui are held at Urenui Marae, including events such as Tangi, hura kohatu (unveilings), huritau (birthdays), family reunions, wananga, iwi hui, Te Rangihiroa Day, and Runanga AGM’s.

Governance
Urenui Pa is administered by the Urenui Pa Trustees. The Trustees responsibilities are guided by Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993.

The current Urenui Pa Trustees are Stephen McClutchie (Chairman), Graham Wallace (Secretary), Barry Matuku, Josephine Kapo, Ngarongokitua Callaghan, Piki Te Ataarangi Tapara, Mark Houpapa and Stephen Taitoko White.

The Urenui Pa Trustees can be contacted on 06-755-1791.

Urenui Pa History
The current site of Urenui Pa was originally part of the Urenui Reserve (total of 789 acres) awarded to Haami Te Maunu and 67 others. The Compensation Court made this award in 1866 following the wrongful confiscation of Ngati Mutunga’s lands. 

In 1868 a large number of Ngati Mutunga returned to Taranaki from Wharekauri (Chatham Islands) and lived at Maruehi (sometimes referred to as Maruwehi) - the current site of Urenui beach golf course. 

Maruehi was one of the original Pa of Ngati Mutunga and was also the place where our ancestor Mutunga was born. The Government was opposed to Ngati Mutunga living on their confiscated lands as the Urenui beach area was viewed as a prime location for settlement. 

Official Government reports of the time described Ngati Mutunga as squatters on Crown land. As a result of this attitude the Government moved Ngati Mutunga from our traditional kainga/marae to the present Urenui Pa site. The area was formally gazetted as a Maori Reservation for the Ngati Mutunga tribe on 22 December 1932 and the Maori Land Court appointed the first Trustees in 1942.