OUR STORY
We just love Blueberries!
Our berries are grown by us, hand-picked and packed on site by our awesome team at Blueberry Corner. We grow blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries and Rānui berries right here in the sunny Bay of Plenty!
THE BEAUTIFUL WHAKATANE
Our History
The first inhabitant, more than 1,000 years ago, was Tīwakawaka, a grandson of Māui, the legendary voyageur and discoverer of Aotearoa. Tīwakawaka's people had lived in Kakahoroa (later to be named Whakatane) for some generations before the arrival of the famed Toi, founder of numerous tribes (Te Tini O Toi - the multitude of Toi) which occupied much of the North Island's East Coast, Taranaki and the Far North.
Toi's people married into the original settlers and from his stronghold - Kapu-te-rangi (one of the oldest known pā sites in New Zealand) - above Whakatāne, his sons Rauru and Awanuiarangi in turn went forth to found tribes of their own.
Some 200 years later came the waka Mataatua bringing the kūmara.
Following the directions of his father, Irakewa, the Captain Tōroa, his brothers Puhi and Tāneatua, sister Muriwai, son Ruaihona, daughter Wairaka and other members of his family sailed to Kākahoroa, mooring in the river estuary near the town's current commercial centre. The men then climbed the hillside to Kapu-te-rangi, leaving Mataatua in the care of the small group consisting mainly of women. The outgoing tide was threatening to carry away the waka when Wairaka exclaimed: "E! Kia whakatāne au i ahau" (let me act the part of a man). In breach of tradition, the women paddled the canoe back to safety and from this incident, Whakatāne received its name.
Some of our favourite places
Tōroa, the captain of the Mataatua canoe, had been instructed by his father Irakewa to look for three landmarks in his search for Kakahoroa (the ancient name for Whakatāne). They were Te Wairere (Wairere Falls), Te Ana o Muriwai (Muriwai’s Cave), and Te Toka o Irakewa (Irakewa Rock).
Te Wairere Falls was not only a sacred landmark to all of Mataatua, but was also a vital source of freshwater for the Ngāti Awa people living at Te Whare o Tōroa Pā.
Another tradition associates this place with Ngahue, who visited here before the arrival of Mataatua. It is said that he found Moa here, which he preserved in calabashes and took back to Hawaiki.
The original anchor stone of the Mataatua waka, Te Toka a Taiao, was sited where Te Wairere Stream meets the Whakatāne River (Ohinemataroa).