Maketu

Maketu is a small town on the Western Bay of Plenty coast in New Zealand. Maketu has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow, until 1956, when it was diverted to the Bay of Plenty, about 4 km (2.5 mi) upstream. It is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on the south eastern side of Okurei Point. Maketu is rich in ancestral Māori culture, specifically the Te Arawa tribe. Maketu was the landing site of the Arawa canoe. The chief who led the voyage of the Arawa waka from Hawaiki to New Zealand/Aotearoa was Tama-te-kapua. Many of the arrivals settled in Maketu, but some continued their journey inland, using the Kaituna River as far as Rotorua. Maketu is named after an ancient kūmara (sweet potato) pit in Hawaiki, the Māori ancestral homeland. Maketu has a predominantly Māori population, although in recent years there has been an influx of many cultures to Maketu. In 2011, Maketu was one of many areas along the Bay of Plenty coast affected by the grounding of the MV Rena and the subsequent oil spill. The Waihi Estuary Wildlife Management Reserve is near Maketu.