Nau mai, haere mai ki te ipuraki o Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou, koutou kā uri o Te Ruahikihiki, koutou hoki i tiro kau atu, nau mai, tomo mai!

Welcome to the Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou website, those who are descendants of Te Ruahikihiki and those who are just browsing, welcome, enter!

The people of Ōtākou have been here for a thousand years and are descended from the earliest Polynesian inhabitants - the Waitaha, Rapuwai, Kati Hawea, Kati Mamoe and Kai Tahu tribes. Our tūpuna laid claim to the eastern coast of Otago stretching inland to Wakatipu and Piopiotahi (Milford Sound). The original settlement was centred on Pukekura, the fortified pa at Taiaroa Head, and the Otago Harbour. Ōtākou was the name of a channel running in the lower harbour and became applied to the entire region. It was here that our tupuna signed the Treaty of Waitangi and it is here that the marae and the village of Ōtākou remain today.

We have constructed this website with our wider hapū members in mind. We have a proud history and a promising future and we wish to connect and share with the nearly 8,000 members who are able to register with Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou. We know that very few of our people actually live in or are able to visit Ōtākou on a regular basis. We hope that this website encourages you to be a part of what is happening with Te Runaka o Ōtākou and provides avenues for participation, learning and communication.