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I te wa ka haere mai a Kupe ratou ko ana tamariki me ana manu e rua, ko Rupe tetehi, ko Te Kawau-a-toru tetehi, katahi ka haere mai a, ka tae mai ki tenei motu. Ka ahu mai ki te tai hauauru, ka haere mai a, Waitemata, haere mai a, Manukau, katahi ka tukua te kawau hei titiro i te kaha o te ia o Manukau; kaore i kaha. Ka haere mai a, Waikato, kaore i kaha; haere mai a, Whaingaroa, haere mai a, Kawhia, Mokau, Waitara, Patea, Whenuakura, katahi ka puia nga otaota i waenganui o Patea ki Whenuakura—te take o tena, he taunaha kainga. Ka haere a, Whanganui, ka haere a, Waikanae, Te Rimurapa, Hataitai, ka horahia te ra o te waka o Kupe. Ao ake, ka tae ki Whanganui-a-tara, ka huaina te ingoa o te toka e tu na i te puwaha o Whanganui-a-tara ko Te Ure-o-Kupe. Ka haere a, Wairarapa, a, Te Matau-a-Maui; ka hoki mai i reira, a, Te Rimurapa; ka noho i reira.

Ko ana manu kei te haere; ko Rupe, tana mahi he kimi i nga kakano o nga motu; kaore i kitea. Ko te mahi a Te Kawau-a-toru, he kimi i nga whenua kaha te ia. Te taenga ki Raukawa, te tirohanga atu, ehara; kaore e kaha. Akuanei ka haere mai nga manu o tera motu, ka kite i a Rupe, ka ui atu a Rupe, “I haere mai koutou i whea?” Ka ki atu te iwi ra, “No tera motu matou.” Katahi a Rupe ka ki atu, “He aha nga kai o tena whenua?” Katahi ka ki mai: “Ka nui, otira, mau e haere ake akuanei.”

Ka rongo atu a Te Kawau-a-toru, katahi ka ki atu, “Tena, kaore ranei koutou i kite i tetehi whenua kaha te ia o te moana? inahoki a Raukawa, ko te ingoa noa iho i rahi, kaore i kaha te ia.” Katahi ka ki atu taua iwi, “Kei reira; mau e haere ake.” Ka ki atu, “Ae.”

Ka hoki, ka tae ki a Kupe; katahi a Rupe ka korero atu; kua whakaae a Kupe. Ka mutu to tera, katahi a Te Kawau-a-toru ka korero atu i tana kupu, “E Kupe! kua rongo au i te korero a nga iwi o tera motu, kei reira tetehi whenua kaha te ia o te moana.” Katahi a Kupe ka ki atu, “E pai ana, haere tirohia.”

Ka noho a Kupe i Te Rimurapa, ratou ko ana kotiro; ko te ingoa o tetehi ko Mohuia, ko Tokahaere te ingoa o tetehi. Katahi nga manu nei ka haere, ka tae ki Puhikereru, ka noho. Ka titiro a Rupe ki te manu e kai ana i te hua o te rakau, ka kaha te ra, ka huri ki te - 148 wai; ka mutu ki te wai, ka kai ano i te hua o te rakau; ka mutu, ka huri ano ki te wai. Katahi a Rupe ka haere, ka titiro i nga kai a te iwi e kai mai nei. Tana haerenga atu, ka titiro, nui rawa atu te kai, ka kai hoki ia, ka ora, katahi hoki ia ka haere ki te wai, ka titiro, katahi hoki ia ka rere ki te wai, ka hoki ake. E hoa ma! kaore tera i hoki mai ki a Kupe.

Katahi a Te Kawau-a-toru ka haere, ratou ko ona hoa, ka tata, e rua maero te mamao atu, ka ki atu nga hoa, “Koia tera e haruru mai ra.” Katahi ratou ka haere, te tirohanga atu o taua tangata ki te ia e haere mai ana, e tia he rere e rere ana ki te pari. Katahi ka ki atu nga hoa, “Taihoa e haere, kia tutu te tai.” Katahi tera ka ki atu, “Ko tona tikanga tenei i haere mai ai ahau, ki te taea e au, ehara, kaore he kaha.” Ka ki atu te tanga whenua, “Mehemea he whakataetae tau i haere mai ai, e pai ana, ma matou e titiro te ahua o te tai.” Katahi ka tirohia, no te mea ano ka kaha te tupou o te ia; katahi ka karanga atu te toi whenua, “Kua tupou te ia, whakamatauria!” Katahi ka haere atu ki te tupouranga, katahi ka tukua tetehi parirau, ka tatu, kaore i riro mai. Katahi ka tuturi nga turi ki te whenua, ka u, katahi ka tukua iho tetehi parirau, tau kau iho. Titiro tonu te tanga whenua, kua karanga etehi, “E Ta! ka mate! ka mate! ka mate!” Katahi ka tukua tetehi parirau, ko tetehi parirau kei roto i te wai kua whiti ki tetahi taha, kotahi kei runga ano kei te kawe, kaore rawa i te ata tau; nawai i kaha, i kaha, katahi ka tukua, ka whano ka rite te putanga o te uma, katahi ka piroria, E hoa! ka whati te parirau o taua manu. Na te whatinga o tetehi parirau, i whai are ai mo nga kaipuke ki taua awa, ki Te Aumiti, mei kore i whati kua kapi te awa. Ko te parirau i ora, kaore i te haerea e te kaipuke; ka mate i konei te toa a Kupe.

Ka tatari, a Kupe, ka roa; ka rere mai te pokai-tara, tika tonu mai ki te kainga o Kupe, ka rongo atu te kotiro a Kupe i te iwi ra e karanga mai ana, “kua mate!” Mohio tonu taua wahine, kua mate ana mokai, ka tangi taua wahine, katahi ka rere ki te moana, ka mate. Kite noa atu a Kupe, kua mate, waiho tonu iho hei kowhatu kei Te Rimurapa, e huaina ana te ingoa, ko Mohuia.

I te wa ka mate nga manu me te tamahine a Kupe, katahi ka tangi, ka haehae i a ia, ka rere nga toto raina tonu ki tatahi, e mau na ano inaianei; mei haere ana tetehi kia kite, kaore e ngaro. Ka mutu tena mahi katahi a Kupe ka whakaaro noa iho, “Kua kore oku painga ki te noho, ko te mea pai oku, he hoki.” Katahi a Kupe ka hoki ki raro; ka haere, a Whanganui, ka haere tonu ka tae ano ki waenganui o Whenuakura raua ko Patea. Katahi ka titiro ki uta, ka titiro ki te moana, ka tangi a Kupe, ka mutu. Ao ake ka haere a, Waitara, ka haere a, Kawhia, haere tonu a, Kaipara. Haere tonu, ka tae ki Motiwhatiwha, ka tutaki ki a Turi e haere mai ana. Ka u ki uta, ka tangi; ka mutu, kei runga a Kupe e whai korero ana; ka mutu; kei runga ko Turi e mihi ana; ka mutu; haere tonu te ui a Turi, “E Kupe! kahore koe i kite morehu o te motu nei?” Ka ki atu a Kupe, “Kahore au i kite, engari, i rongo au ki te reo e ngo haere ana, ko tetehi i runga i te paepae ano o raua, ko tana hoa e titakataka ana, heoti ano aku i kite ai o tenei motu, ka mutu.”

I te eta ka aio. Katahi a Turi ka karanga atu ki a Kupe, “E Kupe! me hoki taua ki te whenua i haerea na e koe.” Katahi a Kupe ka karanga atu, “Hoki Kupe?” Katahi a Kupe ka karanga atu, “E Turi! haere, kia maro to haere ki tue o te maunga huka, e - 149 kite koe he awa kei tua, e kite koe i nga otaota, i kapuia, koia tena, hei kona he kainga mou.” Katahi a Turi ka haere mai a, Manuka; haere mai a, Kawhia; haere mai a, Waitara; haere mai a, Taranaki; haere tonu ka tae ki Patea. Te huringa mai, kua kite i nga otaota i kapuia i te ngutuawa o Whenuakura. Katahi ka hoki ki muri, katahi ka eke ki uta, ka noho i reira. Ka roa e noho ana, katahi a Turi ka haere a, Whanganui; haere tonu a, Otaki, haere a, Waikanae; katahi ka poua te rohe atu, ko Meremere te pou a Turi.

Ka hoki mai a Turi ki Patea, i muri ka haere atu nga iwi ki runga ki taua whenua, noho ai. Ka mutu.

At the time that Kupe1 came to this country with his children he brought with him two birds named Rupe2 and Te Kawau-a-toru3; he came along (over the ocean) until he arrived at this island (of New Zealand). His course was directed towards the western sea; he called at Waitemata (Auckland Harbour) and afterwards, Manukau. Here he sent forth the cormorant to see whether the currents of Manukau had any strength; it proved that they had not. He then came on to Waikato and tested that river; but the currents had no strength, and from there he came on to Whaingaroa, Kawhia, Mokau, Waitara, Patea, and Whenuakura. Between the rivers Patea and Whenuakura, he gathered some of the vegetation into a bunch and bound it up—the meaning of this was, a taking possession of the land.

He then proceeded on to Whanganui, to Waikanae, to Te Rimurapa (near Cape Te-ra-whiti), and to Hataitai (Lyell Bay, just outside Port Nicholson) where the sail of the canoe of Kupe was spread out. The following day he arrived at Whanganui-a-tara (or Port Nicholson), and named the rock which stands at the mouth of that harbour, Te Ure-o-Kupe. He then went on to Wairarapa, and as far as Te Mataua-Maui (Cape Kidnappers) from which place he returned to Te Rimurapa, where he remained.

All this time Kupe's birds constantly flew about; Rupe's object was to discover the (useful) seeds of the forest, but he failed to find any. Te Kawau-a-toru occupied himself in searching for places where the currents were strong.

On their arrival at Raukawa (Cook's Strait), it was examined, and behold! the currents had no strength. Presently the birds of the South Island came over and saw Rupe, so Rupe asked of them: “Whence have you come from?” and the people (sic) replied: “We came from the other island.” Then said Rupe: “What sorts of food are there in that land?” the reply was: “A great many, but you come over presently and see.”

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When Te Kawau-a-toru heard this he asked: “Say, have you ever seen a land in which the currents of the sea are very strong? as for Raukawa its name alone is great, but its currents have no strength.” Then those people (sic) replied: “Across there (are the currents), come over and see for yourself.” To which he replied: “I will do so.”

They then returned to Kupe, and Rupe reported to him what he had heard, and Kupe consented to his going. When he had finished, Te Kawau-a-toru spoke his word: “O Kupe! I have heard the words of the people of the other island; in that place is a land where the strength of the currents of the sea is great.” Kupe replied: “It is well, go and examine it.”

Kupe settled down at Te Rimurapa together with his daughters, the names of whom were Mohuia and Toka-haere. Then the two birds left, and after arriving at Puhi-kereru, 4 remained there. Rupe saw birds feeding on the fruit of a tree, and when the sun shone strongly, they went to the water (to drink), after which they returned again to the tree to feed on the fruit, and then again visited the water. Then Rupe went to find ont the kind of food the people (sic) were eating, and on his arrival he saw there was food there in great plenty; he ate until he was satisfied and then went to the water to drink, and then after looking about flew into the water and back again.5

Friends! that bird never returned to Kupe.

In the meantime, Te Kawau-a-toru and his friends proceeded on their way, and when they drew near—two miles distant perhaps—they said to him: “There it (the current) is, the roar reaches even here.” They then proceeded, and when that man (sic) looked at the approaching current, it seemed like a waterfall falling over a precipice. Then his friends said to him: “Tarry awhile, until the tide is full.” The other replied: “That is the reason I came; if I overcome it, it is nothing—it has no strength.” The people of the land said: “If it was for the purpose of contending (with the current) you came, it is well; we will go and see what state the tide is in.” They then examined the current and found it fell steeply (overfalls?); then called out the toi-whenua6 or people of the land: “The current is overfalling; now try it!” So he went to the overfall, and tried it with one of his wings; it touched the water and he could not recover it. Then he knelt so that his knees firmly touched the ground, and let fall his other wing, which barely touched (the water). The people of the country were all the time looking on; some called out: “Oh Sir! you will be killed! you will perish!” Then he depressed his wing again, whilst that one in the water extended across to the far side (of the channel), the first wing was still flapping in the air and had not quite touched (the water). He strove and strove, and then let it fall, and so soon as (the water) reached the height of his breast, (the current) twirled him round and round. Friend! one of the wings of that bird was broken. It is because of the breaking of this wing that there is a passage for ships through that channel at Te Aumiti7.; if it had not broken it would have remained closed. The wing which remained whole, does not allow of ships passing. So died the brave-one of Kupe.

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Kupe waited a long time, and then there arrived a flock of terns; they flew straight to the home of Kupe. Directly Kupe's daughter heard the flock calling out “dead, dead,” that woman knew her pets were dead; she cried and mourned for them and then rushed into the sea and was drowned. When Kupe saw that she was dead, he changed her body into a rock at Te Rimurapa, which is still called by her name, Mohuia.

On the death of the birds and his daughter, Kupe lamented, and cut his flesh in sign of mourning, and his blood flowed straight down to the sea, and is to be seen there even now; if any one goes to look for it, it will not be hidden. After all these events had occured, Kupe thought to himself: “There is no good in my remaining here, the best thing I can do is to return.” So Kupe returned northwards and arrived at Whanganui, and still going on came to that part of the coast between Whenuakura and Patea; there he looked away inland, and away seaward, and lamented (his loss). At the break of day he went on again and arrived at Waitara, then went on to Kawhia, then to Kaipara, and then departing (from this island) he finally arrived at Motiwhatiwha8 where he met Turi who was on his way here (to New Zealand). They landed and greeted one another, at the end of which Kupe rose up to speak; when he had ended, Turi arose and after he had greeted Kupe, began to question him: “Oh Kupe! did you not see any remnants of people in the island?” Kupe replied: “I did not see any, but I heard the voices of some grunting; one was on top of a bar or rail, and his companion was turning head-over-heels; those were all I saw in that Island.

In the morning it was a calm. Turi called out to Kupe: “Oh Kupe! let us both return to the land to which you went.” Kupe replied to him: “Will Kupe return?”9 and he added: “Oh Turi! proceed, let your course be direct past the snowy mountain,10 and when you see a river beyond and a bunch of vegetation tied up, that is the place; let your home be there.” And so Turi came on (to New Zealand) to Manukau, to Kawhia, to Waitara, to Taranaki, and continued on till he arrived at Patea. As he looked about, he saw the bunch of vegetation that was tied up at the mouth of Whenuakura. Then he returned back and landed (at Patea) and remained there. After a lengthened stay, Turi went to Whanganui and on to Otaki and Waikanae, where he set up his boundary; Meremere was the name of the boundary post of Turi.

Turi then returned to Patea, and subsequently the people spread over that district and dwelt there. This is the end.

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