Whakatane

There is a bronze statue of a young woman named Wairaka on the hill outside of Whakatane. Legend has it that when the first waka boats arrived, everyone gratefully got off to relax after their 2000+ mile canoe ride. The men went exploring, while the women stayed back on the white sands to relax. Unfortunately, though, as the tide came in, the women noticed that their wakas, with all of their provisions and connection to their homeland, started floating back out to sea. Wairaka, the young daughter of the chief, hurried and swam to the boats and climbed in. Saved! Except, that she wasn't completely saved yet. She now had a huge dilemma. A woman touching the oars was a serious tapu, and it meant serious bad luck on the tribe. Still, to not touch the oars meant serious bad luck on her tribe as well. Oh screw it. She called out to the gods "Kia whakatane au i a!" which means "I will act like a man!", and she grabbed the oars and saved the wakas and saved the provisions. As an added bonus, it seemed that nothing evil fell on her tribe after all, so the gods granted her her wish. Whew!

The Maori named the place "Whakatane" to remember this event. Whakatane, by the way, is pronounced "Fock-a-tawn-ee", and it is believed to be settled around 1200 A.D.