Cockle Bank

The Cockle Bay area is part of the rohe of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, who descend from the crew of the Tainui migratory waka, who visited the area around the year 1300. The traditional name for the bay and surrounding area is Tūwakamana, a shortened version of Te Tūranga-waka-ā-Manawatere. The name recalls the story of the arrival of the Tainui. When the crew arrived, they noticed that Tainui ancestor Manawatere had recently visited the bay, and left a red ochre marking on a pōhutukawa tree, as a sign that the bay was a good place to settle. The area was widely cultivated by Ngāi Tai, and protected by the Tūwakamana Pā at Cockle Bay, which commanded a view of the wider Turanga Estuary. Tūwakamana…