Haki Te Kura — Queenstown, New Zealand
Posted by: 
Dunbar Loop
S 45° 02.311 E 168° 39.507
59G E 315573 N 5010103
Honouring a member of the Ngati Mamoe who swam across Lake Wakatipu
Waymark Code: WM83GG
Location: South Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 01/20/2010
Views: 10
In commemoration of
the early Maori of this area
and the
legendary swim across Lake Wakatipu
of
Haki Te Kura
a young Ngati Mamoe woman who lived
in the early 18th century.
Donated by Queenstown and District Historical Society, Sesquicentennial Year 1990
From the Lore and History of the South Island Maori by W.A. Taylor a reference to Haki Te Kura is found on page 143:
Lake Wakatipu, one of the sources of the great Molyneux River, is famed as a picturesque tourist resort, but long before pakeha feet trod its shores, it was the abode of the gallant Ngati Mamoe Tribe. … On its shores near Queenstown once stood a pa called Tahuna where was born an Ngati Mamoe chief named Tu Wiri Roa who grew to manhood there, married, and had a daughter named Haki Te Kura. She grew to womanhood at Tahuna, where she saw the Ngati Mamoe women swimming in the lake. Her ambition was to excel them all. From a vantage point on the lower slopes of Ben Lomond she watched the swimmers. When she told her father of her hopes, Te Wiri Roa coached his daughter.
One day, confidence gained, and provided with a bunch of dry raupo, Haki Te Kura set forth before day-break and swam the two-and-a-half miles across the cold waters of Lake Wakatipu, using the Cecil and Walter Peaks as her guiding beacon. She landed safely at Refuge Point, and lit a fire to warm her chilled body. Te Wiri Roa observed the fire and proudly sent a canoe across to bring his daughter back. The mark of the fire at Refuge Point can still be seen, and is called Te Ahi o Haki Te Kura. The guiding peaks are Ko Kamu o Haki Te Kura. Kawarau Peninsula also bears the name of the Maori woman swimmer as Te Unuku o Haki Te Kura.