Te Aratāwhao was a Māori waka

Waka (canoe)

Waka are Māori watercraft, usually canoes ranging in size from small, unornamented canoes used for fishing and river travel, to large decorated war canoes up to long...

 constructed by early Māori settlers in the Bay of Plenty

Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...

 region of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. The craft was purpose-built to supply kumara

Kumara

Kumara may refer to:Places* Kumara, New Zealand, a town* Kumara , a Parliamentary electoratePeople*Ajith Kumara , Sri Lankan politician*Dinesh Kumara , Sri Lankan cricketer...

 from Hawaiki

Hawaiki

In Māori mythology, Hawaiki is the homeland of the Māori, the original home of the Māori, before they travelled across the sea to New Zealand...

 to New Zealand. Captained by Tama-ki-hikurangi, Te Aratāwhao withstood the journey from Whakatāne

Whakatane

Whakatane is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region, in the North Island of New Zealand, and is the seat of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Whakatane is 90 km east of Tauranga and 89 km north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatane River.The town has a population of , with...

 to Hawaiki. However, Te Aratāwhao and her captain remained in Hawaiki, while the crew returned to New Zealand with the supplies in another canoe, the Mataatua

Mataatua

In Māori tradition, Mataatua was one of the great voyaging canoes by which Polynesians migrated to New Zealand. Māori traditions say that the Mataatua was initially sent from Hawaiki to bring supplies of kūmara to Māori settlements in New Zealand...

.