Omahu
Omahu | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Coordinates: 39°34′57″S 176°45′40″E / 39.582501°S 176.761135°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Hawkes Bay |
| District | Hastings District |
| Iwi | Ngāi Te Upokoiri, Ngāti Hinemanu, Ngāti Rangikamangungu, Ngati Hinepare, Ngati Honomokai, Ngati Hawea |
| Founded by | Rēnata Kawepō |
| Government | |
| • Type | Hapū Confederacy |
| • Rangatira | Renata Kawepo (Founder) |
Omahu is a village in the Hastings District and Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on State Highway 50, north-west of Hastings on the north bank of the Ngaruroro River.
Omahu (Māori: Ōmahu) was a significant Māori tribal capital and strategic settlement established by the prominent Ngāti Te Upokoiri rangatira (chief) Renata Kawepo. Located in the fertile Heretaunga plains of Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, Omahu served as a major political, economic, and cultural centre for Kawepo's hapū (sub-tribe) and a broader confederation of iwi (tribes) under his influence during the mid to late 19th century. Its establishment reflected Kawepo's vision for a self-sufficient and politically independent Māori stronghold in the face of increasing European settlement and land pressures.
A missionary site was established at Omahu in the early 19th century.
Omahu was inundated by flooding during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 after the Ngaruroro River burst its banks, destroying dozens of houses.