"Ngā tini whetū ki te Rangi, ko Rangitane ki te whenua"

Rangitāne have long woven their presence into the fabric of this whenua (land) and rohe (region), guided by tikanga and kawa. They explored, named, and drew sustenance from the rich and sacred sites that mark this whenua. We honour Rangitāne, their whakapapa, and their enduring guardianship, which form an integral part of our cultural identity and connection to this whenua and rohe. 

The story of Rangitāne begins with the Kurahaupō waka. Rangitāne trace their whakapapa (genealogy) and origins back to the Kurahaupō waka, linking the identity, history, and connection to the land with this ancestral voyage to the iwi. 

The rohe of Rangitāne o Wairau stretches from the Wairau River to Te Anamāhanga, including d’Urville Island, Nelson, and Waimeha, reaching south to Nelson Lakes and the Clarence River, then north through Kekerengu, Cape Campbell, Lake Grassmere, White Bluffs, and the Wairau Lagoons. 

Rangitāne are strong, present, and far-reaching as described by the whakatauki, "Ngā tini whetū ki te Rangi, ko Rangitāne ki te whenua," meaning, “Like the multitudes of stars in the sky … so great is Rangitāne on the earth.”