In 2010, Tarawera Land Company agreed to a portion of land being transferred out of the Tarawera Forest estate into Māori Investments Limited ownership.

Once this process was complete, an application was then made to the Māori Land Court to have the status of this land changed to a Māori reserve. This was finalised in in June 2010.

The official name of the Māori Reserve is Te Tapuwae Maunga, but is more commonly referred to as the Tuhourangi Memorial.

In November 2010, a commemoration service was held at Te Tapuwae Maunga, and in particular a sacred rock which is known to be the birthplace of Tuhourangi, an eponymous ancestor from Te Arawa.

The commemoration service also recorded the expansion of Te Marangaranga.

Deep in the majestic Tarawera Forest on the banks of the Tarawera River, stands a commemorative plaque dedicated to Tuhourangi, son of Rangitihi-Whakahirahira and father of “Nga Pumanawa e Waru o Te Arawa”.

The plaque commemorates the birth of Tuhourangi, and was erected by the local iwi. Standing in front of a rock, at the base of the Marangaranga Hill, the plaque was carved by local tohunga, Kaka Niao, who has since passed on.

The rock at which the plaque stands is of great significance in that the pito (placenta) of Tuhourangi is embedded inside of it. The rock is named Marangaranga from which the Hill’s name was derived.

The inscription on the plaque reads as follows:

He Whakamaharatanga ki te Whanautanga o Tuhourangi

It is said, that a heavily pregnant Papawharanui and her husband Rangitihi were being pursued by a war party from the Te Tini o Kawerau area.

To give Papawharanui more chance of a safe escape, Rangitihi decided to be a decoy and lead their pursuers away from her.

To improve her chances she decided she needed to have her baby quickly. To aid in the quick birth she lent on a nearby rock at Otaamaka on the slopes of Marangaranga to apply pressure to her puku.

Tuhourangi was born, and Papawharanui carried the baby with the umbilical cord still attached to Potiki-ana-tapu (an opening in the rock) where a branch protruded.

Using the branch she severed the umbilical cord, placed the whenua (placenta) inside the opening, leaving the umbilical cord tied to the branch as a sign for Rangitihi.

Papawharanui then cleansed herself in the waters of Otuhangu (Buddles Creek). She was eventually reunited with Rangithi and his ope taua at Kiore Tahora.

Marangaranga te puke tapu, Otuhangu te wai, Tuhourangi te tangata, Te Arawa te waka.

To this day, “uruuru whenua” (offerings) are placed on the rock revered to have been the birthplace of Tuhourangi, an eponymous ancestor and paramount chief of Te Arawa.

It is believed that by placing these offerings it will safeguard people in and around the forest from harm and ‘unseen forces and energies’.

A ngangara (lizard) lived in the Te Haehaenga area by Tarawera Falls. This ngangara was causing havoc with the people of the area and Tuhourangi decided to confront the ngangara. To his amazement it was a ngangararua (two headed lizard). They fought at Onepoto and Tuhourangi overpowered the ngangararua and killed it.