Pirihima Whānau Trust is named after and commemorates a tupuna kuia of the same name who originally owned the block on which the orchard is located.  

Her brother Eru Te Tauhou also known as Tauhou, or Eru Tamapahore, was a well known Ngā Pōtiki leader whose life straddled the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He donated the land known as Te Whare o Tahuwhakatiki (Papamoa No 2 Pt Sec1E No. 1.) to his Ngā Pōtiki people for a marae and was responsible for the erection of a wharenui he named ‘Romainohorangi’. The wharenui was opened on Christmas day 1911. Eru Te Tauhou died a year later and he is still recorded on the marae trust document as one of two owners, the other being his grand nephew Rehe Mataatia. A photograph of Te Tauhou hangs in a place of honor in the same wharenui.

Te Tauhou’s younger sister Miriama (Mataatia’s mother) is commemorated by Te Ohaaki a Miriama Papakāinga located on the Pirihima Block at the rear of ‘Romainohorangi’. And the relationship that Te Tauhou actively encouraged with the Kingitanga during his lifetime continued into the 21st Century with the opening of Te Ohaaki a Pirihima in 2016 by Heeni Paki, sister to King Tūheitia.        

Mataatia is recorded as having assisted with the erection of the Church of the Sacred Heart following its shift from Karikari to Tahuwhakatiki in 1919. The same church building, which originally stood opposite the main gate to Tahuwhakatiki marae fell into disrepair and was removed by the Catholic community of Te Puna during the 1940’s.  

Established in the early 1980’s by Wiremu Ohia and Riini Paraire, first trustees also included Keepa Smallman, Te Aohuakirangi Woodhouse, William Kiwi, Uatuku Taite and Anaru Kahotea.

The Trust was briefly known as the Tahuwhakatiki Whānau Trust but to allay any confusion with the Marae, the Trust name was again changed to identify with a common ancestor of the owners.

Over time, the Trust has been involved in a range of business activities including dairy, drystock, horticulture and forestry.

Our tohu is a contemporary representation of our tipuna wahine, Pirihima.

The graphic representation of the letter “P” gives instant visual acknowledgment to this tipuna, while the stylised koru is representative of our whenua based business activities with subtle hints of Waitao flowing beneath Kopukairoa towards Rangataua.

The structure of our tohu & typography is purposeful and the combined use of both bold and standard letterforms puts the emphasis on PIRIHIMA WHĀNAU.