Rāpaki

• Rāpaki is a small settlement on the eastern shoreline of Whakaraupō (Lyttelton Harbour). From the beach of its wide shallow bay there is a view across the water to Ōtamahua (Quail Island) and westward toward the mudflats at the head of the harbour. Rāpaki is home to one of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu’s four Banks Peninsula papatipu rūnanga, Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke.
• The name Rapaki recalls the actions of the chief Te Rakiwhakaputa who threw down his rāpaki (waist mat) on the shores of Whakaraupō thus claiming the land for Ngāi Tahu. The full name of the bay is Te Rāpaki o Te Rakiwhakaputa. After securing Rāpaki as Ngāi Tahu territory, Te Rakiwhakaputa moved on to claim other areas and left his son Te Wheke to establish the settlement.
• When the Canterbury Association’s representative Captain Joseph Thomas arrived at Whakaraupō in the 1840s his favoured position for establishment of a port was Rāpaki. Rāpaki Māori preferred to maintain their land for themselves so the port was established at nearby Lyttlelton.