Maui fishes up the North Island
With the help of his brothers, the mythical hero Māui fishes up Te Ika-roa-a-Māui (Māui’s great fish) – now known as the North Island of New Zealand. In some traditions, his waka (canoe) became the South Island, known as Te Waka a Māui. In others, it is known as Nukutaimemeha, and is said to reside on the summit of Hikurangi, the ancestral mountain of the Ngāti Porou tribe.
Photo credit: Maui-Matua - Illustrations first published in Eke Panuku by Learning Media Limited for the Ministry of Education, Copyright © Crown, 2004