Rāpaki

Te Rāpaki-o-Te Rakiwhakaputa, commonly known as Rāpaki or Rapaki, is a small settlement within the Lyttelton Harbour basin.

[1] Rāpaki is one of four Banks Peninsula rūnanga (communities) based around marae (tribal meeting grounds).

[3] Its wharenui (meeting house), called Te Wheke, opened in 2008, was carved by Riki Manuel and Fayne Robinson, with tukutuku panels overseen by local weaver 'Aunty' Doe Parata.

[4][5] The carvings of the wharenui trace the almost 400 years of continuous settlement related to the arrival of the ancestor Te Rakiwhakaputa.

According to one legend, the Ngāi Tahu chief Te Rakiwhakaputa named the place by laying his waist mat (rāpaki) down to claim it.