Te Tihi o Kahukura, meaning the citadel of Kahukura or the pinnacle of the rainbow, is the original name for Castle Rock - the prominent outcrop of rock punctuating a tight corner of the Summit Road above Heathcote and Horotane Valleys,

Kahukura, after whom the rock is named was the spirit guardian invoked by tribal tohunga and appealed to for advice and omens in times of war. Each hapū had an image of Kahukura, often a small carved wooden figure, which was kept in a tapu place.

A literal translation of Kahukura is red garment and the rainbow is the celestial embodiment of Kahukura in our skies.

Sources

• James Cowan, Māori Folk Tales of the Port Hills, Canterbury, New Zealand, Third Edition, facsimile of First Edition, with index, 1995, Cadsonbury Publications (First Published 1923)