The three whales story belongs to the iwi of Tauranga Moana- how the Papamoa hills came to be.

A long, long time ago, a whale and her baby swam into Tauranga Harbour past Mauao and Matakana Island, chasing stingrays. The two whales swam up the harbour past Matapihi and Maungatapu and into Rangataua Bay. 

The pair found that the water was getting more shallow due to the changing tides and they tried to return to the deeper water, however the tides turned too fast and the pair became trapped.

Both struggled over the mudflats, trying to find a way back to the open sea. Tired, they stopped to drink from a stream on the inner shore near Karikari Point. The stream was magical and life immediately departed from the mother whale fixing her to the spot, turning her into a gently rolling hill gazing northward out to Papamoa and the sea. The baby also drank and became fixed, nestled beside the mother.

A third whale, the father, came looking for his family wondering what had happened. Following the same path he found himself in the same predicament, tired and stranded. Coming upon the stream he too drank and the magic from the stream fixed him in place.

These three whales now stand as high hills overlooking Papamoa and Tauranga. Local Maori identify the mother whale as Mangatawa (a rolling hill of 117m in height near the end of Truman Lane), the baby as Hikurangi (the lower peak of the Mangatawa hill) and the father whale as Kopukairoa (a 265m high rounded hill, south of Mangatawa between Waitao and Rocky Cutting Roads). The stream they drank from is now referred to as "Te Wai U o te Tohora", which means "the milk of the mother whale". Sometimes the water flowing from it is quite white.

Thank you to Tracey Henderson (Te Reo Club) for creating the design and sharing it with our school. Thank you for the generosity of our supporters whose donations made this mural possible. Thank you to our PTFA for your support in making a difference to our school environment.