My full name is Anthony Whareraupo Olsen (Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe). I am an advisor to the Waitaha Taiwhenua o Waitaki Trust and an Officer of Te Rūnanganui o Waitaha & Māta Waka Iwi Authority Incorporated. I am a Waitaha historian and genealogist of 40 years as well as a Resource Consent Commissioner of 7 years’ experience. My post-graduate diploma was in Fluvial & Costal Geomorphology.
Waitaha iwi is the oldest tribal group in Te Waipounamu and were present for at least 700 years before Kāti Māmoe migrated from the North Island to establish themselves in the South Island alongside Waitaha. In the late 17th century, the Ngāi Tuhaitara (Ngāi Tahu) people from the East Coast of the North Island followed Kāti Māmoe to Te Waipounamu. Over time, Ngai Tahu established themselves as the dominant tribal group in the South Island. However, both Waitaha ki te Waipounamu and Kāti Māmoe have retained their individual tribal identities, and have their own kawa, tikanga, mita, and kōrero tuku iho.
