What is "akuaku"

Akuaku, also known as Aku Aku, was a settlement approximately halfway between Waipiro Bay and Whareponga in the East Coast region of New Zealand's North Island. A traditional landing point for waka taua, the town is most notable now as the former home (and possible birthplace) of Major Ropata Wahawaha, N.Z.C, as well as the ancestral home of Te Whānau-a-Rākairoa.

Akuaku was once a thriving settlement — the hub of the area — with a school, church, and a marae with a wharenui called Rakeiroa. Akuaku never had a road, and when Waipiro Bay's road was built in the early 20th century, Akuaku's residents began to move. The final residents of Akuaku left around 1945, and three cemeteries are all that remain of the town today.