| Ruatāhuna | |
| Pushpin Map: | New Zealand |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Coordinates: | -38.55°N 233°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  New Zealand |
| Subdivision Name1: | Bay of Plenty |
| Subdivision Type2: | Territorial authority |
| Subdivision Name2: | Whakatāne District |
| Subdivision Type3: | Ward |
| Subdivision Name3: | Galatea-Murupara |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
Ruatāhuna is a small town in the remote country of Te Urewera, in the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 90 kilometres directly west of Gisborne, and 18 kilometres northwest of Lake Waikaremoana. By road, it is 50 kilometres south-east of Murupara, and 110 kilometres north-west of Wairoa. It is on the upper reaches of the Whakatāne River, and surrounded on three sides by the Te Urewera protected area, formerly the Te Urewera National Park. The road that runs from Murupara through Ruatahuna to Āniwaniwa on Lake Waikaremoana, a large part of which is unsealed, used to be designated as part of State Highway 38. It is a subdivision of the Galatea-Murupara ward of the Whakatāne District.[1]
The area was the site of much action during the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s and 1870s. From 1870 to 1888, one of the largest wharenui ever built, Te Whai-a-te-Motu, was constructed for Te Kooti and his followers.[2]
Ruatāhuna is within the rohe (tribal area) of Tūhoe, and has several marae affiliated with Tūhoe hapū:[3] [4] [5]
In October 2020, the Government committed $3,996,258 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade Kākānui, Mātaatua, Ōhāua, Pāpueru, Tātāhoata, Uwhiārae, Te Wai-iti marae, creating 79 jobs.[6]
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Huiarau is a co-educational state Māori language immersion area school for Year 1 to 13 students,[7] with a roll of as of .[8]