ata pō
1. (noun) before dawn.
I te ata pō ka mānu te poti whakaora otirā i te nui o te ngaru kāhore i tata atu, heoi ka mānu noa iho me te karanga mai anō ngā tāngata o te kaipuke kia tīkina atu rātou, ka tata rātou te mate (TP 11/1905:8). / Before dawn the lifeboat was launched but because the waves were so big they couldn't approach it so they held off while the people on the ship called to be rescued as they were about to die.