the following was taken from the site THE FIRST TRIBES


A region of many peoples
The Hauraki region stretches from the Mahurangi Peninsula in the north to Nga Kuri-a-Wharei, a sunken reef near Katikati, Tauranga. It includes the Tamaki isthmus, Te Hapu-a-Kohe, the Piako, Ohinemuri and Wairoa districts, the Coromandel Peninsula and Whangamata.

The Maori settlement of this region is dominated by the
Marutuahu confederation, a group of tribes with Tainui origins. However, many other tribes have maintained a presence, including Te Patukirikiri, Ngati Huarere, Ngati Hako, Te Whakatohea, Ngati Hei, Ngati Rahiri, Ngati Tara, Nga Marama, Ngai Tai and Ngati Porou.

Te Patukirikiri
The origins of the Te Patukirikiri people lie with the Te Wai-o-Hua tribe of the Tamaki isthmus. Kapetaua, the ancestor of Te Patukirikiri, was abandoned by his brother-in-law, Tarakumukumu, on a rock off Bastion Point. This spot (also known as Bean Rock) is called Te Toka-o-Kapetaua. Kapetaua survived the ordeal and eventually defeated Tarakumukumu on Waiheke Island. Later Kapetaua regrouped his people on the Coromandel Peninsula. They took the name Te Patukirikiri to commemorate their victory in a battle on a beach, where in fighting off their assailants their only weapons (patu) were rocks and stones (kirikiri).

Ngati Hako
The people of Ngati Hako are acknowledged as the earliest settlers in the Hauraki region. Although Ngati Hako endured long periods of conflict with the Marutuahu peoples, they were never completely overcome. They have maintained a presence in Hauraki to the present day. Their origins are not known, but it is suggested that they belonged to the ancient
Te Tini o Toi people, who were descendants of the Polynesian navigator Toitehuatahi.

The survival of Ngati Hako through the period of Marutuahu expansion was assisted by a strategic marriage. The high-born Ngati Hako woman Ruawehea was married to Tamatera, the son of Marutuahu. The special relationship between Ngati Hako and the lands of Hauraki is recalled in their traditional call of welcome:

Haere mai, nau mai.
Haere mai, kuhu noa mai ki nga huha o Ruawehea.

Come forth, welcome.
Come forth and enter the thighs of Ruawehea.