Early Te Uri o Hau arrived on the shores of the Kaipara Harbour around 1250 AD. The blood of thousands of men, women and children was spilt while defending their right to occupy their tribal area.

Te Uri O Hau, who have mana whenua over Mangawhai and westwards to the Kaipara are of Ngati Whatua descent, because of their common tupuna (ancestor) Haurmoewaarangi.

In the early nineteenth century, the northern Kaipara district was the battleground between two large confederations; Nga Puhi and Ngati Whatua. Hostilities began around 1807 with a battle known as Te Kai a te Karoro ‘The Seagull’s Feast’. This was a grave defeat for Nga Puhi who lost several of their leaders, encouraging leader Hongi Hika to acquire guns after 1814.

In February 1825, Mangawhai and the surrounding region became the site of one of NZ’s great battles. A combined hapu of Nga Puhi now armed with 300 muskets landed their waka’s at Mangawhai. They travelled and met a confederation of Kaipara hapu (consisting of Te Uri o Hau and others) at the stream between Mangawhai and Kaiwaka where a battle unfolded. The confederation of Kaipara hapu possessed only two muskets. Many of the Kaipara people were killed during that period and the area was declared tapu and the land unoccupied. For the next decade, most of Kaipara remained largely vacant, but by the 1830s, Ngati Whatua began moving back to the Kaipara and surrounding areas.

European purchase and settlement began just prior to the Treaty of Waitangi, but little evidence exists of this. In February 1841, William Mayhew claimed 20,000 acres in Mangawhai and a series of land claim disputes followed.

On 3 March 1854, the Crown purchased land at Mangawhai for European settlement for £1,060. The sale differed from other land sales because it included a provision that “10% of the proceeds of the sale was to be expended for the benefit of Maori” – however very little payment was made after this date. The alleged failing of the Crown to fulfil its obligations led to a series of settlements between Ngati Whatua, Te Uri o Hau and the Crown.

In 2000, the Crown gave formal recognition and acknowledgment to the hapu of Te Uri o Hau for the alienation from their ancestral lands and loss of their natural resources, waters, estates and fisheries. This acknowledgement was legislated in 2002 and became known as the Te Uri o Hau Claims Settlement Act 2002. This helped formalise Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust, a management company entrusted in providing for the spiritual, cultural, social and economic well-being of the hapu and whanau of Te Uri o Hau.

MANGAWHAI POINT HISTORY

Mangawhai takes its name from the Ngati Whatua Chief Te Whai, who lived at Pakiri before being expelled by a Ngapuhi war party and retiring to Manga-Te-Whai, the place of Te Whai where the streams meet. Mangawhai or “Stream of the Stingray relates to the evil that will be returned if anyone should harm the stingrays within the harbour. In the early 1800’s Mangawhai Harbour area was the home of Chief, Te Whai.

According to historians, chief Te Whai settled on a coastal headland Pa, understood to be on the land now known as Mangawhai Point. The value of the area is obvious, providing views up and down the harbour and ready access to fish and shellfish resources, the inland waterways allowed a well- travelled portage to the Kaipara, and the open coast on the other side of the Mangawhai sandspit.

As a measure of respect to such treasured taonga; the Pa has been preserved and protected for future generations to enjoy. A stone plinth has been placed to inform visitors of the significance of where they stand. The Pa is an exciting and significant part of Te Uri o Hau’s history, with potential to be included as part of a cultural heritage trail program to help educate the history of Ngati Whatua.

At all stages of the development project, Mangawhai Point has undertaken the appropriate investigations into the site to ensure the area’s cultural, spiritual, historical and traditional interests have been acknowledged and preserved wherever possible. All house sites have been placed sensitively around the topography, native vegetation and culturally sensitive areas.

With regards to European settlement, John and Martha Moir gave their name to the area from 1868 and it became known as Moir Point. John crewed on a cutter, running trips from Mangawhai to Auckland during 1891. Remnants of the old Moir Homestead were found in the site investigations, including chimney brick, cement and bottles. The land was on-sold twice and repurchased twice by the Moirs between 1890 and 1903 and the house probably dates to this period.

From the turn of the century until 1920, John operated a punt taking children from Mangawhai Heads to the new school at Mangawhai Village. In the 1940s John & Martha’s daughter Margaret and her husband, Leon, donated several acres for the Moirs Point Christian Camp (adjacent to Mangawhai Point). In more recent years the land was farmed and then gardened commercially to supply pumpkins, watermelon and rockmelon to local and Auckland-based supermarkets until the mid-eighties. Since then it has been used to graze sheep and beef and was a summer camping retreat for the family.