Ngāti Tama
Their origins, according to oral tradition, date back to Tama Ariki, the chief navigator on the Tokomaru waka.Their historic region is in north Taranaki, around Poutama, with the Mōhakatino River marking their northern boundary with the Tainui and Ngāti Maniapoto.[1] The Ngāti Tama migrated south in the 1820s in search of better opportunities (e.g. trade) and to ensure their safety, as there was a conflict with musket-carrying Tainui people.The Ngāti Tama established settlements at Ohariu, Mākara, Ohaua, and Oterongo on the western coast; and Komangarautawhiri further north.The Ngāti Tama tribe maintained a distinct identity of its own in Wellington, and exercised rights to land, fishing, birding and cultivation, and had an organisational structure with associated kainga, marae, waahi tapu, and so on.Together with the Ngāti Mutunga, they captured the mate of the European vessel Lord Rodney and threatened to kill him unless the captain took them to the Chatham Islands.The younger men were keen to repel the invaders and argued that although they had not fought for many centuries they outnumbered the newcomers two to one and were a strong people.[7] However, the first shipload of arrivals, who were mainly Ngāti Tama, did not wait, and proceeded to claim the best areas, which were at Waitangi and Kaingaroa.The effects of European settlement on the Ngāti Tama proved to be disastrous as the new arrivals sought Maori land.The New Zealand Company thought they had purchased land from Te Kaeaea when they had only been given anchorage and port rights at Wellington Harbour.In 1847, McCleverty concluded a series of agreements with Ngāti Tama to finally settle the reserves issue.