The amazing fact about this tribe is that they are here in Hauraki. There is no disputing the fact they have been here for a long time. Their origins can be traced back to the ancestor Kapetaua who makes his first appearance some centuries ago in Tamaki. His father, Tawake, was of the ancient tribe Te Waiohua living at the Kohimarama pa in Tamaki. There is an incident relating to his mischievous daring as a child; it aggravated his brother-in-law, Tarakumukumu, who in a fit of resentment took him fishing and abandoned him to die on an isolated rock in the Waitemata harbour. On Tarakumukumu's return to shore he was questioned by his wife Tairuhi (Tairua) as to the whereabouts of her young brother—of which he denied any knowledge.
Suspecting foul play, Tairuhi, while tending her kumara crops, heard the faint calls of her brother borne by the north winds as he was about to be engulfed by the rapidly incoming tide. Swiftly launching a small canoe she rowed out in the rising wind and promptly rescued him. Since that day the low-lying reef has been known as Te Toka-o-KapetauaKapetaua's Rock, now more commonly called Bean Rock—offshore of Bastion Point.
On reaching manhood, Kapetaua, who had brooded long over his brother-in-law's attempt on his life, avowed to avenge himself at the first possible opportunity. Tarakumukumu and his family had since removed themselves to the island of Waiheke and after several attempts to exact retribution, Kapetaua finally succeeded by entrapping him and his people in their meeting house and razing it to the ground. None survived and Kapetaua established his tribe in the domains of Hauraki.
They took no part in the wars against the Marutuahu and remained unaffected during the aftermath. What lands they owned they were able to retain and it appears that as a tribe they flitted in and out of the various tribal divisions of Ngati Paoa, Ngati Tamatera and Ngati Whanaunga at will, to maintain ownership. It was no wonder that these tribes considered them as being tribal branches. Their lands were scattered haphazardly about Tamaki and Hauraki. Most were sold before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, except for areas that they retained in the vicinity of Coromandel and its inshore islands.
The present tribal definition was adopted during the Maru conflict with Ngati Huarere and Kahui-Ariki tribes. When confronted by the latter-named tribe in a battle which is said to have taken place at Coromandel, they were engaged in the peaceful pursuits of netting fish from the shore. They were without their weapons and by using the stones on the
