held at Thames in 1960. Visiting elders from Ngati Pukeko (Whakatane) alluded to he taonga whakanekeneke (a restless heirloom that had cause to move). The description is apt as it came into their possession after the death of Tamatera who was their ancestor also. Its wayward progress since that time has not been recorded and one must marvel at its very existence today.
The conclusion is that the mauri was passed down from descendant to descendant through the connected families until it completely dropped from sight for many generations. When it did surface again sometime in 1893 it was being held by kin members of Te Whanau a Apanui, also of Mataatua waka whose domains extend to Tihirau at Cape Runaway. It was finally deposited in the Auckland Museum for safekeeping so that in terms of restlessness it has, over a period of some 300 years, run the full circle in its journey; commencing at Tikapa (the Hauraki Gulf), thence to Katikati (Nga Kuri-a-Wharei), on to Tihirau (Mataatua waka extremity) and back again to its present abode overlooking Tikapa Moana.
Against this backdrop of their early emergence, Ngati Maru then proceeded to establish themselves in Hauraki. The descendants of Taurukapakapa did not project themselves as an entity and were absorbed by those of his brothers, principally Ngati Maru and Ngati Whanaunga, as their genealogies bear witness. While engaged in the struggle against Ngati Huarere and Ngati Hako, Ngati Maru took stock of themselves and found that as more land became available they took up station about Kauaeranga (Thames) and Wharekawa East, leaving their former home to Ngati Whanaunga and the increasing Ngati Paoa.
The great-grandsons of Maru had taken up the cudgels of assault. Among them were the famed Rautao and Whanga, the sons of Kahuraotao who with other relatives including a grand-uncle, Te Hihi, were beginning to roll up their unfortunate enemies in the last phases of the long and arduous campaign.
Hostilities ceased against Ngati Hako after the fall of their stronghold, Mataii, situated at the junction of the Hikutaia and Waihou Rivers. From this outcome, the southern boundaries of Ngati Maru were generally defined and they moved into the areas without interference.
This, however, did not bring a halt to warfare altogether. When his father and brother (Kiwi) were murdered by the Waiohua tribe of the Tamaki isthmus, it was Rautao who led the Marutuahu tribes to attack and capture the volcanic fortresses of the Manukau and Waitemata tribes. This attack was also prompted by revenge for their earlier deceit in luring the Hauraki taniwha, Ureia, to their district (whom they slayed and ate). This excursion eventually led to the long-term occupation of the Tamaki by the Marutuahu until just before the advent of European migration.
Further wars by Rautao and his descendants were carried out against the Bay of Plenty tribes and, in later years, it was inevitable that by the mid-18th century their individual authority over the lands was going to cause incidents of confrontation. The ongoing wars
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