The chieftainess Tukutuku of Ngati Tamatera was the great-granddaughter of Marutuahu. She was greatly loved by her doting people who closely watched her progress as she grew into womanhood. She resided in the many settlements of her tribe which were scattered throughout Hauraki. There were many admirers who wished to marry her, one of whom was the unfortunate Ngati Huarere chief, Manaia, who was cruelly murdered by his jealous rivals. She spurned suitor after suitor and her tribespeople began to despair about her future.
Some 8o km to the west on the banks of the Waikato river, the Tainui chieftain, Paoa, was also contemplating his own future. His pa, Kaitotehe, standing opposite Taupiri mountain, was, because of its convenient location, the stopping-off place of many of his relatives plying up and down the river. This placed an enormous amount of strain upon his hospitality and resources—much to the detriment of his suffering family.
Matters came to a head when his eldest brother, Mahuta, visited and expected all the courtesies befitting his rank. When his over-burdened wife, Tauhakari, was unable to provide food from their depleted larder, Paoa was so ashamed that he decided to abandon his wife and children and, accompanied by a small retinue of followers, he departed for Hauraki. Following the Mangawara stream east he reached Tahuna beside the Piako River where upon he turned south along its course until he came to Mirimirirau where he made his home among the Marutuahu.
As time passed, word reached Tukutuku that a noted Tainui chief was journeying through her domains and the reports concerning him were so favourable that she desired to meet him. When Paoa and his companions arrived at Ruawehea, Tukutuku's pa at Ohinemuri in the vicinity of Paeroa, they were received with great hospitality. For some reason, Paoa had arraigned himself in the shabbiest of attire which did not befit his noble status, probably because he was most reluctant to impress this woman who wished to win his favours. This did not deter Tukutuku and it became quite evident that she was determined to snare him as a husband. She immediately set out to win his favour by taking him on a tour of her domains in Hauraki, commencing at the pa at Rangiora, and going on to those at Turua, Te Puru and the many others encircling the gulf and the inland rivers.
At each place her adoring people received her royally but the treatment accorded Paoa was less hospitable. To test his suitability as a prospective husband, they heaped many indignities upon him, forcing him to eat the mouldiest of foods and accepting the poorest
