The Ngati Hako refer to the eponymous ancestor, Hako I, as the earliest known of their progenitors. Similarly, many other tribes have suffered the same experience and, in most instances, have become completely disestablished in both cultural and ethnic ethos.
The aftermath of their Hauraki experience has not in any way destroyed their presence, but has reinforced the existence of the many clan tribes of Hauraki who rightly acknowledge their Ngati Hako ancestry. It is from within the confines of their histories yet to be related that this tribe has exhibited their tenaciousness to survive.
Indeed, the stories of their defeat by the powerful Marutuahu invaders, commencing in the 16th century, continued for about four generations. Although they were not destroyed in the manner of their then contemporaries, Ngati Huarere and Te Uri-o-Pou, the woes of Ngati Hako were not yet over. Their guarantee of survival was but a token gesture by their victors.
The remnants were assigned to the swamplands of the interior; a mere fragment of their former vast estates.
During the two centuries that followed they were denied the freedom of tribal expression. All their cultural past was suppressed and much was eventually forgotten. On occasions there were instances of confrontation which were speedily subdued. Other fringe tribes were quick to take complete advantage of their dilemma and constantly harried them.
Such capriciousness was evident when the Marutuahu retreated inland to escape the furious onslaught of Ngapuhi in the 1820s. Ngati Hako were in fact abandoned by them and survived by seeking refuge in the deep forests and swamps of Awaiti and Turua until the danger had passed.
Intermarriage during that period may have undermined their status as the tendency of such unions was to embrace the traditions of the more dominant party. Subservient though they may have appeared, their survival instincts were clearly discernible in certain family and hapu divisions which refused to bow under the yoke of repression. They persevered in the retention of tribal bloodlines relating to ancestors, resisting all attempts of total integration. (It is interesting to note that in a census of Hauraki tribes carried out after the land wars of the 1860s, only 18 names in the Ohinemuri district proudly proclaimed their Ngati Hako individuality.)
Since the first settlement of the Tainui and Te Arawa people some five centuries before, Ngati Hako had known little respite. Ironically, it was the imposition of a new culture which tore away the basic structure of their society. With the coming of the Europeans in the 19th century, a greater cultural change began to emerge that not only refashioned their destiny but also that of their oppressors. The old social order was disintegrating, unlocking the fetters of bondage and long oppression.
All tribal unity began to falter and with it the base of their power. The European laws created new levels of political and social order, allowing Ngati Hako to step out of the time warp that they had endured for many centuries. The Native Land Courts awarded
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