This section has been compiled from written accounts of Maori histories of Katikati, and is largely taken from Stokes’ history of the Ngaiterangi hapu Whanau a Tauwhao, who are most closely identified with the area today. Stokes herself notes that the various traditions regarding battles for occupation of the area are confusing and contradictory. This report only outlines some of the histories relating to Maori occupation of the area, which show the significance of the headland pa in Maori history. It is not intended to explain who has mana whenua of the region.
The original inhabitants of the area were Ngamarama, and waka traditions record the presence of tangata whenua at Bowentown. Strategically, Te Kura a Maia pa was well placed to observe the arrival of the Tainui and Te Arawa waka respectively as they travelled up the Tauranga Harbour in a north westerly direction. The Tainui waka entered Tauranga Harbour at Mount Maunganui and became grounded on a sand bar:
The commander, Hoturoa, looked around for the cause of this mishap and found it in Wahinerua. The old lady was thrown overboard and her body drifted ashore to become known as Kuia Rock. Tainui continued into the harbour and anchored off Rangiwaea at the anchorage called Tauranga, from which the region takes its name, before moving on. As Tainui sailed up the western harbour, some of her ballast was deposited at Ratahi, in the shallow waters between Matakana and Matahui on the mainland. At Katikati, the old name for Bowentown Heads, Tainui people were hospitably received by Ngamarama and some Tainui decided to stay.
Te Arawa sailed west to Moehau, which the commander Tamatekapua claimed for his burial place, then turned back into the Bay of Plenty, following along the coast At Katikati they found that some Tainui people had already settled among Ngamarama.7
The Ngamarama are said to have been displaced by a section of the Tainui tribe from Hauraki, Ngai Tamatera. Two or three hundred years ago, the pa Te Kura a Maia was the site of ferocious fighting when Ngaiterangi invaded the Tauranga region. At this point in time the pa was occupied by another Hauraki tribe, Ngati Mara. Ngaiterangi took the pa as utu for the murder of one of their chiefs by a Ngati Mara from Paeroa.8
The name Otawhiwhi comes from this battle and involves the butchering and eating of the chief of Te Kura a Maia, Hotorua. The body of Hotorua was eaten raw before the umu could be prepared for its cooking. Hotorua’s entrails were spread out on a rock and since this time the sandy flats near where the marae is situated are known as Otawhiwhi.9
Because this region was such a desirable place to live it was frequently fought over. Traditionally the area has been valued for its estuary, harbour and beaches as a valuable kai moana resource, the light sandy soils for kumara planting, and the nearby ranges for birds and berry hunting and gathering.10 The desirability of the area to its inhabitants and outsiders is evident in a local waiata, quoted by Stokes, which warns off aggressors:
