Hare Piahana recounts that the second wife of Tamatea pokai whenua, Iwipupu, and her family lived in the Mangatawa area:

Iwipupu’s family resided at Papamoa Pa near where the quarry now is. There their descendants lived for over 200 years. Their cultivation plots were on the flat below where the Webster family now resides at the place which now goes under the name Taranaki Lane. Their fishing spot was Otira on the beach between Omanu and Papamoa; here they made their hauls of fish for current use and for curing for winter use at their Papamoa Pa.²⁰

The dining hall at Huria marae commemorates the name of Iwipupu.²¹

One of Iwipupu’s sons was Kahungunu, who lived at Mangatawa. Kahungunu quarrelled with his older brother Whaene, and as a result left Mangatawa:

One day he and his half-brother, Whaene, and other men from the pa were on the beach at a place called Otira, in the Papamoa area. They were pulling in the nets full of fish. Kahungunu became so excited he rushed in and seized the biggest fish for himself. Whaene told him off for pushing in. Whaene picked up a fish and threw it at Kahungunu. He tried to protect himself but was pricked by the sharp fin of the fish. Whaene was right but Kahungunu was very angry too. Kahungunu had forgotten the custom that the first fish taken from a catch was always offered back to Tangaroa, the god of the ocean. When he calmed down, Kahungunu realised he had broken the custom. He felt humiliated and insulted by Whaene. He went away to Opotiki and stayed with his cousin and her husband. She had a baby while he was there. Kahungunu asked that the boy be named Tutamure (the pick of the tamure, or schnapper) to remember his grudge against Whaene at Tauranga.²²

Kahungunu eventually settled at Mahia, where he established the Ngati Kahungunu iwi.²³

After Ngaiterangi, under the leadership of Tamapahore, defeated Ngati Ranginui at Mauao (Mount Maunganui), Tamapahore established his pa at Mangatawa. Tamapahore was buried there.²⁴ Being an isolated hill Mangatawa was a good location for a pa. Not only did it provide clear views of the surrounding district, but it was surrounded by good land for growing crops, and was close to food sources in the harbour and ocean.²⁵ The Nga Potiki hapu of Ngaiterangi have continued to live in the area and use Mangatawa as a burial ground. In the early 19^th century Nga Potiki moved their marae from Karikari, on the foreshore of Rangataua, to the present site at the base of Mangatawa on State Highway 2. The marae is named after Tamapahore.²⁶

¹⁹ Ibid

²⁰ Hare Piahana, ‘A fragment of Ngati Ranginui History’ in Stokes, 1992, p 27

²¹ Stokes, Stories of Tauranga Moana, Takitimu Te Waka, Tamatea Te Ariki

²² Ibid

²³ Ibid

²⁴ Evelyn Stokes, Tauranga Moana: A Study of the Impact of Urban Growth on Rural Maori Communities, Centre for Maori Studies and Research, University of Waikato, 1980, p 31

²⁵ Evelyn Stokes, A History of Tauranga County, Dunmore Press, Palmerston North, 1980 p 38

²⁶ Stokes, Tauranga Moana: A Study of the Impact of Urban Growth on Rural Maori Communities, p 31