History of the Paremata Area
Early Māori Occupancy
It is believed that the legendary Polynesian explorer Kupe landed at Paremata Point in the tenth century AD when he sailed into the Porirua harbour in his canoe Matahorua. Te Punga o Matahorua, Kupe’s anchor stone, was located nearby to the East of the Ngati Toa domain until recently when it was moved to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Archaeologists have established that there was a settlement at Paremata Point at least as early as 1450 AD and it has been almost continuously occupied since. These early people made camps surrounded by untouched forests and harbours. From studying these camps it is known that they lived on forest birds; including seven different species of moa, huia, kaka, kiwi, takahe, New Zealand hawk, and tui, as well as on the abundant fish available here.
Over the next 400 years there were settlements of various Māori tribes at this site. These probably included Ngati Tara, Ngati Rangi, and Ngati Ira, all of whom lived in this region at various times.
Ngati Toa Settlement
Ngati Toa, led by the chiefs Te Rauparaha, Te Pehi Kupe, and Te Rangihaeata, arrived here from Kawhia in the early 1820s and soon became the dominant local tribe. Te Rauparaha, the paramount chief of Ngati Toa, established a settlement at Taupo (now Plimmerton); and the tohunga of Ngati Toa, Nohorua, had a pa at Paremata Point.
