Te Kawerau ā Maki are the descendants of the
rangatira (chief) Maki and his wife Rotu, who migrated with their family and followers from
Kawhia to Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) in the early 1600s. Tainui ancestors including
Hoturoa and the
tohunga Rakataura (Hape) are particularly important in Te Kawerau
whakapapa, as is the ancient
turehu ancestor and tohunga Tiriwa. Maki and his people were related to a number of groups who had occupied the Auckland region since the fourteenth century, including the Tainui
hapū (sub-tribes) collectively known as
Ngā Oho. Maki was particularly connected with the
Ngāiwi group, who lived across the
Auckland isthmus and to the south from
Māngere Mountain to
Manurewa. Maki initially took up residence among his kin at Manurewa (
Te Manurewa o Tamapahore) and
Rarotonga / Mount Smart. Maki then lived for a while near
Waimauku at the invitation of a chief of the district. While there Maki was insulted in an incident called
Te Kawe Rau a Maki, meaning "the carrying strap of Maki". In response he and his warriors fought several battles against the local
hapū, defeating them and taking control of a large part of the south
Kaipara. Maki and Rotu had a son in the southwest Kaipara who was named Tawhiakiterangi, and also known as Te Kawerau ā Maki, after whom the tribe is named. Europeans arriving in the late 1700s and early 1800s brought epidemic diseases that weakened Te Kawerau ā Maki and other tribes that were living in the same area by then. From 1821 the
Musket Wars reached Auckland through raids by the
Ngāpuhi tribe, led by
Hongi Hika. In 1825 Te Kawerau ā Maki suffered major losses at the hands of Ngāpuhi and they and other Auckland tribes went effectively into exile in the
Waikato. Te Kawerau ā Maki remained there until 1835, when they returned to the Waitākere area, and later the south Kaipara, under the protection of the Waikato chief
Te Wherowhero. Early but rapid colonial land speculation from the 1830s onwards resulted in Te Kawerau ā Maki losing more than 90% of its customary land title by 1853 - within 13 years of the signing of
Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Native reserves remained in a few isolated places - Piha, Waitākere (Te Henga), Kōprionui (southern Woodhill), Muriwai, Paremoremo, and around Mahurangi - however the last of these were forcibly taken by 1953 under the Public Works Act leaving the tribe effectively landless. While Te Kawerau ā Maki people continue to live in the wider area, the last formal marae at Waiti (Bethells Beach) was abandoned around 1920 following the construction of the
Waitākere Dam that altered the hydrology of the Waitākere River combined with ongoing issues relating to the economic and social disenfranchisement of Māori. ==Recent events==