(meeting house) in Waiomatatini, 1896, named Porourangi after the ancestor Ngāti Porou derive their name from.
Pre-European history Ngāti Porou takes its name from the ancestor Porourangi, also known as Porou Ariki. He was a direct descendant of
Toi-kai-rākau,
Māui (accredited in oral tradition with raising the North Island from the sea), and
Paikea the whale rider. That same year a second attack by
Hongi Hika of Ngāpuhi and Te Haupa of
Ngāti Maru targeted the iwi’s
pā at
Wharekahika Bay, but Te Haupa was slain and the raid was repelled at the cost of heavy casualties. Heavy defeats came at the hands of a raiding party led by the Ngāpuhi rangatira
Pōmare I and
Te Wera Hauraki, who through force and guile sacked the pā of Okauwharetoa and Te Whetumatarau near
Te Araroa. Te Wera Hauraki’s forces would then move on to sack additional pā in the area of
Waiapu River and
Whareponga Bay. A final defeat at the hands of Ngāpuhi took place in 1823, when a preemptive attack by a large army of Ngāti Porou warriors on Pōmare’s trespassing forces in Te Araroa was cut down in open field by musket fire. The rangatira Taotaoriri was then able to negotiate a favourable peace between the two iwi, a deal sealed by his marriage to the Ngāti Porou noblewoman Hikupoto and the return of Rangi-i-paea, who had been abducted and married to Pōmare in a previous raid. This peace was to have important religious consequences, as a number of Ngāti Porou rangatira freed by Ngāpuhi in later negotiations would go on to spread the Christianity they had adopted from European missionaries during the course of their captivity. A second wave of violence rocked Ngāti Porou starting in 1829, when the presence of Ngāti Porou passengers on the ship where the
Ngāti Awa rangatira Ngarara was assassinated by Ngāpuhi marked the iwi as a target for retribution. Minor raids by Ngāti Awa and their allies
Whakatōhea and
Te Whānau-ā-Apanui in 1829 and 1831 resulted in the deaths of some Ngāti Porou, which triggered retaliatory action from the iwi. A second 1832 raid, this time against Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, did not meet with the same success, as the defenders of Wharekura pā rebuffed the attackers and slew two Ngāti Porou rangatira. Two years later, a retaliatory raid by Te Whānau-ā-Apanui was in turn rebuffed by forces under the rangatira Kakatarau, whose father Pakura was killed at Wharekura. The extraordinary battlefield feats of the Christian Ngāti Porou rangatira
Piripi Taumata-a-Kura lent him enormous prestige, which he soon leveraged to convert other Ngāti Porou rangatira and lead Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Porou to a peace accord in 1837. The waning of the Musket Wars and the unifying influence of Christianity ushered in a period of relative calm and cultural development. Ngāti Porou chiefs were also signatories to the
Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Ngāti Porou experienced substantial economic growth during the 1850s. During the 1860s, the
Pai Mārire religious movement spread through the North Island, and eventually came into conflict with the New Zealand Government. From 1865–1870, a civil war emerged within Ngāti Porou between Pai Mārire converts seeking the creation of an independent Māori state (supported by Pai Mārire from other regions) and other Ngāti Porou advocating tribal sovereignty and independence. This conflict is generally viewed as part of the
East Cape War.
Modern history Ngāti Porou once again enjoyed peace and economic prosperity during the late 19th century. The 1890s saw the emergence of
Sir Āpirana Ngata, who contributed greatly to the revitalisation of the Māori people. During the early 20th century, the population of Ngāti Porou increased substantially. They were active in their participation in both
World Wars. After
World War II, large numbers of Ngāti Porou began emigrating from traditional tribal lands and moving into larger urban areas, in a trend reflected throughout New Zealand. A large portion of the tribal population now lives in
Auckland and
Wellington. ==Hapū and marae==