Taipa-Mangonui

According to some Māori legends, the great Polynesian explorer and navigator Kupe sailed from Hawaiki in his canoe named Matahourua and landed at Taipa Bay. Others believe that he landed in the Hokianga Harbour around AD 900.

Centuries after Kupe’s landing, the chiefs Te Parata and Tu moana, descendants of Kupe, were said to have brought the ancestors of the Ngāti Kahu tribe to the Mangonui area around AD 1350, returning on the same canoe. Legend has it that they found insufficient fresh water at Otengi Bay and travelled up to the mouth of the Taipa River to land. There they settled and married into the local tribes.

Another canoe led by Moehuri is said to have been guided by a large shark into the Mangonui Harbour to a landing spot opposite the old post office. He made the shark tapu and called the harbour Mangonui, meaning 'big shark' in the Maori language.[3] In the 19th century, the spelling Mongonui was more common,[4] and the Mongonui electorate filled one seat in Parliament between 1861 and 1881.[5] Moehuri settled in Mangonui and married into the local people – remnants of the Ngāti Awa and branch tribes of the Ngāti Whātua. Pā were located all around the area, including one at Mill Bay, called Rangikapiti by Moehuri.

Taumarumaru pā was located on the headland between Mangonui and Coopers Beach while at the western end of Coopers Beach was Ohumuhumu pā, surrounded at one time by a large village.

In 1769 James Cook sailed past and noted that it was "doubtless a bay ...", hence the modern name of Doubtless Bay. Eight days later the first Europeans to land were Jean De Surville and his crew aboard St Jean Baptiste. They landed at what he named Lauriston Bay to get fresh vegetables to combat scurvy. Around twenty years later, whalers and sealers from all over the western world arrived, and called the area Coopers Beach – thought to have come from the coopers on the whaleships.

The first European settler is considered to be James David Berghan from Ireland, who arrived in Mangonui in 1831. By the later half of the 19th century, flax and timber industries were flourishing in the area. Other settlers developed farms and businesses in the area while some married into the native population. The dynamic mix of settlers coming from various parts of Europe and the Maori population provided Mangonui with a rich heritage.

When Hōne Heke destroyed Kororareka (Russell), the evacuation saw 40 to 50 ships in the Mangonui Harbour. The town assumed new importance and was considered the country’s second capital. The last whaling ship visited Mangonui in 1885.

Mangonui has three marae:

• Aputerewa Marae and Te Puna Roimata meeting house, a meeting place of the Ngāti Kahu hapū of Ngāti Takiora / Ngāi Tauurutakaware.
• Kēnana Marae and Te Ranginui meeting house, a meeting place of the Ngāti Kahu hapū of Matarahurahu.
• Taemaro marae, a meeting place of the Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa hapū of Ngāti Roha and Ngāti Rua, and the Ngāpuhi / Ngāti Kahu ki Whaingaroa hapū of Ngāti Aukiwa.[6][7]

The Taipa area has three Ngāti Kahu marae:

• Karepori Marae and meeting house, a meeting place of the hapū of Matakairiri / Pikaahu.
• Ko Te Ahua Marae and meeting house is a meeting place of the hapū of Ngāti Te Rūrunga / Te Paatu.
• Parapara Marae and Te Manawa o Ngāti Tara meeting house is a meeting place of the hapū of Ngāti Tara ki Parapara.[6][7]