Tūranga-makau-rau

Being a place that commands people's affections because of its fertility and geographical location, Tūranganui-a-Kiwa was frequently sought after and fought over. Thus, the name from the whakataukī, Tūranga-makau-rau meaning Tūranga-of-a-hundred lovers.  After a lengthy period of migrations, movements and alliances the larger and dominant iwi of Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki, Rongowhakaata and Ngāi Tāmanuhiri and their affiliated hapū had established themselves as tangata whenua of Tūranganui-a-Kiwa by the time Captain Cook arrived on the Endeavour in 1769.