Chapter VI
Mokoia Pa Built, and Tamaki River Occupied By Nga-ti-paoa, and One-hunga By Nga-ti-whatua (Wai-kato)

It was now some time since a battle was fought between these tribes, and the Nga-ti-paoa had again occupied Tau-oma (run away beloved) and had built a fort there which they called Mokoia, which was built on the land given by Te-tahuri to Te-kehu, and the Kai-para people were living in the forts at Ihu-matao and Mangere, some of whom also were cultivating at O-kahu (the garment) on the Wai-te-mata river, the food cultivated at O-kahu was for the people who fished for shark in these waters to live on, and for those who fished for shark at Ngutu-wera (Kauri Point) and off Rangi-toto.

The Nga-ti-paoa lived in their fort at Mokoia, but they soon began to build their large fort on the hill called Mau-inaina (mountain of basking in the sun) and they lived in that large fort, and the Tao-u lived at Oneone-nui (great soil) in the Kai-para district, and some of whom were living at One-hunga, and the Nga-oho lived at Mangere, but they had cultivations at O-kahu and at Orakei (smart, fine) and they occupied the Pa at Mangere as their permanent home, but in the seasons of sitting or taking the crops in, they lived on the cultivated lands, and the old women and men, women and children stayed in the Mangere fort guarded by some warriors, who could repulse an enemy who might attack them.

Now that the forts at Mokoia and Mau-inaina were occupied by Nga-ti-paoa, a war party of the Nga-puhi appeared in the Wai-te-mata waters, and page (71)landed at Te-pane-o-horo-iwi (the head of the bone swallower) at the entrance of the Tamaki river, this war party were on their way to attack the Arawa (of Roto-rua) in revenge for a Nga-puhi who had been murdered at Roto-rua called Koperu, and also to attack Maketu and kill men there, soon after this war party had gone another war party of the Nga-puhi came there also to Tamaki to attack the fort at Mau-inaina, but they could not take it, and lost some of their men in the attack, as the Nga-oho assisted the Nga-ti-paoa to repulse the enemy, and Koperu senior was killed of the Nga-puhi, and a war party led by Hongi-hika (smell the friction) led a war party into Hau-raki, and attacked the Totara Pa, and took it and killed the inhabitants of the district called Nga-ti-maru, and now that the Nga-oho had helped the Nga-ti-paoa, and they had repulsed the Nga-puhi, the Nga-oho now joined with some of the sub-tribes of Wai-kato, and went on a war expedition to the south, to be avenged of their defeats by tribes who had attacked them at their homes. They went by way of Roto-rua, Here-taunga (Napier), Te-whanga-nui-a-tara (Port Nicholson), Tara-naki, and back by way of Wai-kato, and while they were away, Hongi-hika had taken the Pa at Mau-inaina, and the Nga-ti-paoa had been beaten by Hongi, and those who had escaped Hongi had fled into Wai-kato, while others had escaped to Maunga-tautari (mountain of the sticks to hold the battens of a house side). The Nga-puhi stayed at the Pa till they had consumed all the crops and eaten the fish of battle (corpses) then they dragged their canoes across the portage at O-tahuhu (ridge pole) into Manuka, and went on in the water towards Wai-uku (waters of the clay used as soap) and dragged their canoes across the Pae-o-kai-waka (ridge eaten (or rubbed) by the canoes dragged over it) into page (72)Te-awa-roa (long creek) and down it into the Wai-kato river, the war party paddled up the Wai-kato river to the Wai-pa (water blocked up) and on up the river till they came to the Pa at Matakitaki (look at) which the Nga-puhi attacked and took it, and killed many. All the people of Wai-kato were in this Pa, and some of those who had escaped of Nga-ti-paoa from Mau-inaina, having taken this fort Nga-puhi went home to their own place, and Nga-oho came back from their war expedition to kill men in the south, and found Mau-inaina without inhabitants, and the solitary ones of the Nga-oho, and of the Tao-u who had lived on the banks of Wai-te-mata and of Manuka had fled into the forest in the Titi-rangi ranges, and to the Piha forest, to save themselves from the weapons of Nga-puhi, so Te-kawau (the leader of the war expedition to the south) with his people also went into these forests to save themselves from being attacked by the common enemy. After some time some of them came down to Wai-kumete (water of the wooden bowl) and cultivated there, where they were joined by a Wai-kato people called the Nga-ti-tahinga, and these with the Nga-oho took up their abode at Te-rehu (Low & Motins Mill) and after some time some of these went to live at Pahurehure (escaped) where they cultivated food, and at O-kahu they also cultivated food for those who went there to obtain fish, and to keep a claim to the land, also one part of the Nga-oho cultivated at Wai-ariki (wynyard pear).

The young people of these sub-tribes began the game of wrestling, and those of the Nga-oho and Tao-u beat those who had come from Mahurangi, and the Mahurangi people went home and the Tao-u and Nga-iwi people went to an island called Te-pahi (guest) up the Wai-te-mata river, and then they occupied Kopu-paka (brown stomach) and cultivated there, and they visited the Wai-o-hua at their home at Titi-rangi, where the Wai-o-hua page (78)had kept hid for fear of their enemies the Nga-puhi now one part of the Uri-ngutu of Kai-para were at this time living with Nga-ti-paoa at the mouth of the Thames at Whare-kawa, and after some time when the Tao-u and Nga-oho had resided at Kopu-paka they were sent for by those of their people who were living with the Nga-ti-paoa at Whare-kawa, so those went to pay a visit to those of their Kai-para relatives who were residing at Whakatiwai, they stayed there some time and then went up the Pi-ako river in their canoes and on towards Horo-tiu in Wai-kato, and on to Hao-whenua, and Maunga-tautari, and there they resided till the time when the Nga-ti-maru fled from that part of the country and came back into the Thames, the Nga-ti-whatua occupied a Pa at Te-horo (land slip) in the Wai-pa now near Kariwhariwha (barb of a fishing hook) with the Nga-ti-te-ata people, Nga-ti-tama-oho, and Aki-tai, with many other sub-tribes of the Manukau district, soon after which a war party of Nga-puhi under Po-mare (night of coughing) to attack Wai-kato, and the Wai-kato gave him battle at Te-rore (the snare) in the Wai-pa, and the Nga-puhi were beaten by the Nga-ti-teata, and those of the Nga-puhi who escaped fled towards Manuka, who were followed by the Wai-kato, and when Rongotawa had arrived at the heads of Manuka, he and his associates made moki (bundles of refuse timber) and on these crossed the Manuka heads to the north shore of the harbour, they fled on and were pursued by the Wai-kato, but when these had arrived at the Manukau heads Moetara and his friends had crossed the river, and the Wai-kato went home. Moetara and friends fled on and Moetara got back to Hokianga, but two of his companions were met by Kikokiko of the Nga-ti-whatua in a creek at Kaukapakapa, who were killed and eaten by Nga-ti-whatua.

Another war party was sent by the Nga-puhi into Wai-kato headed by Te-rangi-tu-ke (another day). This war party came from the Bay of Islands along the coast and landed at Motu-tapu, which was headed by the Wai-kato people, so the Nga-ti-tipa tribe came and dragged their canoes over the Pae-o-karika and came on to Manuka, and dragged their canoes over the portage at O-tahuhu and down the Tamaki river to Mokoia, where they landed and sent out scouts to look for the enemy of Nga-puhi and deceived them at Motu-tapu, so that when the scouts got back to their people, the people paddled down to the Tamaki heads and landed at Te-pane-o-horo-iwi (the head of Horo-iwi (bone swallower)) where they lit fires, which were seen by this war party of Nga-puhi, who on the morrow paddled across and as the Nga-puhi were about to land, the Nga-ti-tipa feigned to flee, so that the enemy might be induced to follow them inland, Nga-puhi seeing this paddled with all the power they could so that those in each canoe wished to land first of their party to secure the Nga-ti-tipa canoes, when Nga-puhi landed, and some were in dispute as to the canoes, and some of the Nga-puhi had followed the fleeing Nga-ti-tipa, the Nga-ti-tipa turned and charged their pursuers and killed most of them and charged down the Nga-puhi who were near the canoes. Some of the Nga-puhi had embarked in a canoe to flee and this was captured, but one of the Nga-puhi canoes escaped with some of that party to the number of twenty, and went back to Nga-puhi. The Nga-ti-tipa stayed till they had eaten all the fish of this battle (killed) and went home, with all they could not consume on the battle field, with the Nga-puhi canoes they had taken in the battle. The Nga-puhi chief called Rangi-tu-ke was killed in this battle.

The Nga-ti-whatua and Nga-ti-tipa collected a war party in Wai-kato, and came down that river, page (80)towards the Awa-roa, Otahuhu and on to Tamaki, and on by sea to Tawa-tawhiti, and took the Pa of that name at Nga-puhi and came back home, at that time a section of the Nga-ti-paoa lived at the mouth of the Wai-kato river, at the same time the Nga-ti-paoa tribe were living in Hau-raki (Thames) who held the country from the Thames to Maunga-tautari, and on to Wai-pa, and at this time the Wai-kato tribes and the Tai-nui people collected, and gave battle to the Hau-raki (Thames) people who were living at Tau-mata-wiwi (hill of the wiwi, Juncus), Hao-whenua (lay claim to land) and Puke-kura (red hill) in the Maunga-tautari district. The Hau-raki tribes forsook their Pa's and came back to their old homes, to Wai-hopuhopu, Whakatiwai, and to all the places they had occupied in days of old, but some of these people who had stayed in the Wai-kato district were murdered there by Te-waha-roa at Matamata, but some escaped and came back to their relatives at Hau-raki.

Now that the Hau-raki tribes were going back to Hau-raki, and as they were paddling down the Horo-tiu in company with Nga-oho and the Tao-u, when these had arrived at Nga-rua-wahia the Nga-ti-paoa went on down the Wai-kato river, but the Nga-oho and Tao-u went up the Wai-pa and went on up the river to those of their own people who occupied the Pa at Te-horo, where they stayed till the days that they went back to Manuka, Pu-ponga and occupied a Pa they built at that place, soon after this a war party from the Nga-puhi came to attack the Wai-kato under the leadership of Puke-rangi (warm hill) and Te-tira-rau (the company of many) and the Wai-kato tribes fled to the interior of the Wai-kato country, and the Wai-kato was not beaten by the Nga-puhi, and they went back crestfallen page (81)to their home, and they were pursued by a war party of the Tao-u, Te-aki-tai and Nga-ti-te-ata, and in a battle, the Nga-puhi were beaten by these tribes, and the Pa at Puke-rangi was taken by the Wai-kato, now at this time the Tao-u occupied a home in the Pa at Te-horo with some of the Nga-ti-whatua people, and as the Nga-puhi had now been beaten, some of the tribes of Wai-kato, and of Manuka, and of Wai-te-mata, thought they might again occupy their old homes, as the Hau-raki tribes had done in respect to their old homes, so the Wai-kato people assisted, and Po-tatau urged them to go back to their own homes with him, and he would conduct them there, so the Nga-ti-mahuta, and Nga-ti-apa-kura, Po-tatau's own tribes, conducted the Nga-ti-te-ata, Nga-ti-tama-oho, Te-aki-tai, to the shores of Manuka to their old homes; and the Nga-ti-whatua, Nga-oho, and Tao-u, were led by Po-tatau to their old homes, but the bulk of these tribes did not come to their old homes at the time but they allowed spies to come and occupy the land at first, who cultivated food for the body of the people when they might arrive in the future, in the season when the crops should be ripe to garner. The spies came and planted crops, when these were ripe, the tribes came, and the lands where the spies of the Nga-ti-tipa cultivated were at Wai-he-kura (water of the ……….) and at Kai-tangata (man eater) and they came on into Manuka and took up their abode at Awhitu (regret) and cultivated there, and they went on to Orakei and cultivated there, and Pehi-a-kura (Dicksonia squarrosa) was also cultivated, with Pu-kaki Pu-ponga, these were cultivated by the various owners in Auckland to maintain their claim to their lands, soon after which the tribes took permanent possession of them, and the Nga-ti-whatua of page (82)Nga-oho people built a Pa at Pu-ponga and called the Pa Karanga-hape (call the bandy leg) and these tribes occupied these lands till the arrival of the Europeans in the district.