The history of Waiheke Island is not always as serene as its beautiful natural environment and relaxed way of life would suggest. In fact, its earliest history is at times bloody and brutal. In those early times Waiheke was considered prime real estate and those who chose to settle there found the island in high demand. Consequently the history of Maori settlement is one of waves of settlement and conquest by different iwi (tribes) with more than a little blood spilled along the way. The Island was coveted for good reasons. Its natural environment was ideally suited for permanent settlement; rich fishing grounds, freshwater streams and forests provided ample food, water and building materials whilst the Islands hilly landscape and sheltered bays provided ideal locations for settlements. As if this wasn’t enough the Island was also strategically located in an important waterway (which we now call the Hauraki Gulf) and was at a crossroads for Maori seafarers journeying from the north, east and west. The few sources available suggest the first settlers were Te Uri Karaka whose semi-nomadic fishing lifestyle gradually gave way to permanent settlement and the beginnings of agriculture. Next to arrive was the canoe of Toi the Navigator. The Uri Karaka welcomed some of his people to a feast and proved themselves less than hospitable hosts by murdering them. Toi wreaked bloody vengeance on the underhand inhabitants and control of the Island passed to his people. Around this time the island became known by its first name Te Motu-arai-roa (the Long sheltering Island) emphasising it’s use as a shelter from the storms of the open ocean. Ngati Huarere from the Coromandel, a colony from the great voyaging canoe Te Arawa then assumed control possibly sometime in the 14th century. During their period of occupancy the amount of Pa (fortified villages) greatly increased and the population grew. Ngati Huarere suffered many challenges to their authority and different iwi settled on the Island including Ngati Paoa who arrived in the 18th century and eventually became the dominant iwi on the island. Despite these upheavals the Island prospered and by 1800 there were probably around 1000 people living on the Island all around the coastline.However, disaster befell the population in 1821 when the Ngapuhi warrior Hongi Hika from Northland laid waste to the Island and the inhabitants fled or perished. Eventually Ngati Paoa began to return to Waiheke and the population had increased to around 500 by 1830. It is at this time that Europeans begin to enter the scene in ever greater numbers.
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