On entering the Kaituna estuary beside Ōkūrei, the bow of the Te Arawa canoe was tethered to a large rock, Tokaparore, and to an anchor rock called Tūterangiharuru, which held her fast in the current of the Kaituna River. The tohunga Ngātoroirangi was the first to step off, conducting rituals beneath a pōhutukawa tree in full bloom. Today this site is remembered as Ōngātoro, and commemorated by a monument built in 1940.
A pā established on the Ōkūrei headland close to the moored canoe was named Maketū, after their home village on Rangiātea, in Hawaiki. As Te Arawa adapted to their new surroundings they moved further afield. Some explored the coastline, while others went inland searching for new places to settle. As well as Tama himself, who travelled from Katikati to Moehau, there were many important explorers, including his uncles Tia, who travelled from Ātiamuri through to Taupō, and Hei, who went from Moehau to the Coromandel Peninsula. Tama’s cousin, the tohunga Ngātoroirangi, explored from Kawerau through to Tongariro.
Tama’s grandson Īhenga explored Waiariki and Kaipara.
When Tamatekapua died he was buried at Te Moengahau-o-Tamatekapua (the resting place of Tama), and Īhenga returned to Maketū to live with his uncle, Kahumatamomoe (Kahu) Tapuika and Waitaha (sons of the explorers Tia and Hei respectively) remained close to Maketū. They occupied the eastern Bay of Plenty region from Katikati to Te Kaokaoroa, as their fathers had authorised. Ngātoroirangi explored the volcanic wonders of southern Taupō
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