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ELLERSLIE MAORI SETTLEMENT
Maori Settlement
 Among the first inhabitants of the Auckland region were descendants of Rangatira
Toi-te-huatahi who migrated north from Whakatane to the Tamaki River during
the 12th century. Maungakiekie, inhabited by Waiohua under the Rangatira
Kiwi Tamaki, became the pre-eminent pa in the region in the 18th century.
However, by the early 19th century the influence of Ngai Paoa is said to
have extended from Waipuna to the northern side of the Otahuhu portage, with
the Maungarei area inhabited by Kawerau.
Relationships between iwi and hapu were subject to shifting alliances and disputes,
but the land on which Ellerslie is now situated was once a massive plantation
of crops providing for the entire region. Crops of kumara, potatoes and citrus
trees were cultivated in the rich volcanic soil to supplement a bountiful
diet of fish and shellfish provided by the harbours of the isthmus.
During the late 18th century the northern iwi of Ngapuhi began an offensive against
Auckland iwi to settle long-standing grievances. The first of these attacks
mounted around 1793 near the West Tamaki heads resulted in the defeat of
Ngapuhi. However, in 1820 the attacks resumed and by September 1821 a war
party led by Hongi Hika was pre-empted by a mass evacuation of all non-combatant
inhabitants to the shores of the Manukau, Mangere, Orakei and Onehunga. Others
relocated to the Waitakere region, the Hauraki Gulf, or to the Waikato and
Kaipara regions.
Contemporary Pakeha explorers reported that although the portage lying between
the harbours continued to be used by travelling war parties, the region appeared
devoid of Maori settlement.
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