By the middle of the fourteenth century we find the Nga-Oho dominant over all this area, having various sub-tribal names, such as the Nga-riki, Wai-o-hua, etc.
III
The Arrival of the Fleet—1350 A.D.
About 1350 A.D. came another wave of immigrants from Polynesia—for then arrived the historic fleet of canoes, the Arawa, Tainui, Matatua, and others.
It may be remarked here that this was the last of the great Polynesian immigrations. From very remote times expeditions had been arriving in New Zealand, and many return voyages were likewise made to the Pacific groups. Why these voyages eventually ceased, at a time when among the Polynesians the arts of navigation had been brought to perfection, remains an unsolved problem.
The fact remains that this immigration of about 1350 A.D. was an epoch-making affair, and from this time on Maori history assumes a definite form. We now reach an era of which we possess more definite detail as to the doings of the Tamaki tribes down to European times. From 1350 A.D. the next century or so is mainly a record of the settlement of the immigrants, involving much inter-tribal warfare.
IV
The Tainui Canoe
Of these canoes, the one which most directly affected local history was the Tainui canoe. This canoe, like most of the others, arrived on the East Coast. Coasting northwards (some say as far as the North Cape) she arrived at last in the Hauraki Gulf, and entered the Waitemata. Resting for some time at Te Kurae-o-Tura (Devonport Beach), the canoe continued its journey to Tamaki (Otaiki). At Taurere (Tamaki Heads) a chief named Te Kete-ana-taua remained with the local people, and became the ancestor of Ngai-tai of those parts; they were owners of all the Takapuna district as far north as probably Mahurangi, and included in their territorial areas the Kawau, Great Barrier and other islands of the Gulf.
Arriving at Otahuhu, the people awaited the re-arrival of an important lady of their party, by name Marama. This lady, having landed at Hauraki, was doing “the overland trip.” On her ladyship’s arrival, the canoe was taken into the Manukau, whence they voyaged southwards to Mokau, eventually settling at Kawhia. From there they spread inland to Waikato, Hauraki, and eventually to Tamaki. Marama, with other members of the Tainui crew, also settled here, her descendants being known as the Nga-Marama people. Hence the Tamaki Isthmus became a Tainui tribal area at a very early period.