Te Whetu o te Rangi Marae

Ngāti Pukenga descend from the original inhabitants of Tauranga and the pre-waka people who traversed and occupied the entire Bay of Plenty (Te Moana ā Toi te Huatahi). Principally, Ngāti Pukenga descend from the ancestors of the Mataatua waka. The genarally accepted version of Ngāti Pukenga history is that they were formerly centred around Waiau and Omarumutu in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, before Pukenga and his brother Te Ahuru arrived in Tauranga at the place known as the Kaimai ranges. The naming of the Kaimai is especially significant to Pukenga due to the fact that upon their arrival at the summit, Pukenga instructed Te Ahuru to sit and partake in a meal with him by saying - " kia kai mai taua i kōnei ". It is from this very instruction the name Kaimai originates. Following this, Pukenga then instructed Te Ahuru to continue travelling west towards Waikato, while Pukenga stayed on the eastern side of the Kaimai. This is the beginning of the occupation of Pukenga in Tauranga.