[4] Maketu has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow,[5] until 1956, when it was diverted to the Bay of Plenty,[6] about 4 km (2.5 mi) upstream.

Maketu is rich in ancestral Māori culture, specifically the Te Arawa tribe.

Many of the arrivals settled in Maketu, but some continued their journey inland, using the Kaituna River as far as Rotorua.

Maketu is named after an ancient kūmara (sweet potato) pit in Hawaiki, the Māori ancestral homeland.

In 2011, Maketu was one of many areas along the Bay of Plenty coast affected by the grounding of the MV Rena and the subsequent oil spill.