This area was first settled circa 1300 from people who were born and grew to adulthood in Eastern Polynesia then sailed to Aotearoa, lived and were buried at the site.
Early on, Ngāti Kuia ancestors moved with the seasons for trade, hunting and fishing, developing unique art and design from the resources and establishing names for the places they lived.
Ngāti Kuia have a rich history of stories and customs that relate to the land, seas and waters in Te Tauihu.
Ngāti Kuia traded with other iwi as far away as Te Tai Tokerau(Northland), Murihiku(Southland) and Rēkohu (the Chatham Islands) in exchange for obsidian from the Central Plateau and other resources.
First Encounters Ngāti Kuia ancestors including Kahura and Rōnaki met Captain Cook at Meretoto in Tōtaranui (Queen Charlotte Sound) trading local resources such as timber and furs for seeds, textiles and livestock which were quickly adapted and then resupplied back to Cook's crew on later visits.
https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22664325 Ngāti Kuia whānau supplied food and goods for the settlement of Nelson when it was being established and at the time of early land prospectors arriving, had the largest kūmara fields in the South Island on the Waimeha Plains.
They encouraged settlement in Te Hoiere (Pelorus) in a Deed of Sale with the Crown in 1856, and left their pā at Motuweka so the town of Havelock could be built there.