It is named for Captain Charles Pye (1820 - 1876), who was in the Colonial Defence Force cavalry during the New Zealand Wars.

Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron returned to Auckland, leaving Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Greer in command of the British garrison on the Te Papa peninsula.

On the morning of 21 June, Greer left Camp Te Papa (now the Tauranga CBD) with a force of 600 men.

Five kilometres inland from Gate Pā, the British force discovered 500 to 600 Maori working on defensive earthworks at Te Ranga.

Early that afternoon, following the arrival of reinforcements, Greer ordered men from the 68th and 43rd regiments and 1st Waikato Militia to advance.

The Māori garrison was unable to hold the incomplete defences and, when Puhirake was killed, his force retreated.

The one-sided battle at Te Ranga largely crushed resistance in the vicinity of Tauranga Harbour.

This building, a single classroom with a cold water tap on the porch and a donkey stove, was later used a dental clinic and then as a Playcentre.