Taipa-Mangonui or Taipa Bay-Mangonui is a string of small resort settlements – Taipa, Cable Bay, Coopers Beach, and Mangōnui – that lie along the coast of Doubtless Bay and are so close together that they have run together to form one larger settlement.

[4] According to some Māori legends, the great Polynesian explorer and navigator Kupe sailed from Hawaiki in his canoe named Matahourua and landed at Taipa Bay.

Legend has it that they found insufficient fresh water at Otengi Bay and travelled up to the mouth of the Taipa River to land.

Another canoe led by Moehuri is said to have been guided by a large shark into the Mangonui Harbour to a landing spot opposite the old post office.

Pā were located all around the area, including one at Mill Bay, called Rangikapiti by Moehuri.

Eight days later the first Europeans to land were Jean-François de Surville and his crew aboard Saint Jean-Baptiste.

The first European settler is considered to be James David Berghan from Ireland, who arrived in Mangonui in 1831.

The dynamic mix of settlers coming from various parts of Europe and the Maori population provided Mangonui with a rich heritage.

When Hōne Heke destroyed Kororareka (Russell), the evacuation saw 40 to 50 ships in the Mangonui Harbour.