Te Pātū trace their ancestry back to Tuwhakatere, and their arrival in New Zealand to the Kurahaupo canoe.

According to Te Pātū tradition, Pōhurihanga's descendant Tūwhakatere married two women.

His first wife was Tūterangi-a-tōhia; their child was Pōpota, who became an important ancestor of Te Pātū.

[1] Te Pātū's Treaty of Waitangi settlement has been signed, but not yet legislated.

[3] Te Pātū kuia Waireti Walters QSM JP was a long-serving Māori rights advocate.