The collective is bound together by the legacy of Ngātoro-i-rangi as epitomised in the ariki (paramount chief), currently Sir Tumu te Heuheu Tūkino VIII.

This greatly angered Ngātoro-i-rangi and his disdain and animosity of the Te Arawa chief led to his leaving the group soon after arrival.

While climbing the mountain a powerful southerly wind whipped his face, icy gales chiselled the warmth from his body while the frozen volcano cut painfully into his feet eventually bringing him to his knees with cold.

As they travelled underground the flames first erupted at Whakaari, then Rotorua and Taupō, finally bursting at the feet of Ngātoro-i-rangi, welling up from the large vent in the volcano’s summit, warming the tohunga and thus allowing him to achieve his goal.

On the summit of Tongariro Ngātoro-i-rangi gave thanks and established 'Te Wharetoa o Tūmatauenga' The Warrior House of Tū – the legacy of Tūwharetoa.

Although the location of Tūwharetoa in the Central North Island kept them isolated from European contact until 1833, the iwi was nonetheless very aware of Pākehā impact on the coast both through the introduction of new crops and stock (horses) and due to upheavals and conflicts amongst neighboring iwi to the north caused by the introduction of muskets.

Most notably Tūwharetoa actions during this period consolidated its position as the dominant iwi of the central plateau and the mana (authority) of Te Heuheu Mananui as paramount ariki.

In 1840 Iwikau Te Heuheu and others were in the upper North Island trading flax and later attended the meeting at Waitangi.

Iwikau Te Heuheu replaced his brother in 1846 and was a key supporter of the founding of the Kingitanga movement after hearing of growing abuses and land theft by the British Colonials.

A few Ngāti Tūwharetoa men, women and children fought the Colonials with their fellow soldiers inside the Ōrākau fortifications.

Donald McLean the native minister realised that confiscating significant Tūwharetoa land could cause further anti-colonial dissent.

The land sellers are listed here in chronological order: Tuwharetoa FM is the official radio station of Ngāti Tūwharetoa.

It began at Waiariki Polytechnic in Tūrangi in February 1991, was taken off air in late 1992, relaunched in 1993, and added a frequency reaching as far as Taumarunui.