[citation needed] During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Māori population of New Zealand predominantly lived in rural communities away from large urban centres.

[2] This began to change during World War II, when the Manpower Act 1944 was used to encourage young Māori men and women who were ineligible to join the military to work in urban factories.

[2] Many soldiers who returned after the war also decided to settle in the urban centres of New Zealand,[2] and people were enticed to cities at the prospect of finding work.

[2] Urbanisation caused a range of social structure changes for Māori, as many were now isolated from whānau and traditional lands.

[1] By the 1960s, a new generation of children were being born: Māori who were raised in an urban context, and who could claim affiliations to a wide number of iwi, due to many marriages occurring between people immigrating from different areas of the country.

[1] Many rurally located marae make active efforts to reconnect with urban Māori and those living outside of their traditional rohe, who are often referred to as taura here (bound ropes).

[3][4] A need for marae located in cities was felt due to community halls being inappropriate places to hold tangihanga.