After engaging in war with Uenuku, over 30 members of the tribe migrated to New Zealand on board the Ngā rākau rua a Atuamatua, named in honour of Waitaha and Tamatekapua's grandfather.
The priest Ngātoroirangi performed rituals to conceal the tribe's atua and guardians in the landscape, brought to the new island from the old marae at Taputapuātea.
It took several generations before Ngāti Whakaue and the descendants of Waitaha and Tapuika managed to win back Maketū, and negotiate an uneasy truce.
[4] The early 1820s saw continued arrivals of many European migrants to New Zealand, bringing diseases to which the native Māori had little or no acquired immunity.
Te Arawa were so demoralised during these times, that they considered moving south to Kapiti Island for protection under Ngāti Toa.
One skirmish between the tribes in late March 1836 resulted in the Ngāti Hauā chief Te Waharoa destroying the trading station at Maketū.