was said to have stayed in the harbour from . A later Maori explorer, Whatonga, named the harbour Te Whanganui-a-Tara after his son Tara. Before the 1820s, most of the inhabitants of the Wellington region identified as being Whatonga's descendants.

At about 1820, the people living there were Ngati Ira and other groups who claimed descent from the explorer Whatonga, including Rangitane and Muaupoko. However, these groups were