European Contact
The arrival of Pākehā, who traded muskets with Māori, had a noticeable effect on Ngāti Kahungunu from the 1820s. Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa came under attack from the musket-bearing tribes of Ngāpuhi, Hauraki, Waikato, Te Whakatōhea and Tūhoe, about 1822. Two years later Te Wera Hauraki of Ngāpuhi established himself at Māhia and became a protector of its people.
Around 1830 a great proportion of the Napier population of Ngāti Kahungunu from the Ahuriri (Napier) area moved to Māhia to escape the raids of a large force of Waikato, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Maniapoto.
Te Hāpuku of Ngāti Whatuiāpiti, who had kinship links with Ngāti Kahungunu, was taken prisoner at Te Pakake pā, but managed to escape to Māhia. In 1835 Te Hāpuku was a signatory to the Declaration of Independence.