Early occupation of Matamata. Matamata means ‘headland’. This was the name of a new pā established in 1830 by Te Waharoa, the Ngāti Hauā chief, on a ridge of high ground projecting into the swampy valley of the Waitoa River, 7 kilometres north-west of present day Waharoa.
In pre-European times Māori warriors paddled up the Waihou River in canoes with trading or war parties, walked over the Kaimai and Mamaku Ranges and crossed the Matamata Plains en route to the Waikato, Rotorua, Thames, Taupō or Tauranga. Flax traders, missionaries, government officials, travelers and explorers passed through the Matamata Plains on their journeys.
In 1833 four Christian missionaries came up the Waihou and walked to the Matamata pā to preach the first sermon here. Two years later, at Te Waharoa’s invitation, the Rev Alfred Brown and his wife Charlotte arrived to set up a mission station. However, it was not long before they had to leave because of tribal warfare.
You can find out more about the life of Te Waharoa here https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1t81/te-waharoa
📷Alexander Turnbull Library records/23151660
Posted: 22 April 2026 06:02