The east coast of Northland is indented with inexpressibly beautiful bays and harbours where shelter for traveling craft can always be found. To contrast it with the rough waters of the West Coast, the Maori called it The Girls' Paddling Sea. Living in one of these lovely bays at Mimiwhangata was the Ngati Manaia tribe, who claimed descent from the famous chief, Manaia, who came to Aotearoa in the Mahuhu canoe.

At Mimiwhangata, on its southern side, were three pa, Te Rearea, Taraputa and Kaituna, that belonged to this tribe, and it was here that the famous Battle of Mimiwhangata was fought. The reason for this conflict was the murder of Te Waero, a Ngapuhi man who was married to Waimoko and Tenako, two well-connected women of the Ngati Manaia. Te Waero had committed the unforgivable sin of willfully destroying a fishing net belonging to the Ngati Manaia at Helena Bay near Mimiwhangata.

Furious at this violation, the Ngati Manaia killed Te Waero - an act that in turn incensed the Ngapuhi, who sent a message to them saying, \"Beware, 0 murderers, Soon your women will be wailing, for we are coming to claim utu for the murder of Te Waero. Be warned, for we are already stealing through the fern towards you.\" The Ngati Manaia replied, \"Ka whiti mai ra koe i to wai 0 Te Rearea, ka nui tena. \" (if you cross the water of Te Rearea, that will be enough).

With great care the Ngapuhi worked out their plan of attack. The leading chief, Te Rangi-ta�maua, was to attack Te Rearea pa, while two other chiefs with their taua were going to storm Taraputa and Kaituna. Te Rangi-ta-maua coached his taua of seventy men carefully, saying, \"In the dark of night when the enemy lies sleeping and their fires burn low, we will creep along the ridge and scale the palisades of Te Rearea.Then he turned to a group of his men.

\"When you get inside, hammer on the calabashes. Shout and make a noise like a hokowhitu. When the people on the pa hear the hammering on the calabashes and the great commotion caused by your shouting, they will think a mighty army is in their midst and take fright. We will then fall upon them and kill them.\" Everything went according to plan, and those who were not killed fled into the night. Meanwhile, the other Ngapuhi taua had stormed the Taraputa and Kaituna pa in the same way, and had made a devastating attack on the sleeping inmates.

The chief, and those of the Ngati Manaia who managed to escape, fled to other parts of the east coast. Some went to Whananaki, some to Whangarei Heads and others to Omaha and Great Barrier Island. Thus ended the Battle of Mimiwhangata with a decisive victory for the Ngapuhi.

Reference: Florence Keene, Tai Tokerau, Northland Room, Whangarei Library