Taipa history

In days of old the area we know
as taipa was constantly being fought over
because of its thick bush teeming with
penguins it’s beaches thick with shellfish and
its harbours rich i kai moana.

Kauri was one of the two chiefs.
The two chiefs were on best of terms,
until they disagreed violently about the
shellfish in the tidal river. The two chiefs fought
many a battle with neither side being able to
conquer the other after this state of war had lasted
a long time, the two tribes agreed on a on a compromise.
They erected a dividing fence and the warriors agreed to
keep on their side of the boundary. The penalty for a violation to
this agreement was death.

For this reason, the place was called taiapa-taiapa a dividing fence or
a boundary later perhaps through lazy usage, this taiapa simply became taipa.

And a second version of the naming of taipa was again attributed to the chief kauri.
He said that because of beaches and the water of the harbour
were so full of fish and shellfish, that one only one needed to
put a hand in the water to touch some sort of seafood.
The maori word for seawater is tai. The maori word for
touch is pa taipa-touch (seafood) in salt (sea) water.

And yet a third version says that many years ago, a great tidal
wave washed right over the village (over the pa) on the seashore,
temporarily submerging in. after the confusion and excitement of this
catastrophe died down, the survivors called the place taipa.

Tai meaning seawater                         pa meaning a village

One of the chiefs was kouri

Seafood is kaimoana

A fence is taiapa

Seawater is tai

Touch is pa

A fortified village is a pa.