In accordance with Ngāti Manuhiri tradition, the historical evolution of their people can be categorised into three distinct phases. The initial phase is cosmological, encapsulating their Atua Māori belief system, which serves as indigenous framework for comprehending the universe and underscores their existence as early Polynesian inhabitants. Over the course of 6,000 years, Ngāti Manuhiri tūpuna has traversed the expansive southern Pacific oceans, with their ancestral roots extending from prominent tūpuna such as Toi and Kiwa, whose lineages can be traced to present-day Ngāti Manuhiri uri. 

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Hawaiki, the traditional Māori place of origin. The first Māori are said to have sailed to Aotearoa from Hawaiki. And in Māori mythology Hawaiki is the place where Io, the supreme being, created the world and its first people. It is the place from which each person comes, and it is where each will return after death. 

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Māui, a central figure in Ngāti Manuhiri's pre-history , holds significant importance. Māui is attributed with the discoery of Te Ika a Māui - The Tail of the Fish of Māui. The genealogical heritage of Ngāti Manuhiri is believed to have descended from Māui, and the characteristics and influences of Māui are deeply interwoven within their culture and institutional frameworks. Māui's extraordinary birth and upbringing, born of human lineage but nurtured by divine forces, is thought to have marked the conclusion of an era, with the details of this pivotal encounter with death remaining a subject of enigma in contemporary understanding. 

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Kupe, In the rich tapestry of Ngāti Manuhiri's history unfolds the captivating story of Kupe, an esteemed explorer and ancestor whose name resonates with honour and adventure. With his beloved wife, Kuramarotini, by his side, Kupe bestowed upon this land a new name, Te Ika ā Māui, later known as Aotearoa. 

Kupe's legacy was a multifaceted one, marked by remarkable voyages that left an indelible mark on the landscape. Each new discovery carried a sense of reverence, as he imbued these places with tapu, a profound sense of sacredness, and christened them with names, leaving a tangible historical trail. Kupe and his descendants brought with them an ancient model of social organisation, passed down through sacred Whare Wānanga, rooted in the values drawn from shared early polynesian wisdom. 

After their epic journey, having circumnavigated Aotearoa and parts of Te Waka ā Māui, the South Island, Kupe returned to the North Island, completing a remarkable chapter of exploration and settlement that spanned approximately fifteen years. 

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Toi te Huatahi, (the lone born) is an important early ancestor of Ngāti Manuhiri. In some traditions he comes from Hawaiki, while others he is indigenous to Aotearoa. All, however, speak of his authority and prestige. A tribe known as Te Tini o Toi inhabited the land prior to the arrival of canoes. 

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Mahurangi, an ancestress of Tainui waka that arrived in the thirteenth centuary was a renowned tohunga. Mahurangi gave karakia to the atua for guidance and protection as they embarked on their journey from their ancestral homelands of hawaiki to the coastline of what we now know as "Auckland", particularly, Rodney, Hibiscus and Bays, North Shore and Takapuna Devonport. 

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By the fourteenth century migrations associated with some of the famous ancestral canoes had begun to influence the Mahurangi area. These migrants conquered and absorbed the Maru iwi and the descendants of Toi. From the North came the Ngai Tahuhu people, the descendants of Tahuhu. From the south came the descendants of Tainui waka who had settled around the Waitemata Harbour. These people, who also had Arawa affiliations, had by the sixteenth century become known by the general name Ngaoho. They had intermarried with the earlier tribal groups, including Ngai Tahuhu who they pushed to the north, and were in occupation of all the land between the Waikato River and the Kaipara Harbour entrance, including Mahurangi.

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The Kawerau people (are) descended from a large group of Ngati Awa people who had migrated north to the Tamaki isthmus from Kawhia in the 1620's. Led by Maki, the most famous ancestor of the Mahurangi people they initially settled at Rarotonga (Mt Smart). Then over the next generation they spread northward conquering the islands of the Hauraki Gulf north to Hauturu (Little Barrier Island), the Kaipara district north to the harbour entrance, as well as the east coast from Takapuna to Te Arai. This conquest included Mahurangi, where the people of Ngaoho and Ngai Tahuhu were defeated and absorbed.

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Maki had four sons Manuhiri, Maraeariki, Ngawhetu and Tawhiakiterangi. These children all had associations with the Mahurangi. Manuhiri has upheld and maintained the customary rights and principles since then to present day. Ngati Manuhiri has strong links to the confederation of tribes known as Te Kawerau who descend from Maki and his children.