Story: Ngāti Toarangatira

Kāpiti Island, a natural fortress

Kāpiti Island, a natural fortress

Kāpiti Island was the most impregnable natural fortress in the south of the North Island. For that reason, Te Rauparaha, one of the leading chiefs of Ngāti Toa, decided to conquer it when the tribe moved from Kāwhia to the Wellington region in the early 1820s.

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GNS Science
Reference: 26200/22
Photograph by Lloyd Homer

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How to cite this page:

Mīria Pōmare, 'Ngāti Toarangatira - Migration from the north', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/3912/kapiti-island-a-natural-fortress (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Mīria Pōmare, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Mar 2017