Nō te tata mutunga o te rau tau 1700–1799 pea i whānau ai a Te Awa-i-taia. Ko Parehina tōna whaea, ko Te Kata tōna matua. E ai ki ngā kōrero, tokoiwa āna wāhine. Ko Rangihikitanga, ko Hinu, ko Kararaina, ko Pirihira, ko Raimipaha ngā īngoa o ētahi o rātou.
He rangatira a Te Awa-i-taia nō Ngāti Māhanga. I te awa o Waipā te kāinga o tōna iwi. Kei te taitāhae tonu, ka arahina e ia he taua ki te pana atu i a Ngāti Koata i Whāingaroa (Raglan Harbour), ki te tonga ki Kāwhia. Ka nōhia e ia te whenua, ka whakatūngia tōna kāinga ki Ōhiapopako, i waenga o Te Mata me Ōkete. He tino hoa, ā, he hoa mau rākau ia nō Te Waharoa o Ngāti Hauā, rāua ko Te Wherowhero o Ngāti Mahuta, ngā tino toa o Waikato. He karanga whanaunga anō hoki a Te Awa-i-taia rāua ko Te Wherowhero.
I te wā he whawhai whakapāpā tonu te mahi i Waikato, ka kitea te toa o Te Awa-i-taia ki te mau taiaha (kei te whare pupuri taonga o Whāingaroa tana taiaha i nāianei). Nō te tau 1820 pea te whawhai a Waikato ki a Te Rauparaha i Kāwhia, ā, nā Te Awa-i-taia i ārahi tētahi wāhanga o te taua i urutomo mai mā te moana. I taua pakanga anō ki a Te Rauparaha i Te Kakara, i whai wāhi a Te Awa-i-taia i te patunga o Raparapa, he toa rongonui nō Ngāti Tama, mō te kaha o tōna whirikoka.
Takina ake e Te Awa-i-taia te taua nāna i whai a Te Rauparaha i tōna hekenga ki te tonga mā Taranaki. Nō te tata paunga o te tau 1821, nō te tīmatanga rānei o 1822, arā ia i Motunui, wāhi o Taranaki ki te taiwhakararo, e whawhai ana i a Waikato. I reira, ka patua a Waikato; ko tō rātou tauitanga atu tērā ki te tuaraki. I te tau 1824, kia kakarihia ai a Ngāti Ruanui ki Waitara, ka tono a Ngātata-i-te-rangi o Te Āti Awa ki a Waikato kia whanake. Ko rātou i haere ake ko Te Awa-i-taia, ko Te Waharoa me tana tama a Tarapīpipi. He ope matarahi tonu. Nō te tau 1831, kei Taranaki anō a Te Awa-i-taia rāua ko Te Wherowhero. He ngaki i te matenga o Waikato i Motunui te kaupapa. Ko Te Ao-i-te-rangi o Ngāti Tama i hinga ki a Te Awa-i-taia. I te tukinga o Pukerangiora, i te mātotorutanga o te riri a ia e ngārahu ana.
Nō te tau 1833, 1834 kē rānei, tōna pānga ki te Rongopai. Nō tōna huringa ki te Whakapono ka whakamātau ia ki te hohou i te rongo i waenga i a Waikato rāua ko Ngāti Ruanui, arā i Te Ruaki, e pātata atu rā ki Te Hāwera, e kakari ana i taua wā. I tōna hokinga atu ki Whāingaroa, ka taka ia ki raro i te awe o te mihinare Wēteriana rā, o William White. I te takutai a White e whakatūtū mīhana haere ana. Ka noho ko Te Awa-i-taia hei kaitiaki mō te mīhana i Kāwhia. He mīhana me hanga ki runga i ngā whenua o Ngāti Māhanga. Nō te 17 o Hānuere 1836, ka iriria a Te Awa-i-taia e te mihinare Wēteriana, e Te Wārahi (James Wallis), ka tapaina ko Wiremu Nēra (William Naylor). I meatia, nā te kaha o te whakamanawa o Te Awa-i-taia, i puāwai ai te Rongopai ki roto i a Ngāti Māhanga o Whāingaroa.
I noho pono a Te Awa-i-taia ki ngā tohutohu o te Rongopai i tōna hurihanga ki te Whakapono. Ko ia te kaiwawao o te mīhana i ngā mahi whakatuma a ngā iwi o reira anō. Nāna anō hoki i hanga te whare karakia tuatahi i Whāingaroa. Nā ngā whakahau a te Hāhi, ka tukuna e ia te tokowaru o āna wāhine tokoiwa. Nō te tau 1837, i whai wāhi ia ki te tukunga o ngā pononga o ngā tukinga a Waikato, i a Taranaki. Ka taka ki te tau 1840, ka whakamātau ia ki te wao i a Ngāti Tūwharetoa rāua ko te iwi o Waitōtara arā i Pātoka pā e riri ana. Ko tāna he uruuru atu kia mau te rongo, heoti, i a ia ka tūturi ki te karakia, ka pūhia e Ngāti Tūwharetoa te tokorua o ngā toa i reira e tū tōpū ana.
Nō te 11 o Āperira 1840, ka waitohua e Te Awa-i-taia te Tiriti o Waitangi; he mea hari ake nā te mihinare o te Rōpū Hāhi Mihinare (Church Missionary Society) rā nā Te Mānihera (Robert Maunsell) ki Whāingaroa. Nā Te Awa-i-taia te kupu whakamaherehere ki ētahi kia haina. Nō te marama o Mei 1844, ka hui ngā rangatira ki Remuera. I reira, ka kōrerotia anō e ia tōna ngākau pono ki te Kuini, ki te kāwana hoki. Heoti, he kupu āhua pukuriri āna mō te mahi akiaki a te tangata whai kia hokona atu he whenua, ēngari, kīhai rātou i pai ki te utu i ngā moni e tika ana.
Ko 1854 te tau i haere tahi atu ai a Te Awa-i-taia rātou ko Te Waitere (John Whiteley) o Kāwhia, ko Te Mākarini (Donald McLean), te Kōmihana Tumuaki Hokohoko Whenua, ki Taranaki. E pupū ake ana te riri i tērā takiwā nā te mea he mea kōhuru a Rāwiri Waiaua nā Te Waitere Kātātore. Ka whakatūpato a Te Awa-i-taia i a rātou, ka hoki kotahi ake a Ngāti Māhanga me ērā atu o Waikato ki te wawao i te hunga Pākehā o Taranaki menā ka tūkinotia rātou. Ko te kī a ngā Pākehā e mātau ana ki a Te Awa-i-taia, i tua atu i te awe o Te Wherowhero, nōna te awe tino kaha rawa atu o ngā rangatira o Waikato. Ka tonoa ia kia tū mō te Kīngitanga, ēngari, kore rawa ia i aro atu ki taua kaupapa. Ko tāna, he kaupapa mataku ki tōna ngākau pono ki a Kuini Wikitōria (Victoria) menā ka tautokona e ia. I te tau 1857, i te hui i Paetai wāhi, e tata atu rā ki Rangiriri, ka whakahēngia e ia te kaupapa o te Kīngitanga. Hei waitohu i te kaha o tōna mana, kīhai he tangata i hamumu i te mutunga o āna kōrero, ā, pau noa te hāwhe hāora. Ka whakatika ake ko Iwikau Te Heuheu Tūkino III. Ko tāna he pei atu i ngā Pākehā i Aotearoa nei. Kātahi ka tīterehia e Te Awa-i-taia rāua ko Waata Kūkūtai, ka whakakīkītia atu kia noho. Ka tono a Te Awa-i-taia ki a Te Wherowhero kia kaua e whakaae hei a ia te Kīngitanga. Tērā pea e whakarongo a Te Wherowhero mehemea kīhai ā rāua rīriri mō ngā whenua i te takutai moana. Ko Te Awa-i-taia tētahi o ngā rangatira i haere ki Tāmaki-makau-rau (Auckland) kia tūtaki ki a te kāwana, ki a Thomas Gore Browne. I reira, ka tohe tahi te apataki a te Kīngi me ōna hoa tauwhāinga, kia whakapūmautia tūturutia te mana motuhake Māori me te tono anō hoki he Pāremata motuhake mō rātou.
I tohea e Te Awa-i-taia te hiahia noho o Te Wherowhero ki Ngāruawāhia. Hei tāna, he nohonga taua whenua nō Ngāti Māhanga nō tua whakarere mai rā anō. Ko ia tētahi o te rūnanga kāwanatanga o Ngāti Māhanga, ā, nāna i tautoko kia whakatūria ko F. D. Fenton hei noho ki Waikato hei kaiwhakawā takiwā. Ki a ia, ko rāua ngātahi ko Fenton ngā kaiwhakapūmau i te ture me te āta noho. Na, ko tētahi o ōna i hopukina, i whakawāngia, ā, i haria ki te whare herehere o Tāmaki-makau-rau. Ka noho tēnei hei kaupapa amuamu māna ki te kāwanatanga mō te mātua kore kimi whakamaherehere i a ia.
I te hui i Ngāruawāhia i te marama o Mei 1860, ka puta te taraweti ki a Te Awa-i-taia mō tōna piripono ki te kāwanatanga. Ka whakamātauria ki te whakamanioro i a ia. Ka meatia atu kia kaua e tū ki te kōrero, ēngari me hoki ki te kāinga. Ko ētahi anō i tohe kia noho iho, me te kī taurangi ake ka āta whakarongohia āna kōrero. Ko āna kōrero o Paetai i whakapuakina anō e ia heiwhakatūpato i a Tarapīpipi, arā, i a Wiremu Tāmihana, me Ngāti Hauā kia kaua e uru atu ki ngā kaupapa whakararuraru i te āta noho a te motu. Nō Ākuhata, ka hui rātou ko ngā ngārahu Māori ki Kohimaramara (Kohimarama). He rūnanga nā te kāwanatanga i karanga.
E hia kē nei ngā tau o te mahi hoko whenua a Te Awa-i-taia ki te kāwanatanga. Nō te Maehe o 1851, ka hokona atu e ia he whenua e 30 ngā māero tapawhā te rahi, arā, 19,200 eka, i Whāingaroa; he tūrunga nō te tāone o Whāingaroa i nāianei. Ka taka ki te tau 1859, ka hokona e ia te whenua mai i Waitetuna, ka rere ki Waipā awa, kia mutu ki te take paemaunga ki Waikato awa. I te tau 1859, ka tīmata a Te Awa-i-taia rātou ko tana iwi ki te hanga rori ki runga i ō rātou ake whenua, mai i Whāingaroa ki Whatawhata i te awa o Waipā; kia taea ai te pū o Waikato e te kāwanatanga tōna kaupapa. Ehara koa, ka ātetehia e ērā atu o Waikato tā rātou mahi. E hia kē nei ngā huinga o rātou i whai pānga ki te whenua e mahia nei te rori. Na, ka whakaritea te rā e tīmataria ai te tope rākau i te rāwhiti o te paemaunga. Nō te tīmatanga ka ara mai he taua i Kihikihi ki te aukati i ngā tāngata a Te Awa-i-taia. Nō te taenga atu ki Whatawhata ka aukatia mai te taua e tētahi reta whakaohiti nā Tāmihana, e kī ana, he wero kia tukia a Waikato e Ngāti Hauā mehemea ka pakū te pū ki te uku o tōna pāpā. Heoti, nā te whanaunga tata tonu o Te Wherowhero, nā Te Paea, i kumekume ake ngā tīrau rūri o te rori. Nā te kore mōhio o Te Awa-i-taia menā ka taea e te kāwanatanga te kī taurangi he hōia hei tuarā mōna, ka hangā e rātou ko tōna iwi te rori ki runga whenua Karauna i Whāingaroa; he whakataunga e pai ana ki ngā hoa tauwhāinga.
Ko tā Te Awa-i-taia ki a Kāwana Hōri Kerei (George Grey) i te tau 1863, he whakahē i ngā kaupapa here a te kāwanatanga, e pā ana ki te tū a Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke, arā, mō tōna kore hiahia hoko i ngā whenua o Waitara. Ahakoa rā, i whakaae ia ki te urunga mai o te kāwanatanga ki te pakanga i Taranaki. Ko ia te takawaenga mō te kāwanatanga i muri i te urutomokanga o Waikato i ngā hōia o te Karauna i te tau 1863. I ātehatia ia i raro i te Ture Whakarite Kōti Māori (Native Circuit Courts Act) 1858. I hinga a Ngāruawāhia ki ngā hōia o te Karauna, ka whetakina i Tīhema o 1863. Nō muri mai ka haere a Te Awa-i-taia ki Maungatautari, ki Pikopiko, ki Pāterangi, ki te tono ki a Waikato rāua ko Ngāti Maniapoto me mutu te whawhai. Ki tōna whakaaro i hiahia tonu a Waikato kia houhia te rongo, ēngari nā te āwangawanga kei whakamatea a Tāmihana rāua ko Tāwhiao, te whakakapi o Te Wherowhero hei Kīngi, te kore ai e tuku i ā rātou rākau.
Ahakoa kāore i whakatumahia a Whāingaroa i te wā o te pakanga, i whakamaurākautia e Te Awa-i-taia ētahi o ana tāngata hei āwhina i te ope wawao a te kāwanatanga i te haukāinga. Nāna anō i whakarato he tāngata hei kaiārahi hei kaiāwhina hoki mō Rūtene Tianara Duncan Cameron, ā, menā e hiahiatia ana, he tāngata āna hei parahau mō Tāmaki-makau-rau. Ahakoa kīhai ia i whawhai, i whakawhiwhia ki a ia te tūranga meiha me te hoari whakahōnore (Sword of Honour). I mate ia ki Whāingaroa i te 27 o Āperira 1866. Ko Rangihikitanga rāua ko Hinu te tokorua o ana wāhine e ora tonu ana i tōna matenga. O ana tamariki tokoono, tokotoru e ora ana ina mate nei ia. Ko tōna whakakapi hei ngārahu mō Ngāti Māhanga, ko tana irāmutu ko Hetaraka Nero.