Nō te tau 1848, 1849 rānei i whānau ai a Maata Te Taiawatea Rangitūkehu, e tata atu ana pea ki te moana o Tarawera. I whakatipua ia e te iwi o tōna whaea, e Tūhourangi, arā, e tētehi o ngā pū manawa o Te Arawa, hei puhi (kāore te tāne i whakaaetia māna kia mārena rā anō). Ko ia ake te huatahi a Rangitōwhare, te tamāhine rā a Rangiheuea rangatira o Tūhourangi rāua ko tana wahine tuatahi, ko Te Tonga. Nā te mea nei i te tuatahi, arā, he wahine matua a Te Tonga, i rangatira ai a Maata. Ahakoa ko Te Ariki te tino kāinga nohonga ake o te whānau Rangiheuea, ka ruarua nei ō rātau kāinga i te takiwā tonu o te roto.
Ka tama ai te pāpā o Maata, a Rangitūkehu Hatua, ki a Tumuwhare rāua ko Hatua, i heke tonu ake rā i a Wairaka, te tamāhine a Toroa, ko rāua tahi nō Mātaatua waka. I runga anō i te kāwai nei, ko Tūhoepōtiki anō tētehi o ōna tūpuna. Hei rangatira anō a Rangitūkehu ki a Te Pahīpoto, he hapū nō roto o te rohe o te iwi o Ngāti Awa. I te wā i whānau ai a Maata, he kawe puehu parāoa, hua atu hoki te mahi a tana pāpā, atu i Whakatāne ki Ākarana (Auckland), mā runga i te kaipuke o tōna iwi, ko te Ira te īngoa. I ōna tau tōmua, kāore a Maata i noho i te taha o tana pāpā, ā, kāore hoki i mōhiotia i te aha kē a Rangitūkehu rāua ko Rangitōwhare. Tērā pea a Rangitōwhare rāua ko tana tamāhine i Tarawera kē e noho ana.
Kei te tamariki tonu a Maata i te tau 1860, ka ara ake te pakanga i waenganui i te Pākehā rāua ko te Māori. Tū mai ana a Te Arawa me Tūhourangi hoki i te taha o te kāwanatanga, kōkiritia ana hoki a Ngāti Awa. Nā te mea he taha rua nō Maata, whawhai ake ana tētehi taha o ōna whanaunga ki tētehi atu taha. I te mutunga o te pakanga, whakawhiwhia ana e te kāwanatanga a Tūhourangi me te hunga ngākau pono ki ngā whenua i murua ake i Ngāti Awa. He whakaae nō Tūhourangi ki tā te Karauna i hōmai rā, uaua ana te whakatutuki i ngā tautohetohe, uaua ana hoki te noho whanaunga a te whānau o Maata. Pau noa ake ōna rā, ka nui kē te wā i pau anō i a ia e ngana ana kia whakahokia mai ngā whenua i raupatutia, arā, kia whakahokia mai rā ki te hunga nō rātau aua whenua. I kō atu i tēnā, he nui tonu te wā ko ia te kaiwhakaāio, te kaiwhakatatū rānei i ngā pōrahurahu o te whānau.
I te tata paunga ake o te tekau tau atu i 1860, i moe a Maata i a Te Hāroto Whakataka Riini Mānuera. Ko tōna pāpā ko Mānuera Te Pohokotia, te tino rangatira rā o Ngāti Awa, ā, i heke mai tōna whaea a Hera i ngā kāwai o Tūhoe. I ngā pakanga o te tekau tau atu i 1860, i muri i te mautanga nei o tōna pāpā, o Mānuera i a Kāpene Wiremu Mea (William Mair), ka whakawhiti atu ia ki te taha o ngā hōia koroni, ā, haina atu ana ia i a ia hei hōia mā ngā pirihimana mau pū. I ngā tau i muri mai, he mahi pērā nāna, i taunakitia ai a Te Hāroto e ētehi o tōna iwi me te iwi hoki o Maata; karangatia tonutia atu ia he ware. Heoti, nā tana āwhina i a Maata me ā rāua mahi anō ki te hiki ake i te oranga tonutanga o tōna ake iwi i muri mai i te pakanga, i noho puku tonu atu ai ōna kaiwhakapae.
Ahakoa pū ai te noho a Maata rāua ko Te Hāroto ki Te Teko, he hokihoki tonu te mahi a Maata ki te kite i tōna whānau i Tarawera. I ngā tekau tau atu i 1870 i kaha ake te whakawhānui haere mai o te mahi tūruhi, ā, ngakia ake ana te manawareka o te hunga whakaeke e mīharo nei ki te taiao. Ko te mea matea nuitia ai e ngā tūruhi ko ngā tūāpapa, ko Ō-tū-kapua-rangi (Pink Terraces) me Te Tarata (White Terraces), ā, ka nui kē te hua mai ki te whānau Rangiheuea rātau ko ōna whanaunga o Tūhourangi. Nō te taenga atu o te Tiuka o Ētinapara (Edinburgh) i Tīhema o te tau 1870, ka noho ko Maata hei kaiārahi, hei hoa hari i a ia ki te kite i Ō-tū-kapua-rangi me Te Tarata. I taua wā nei, e hipa paku atu ana ngā tau o Maata i te rua tekau, ā, nā tōna tūranga tonu ki roto ki te iwi i tika tonu māna e ārahi te Tiuka; ēngari, ehara nei te mahi ārahi tūruhi i tāna ake mahi.
Tokowhitu ngā tamariki a Maata rāua ko Te Hāroto, neke atu rānei, i ora ka pakeke; tokorua, nuku atu pea, e kōhungahunga tonu ana ka mate. Ka nui kē ana pēpi e whakawhānau ana ka mate, i mate roto tonu rānei. He hinapōuri nōna i te tokomaha o āna tamariki e mate noa ana, i haere ai a Maata rāua ko Te Hāroto ki te kite i te matakite, i a Pētera Te Kōhatu, e moe nei ia i te tuahine o Te Hāroto, i a Irihāpeti. I kīia tonutia atu e Pētera, kāore a Tūhourangi i te rata ki tāna nei tāne i meatia e ia māna, ā, ki te whakaaro anō kāre i tōtika tōna tūranga hei tāne mā Maata. Ko tāna ki a rāua he whiu, arā, me e whai tamariki ana ka whānau mai, me tuku te tamaiti mā ētehi kē e taurima. Nā konā i ora katoa ai ngā tamariki a Maata, nā ōna whanaunga kē i whakatipu. Hei whakakaha ake i te tūranga whānau i waenganui i ōna whanaunga o ngā iwi kē, he mea āta kōwhiri rawa e ia ngā mātua whāngai.
I a rāua ka moe nei, hangaia ana e Maata rāua ko Te Hāroto ngā whare mō ā rāua tamariki me ō rāua whanaunga, arā, ki Kōkōhīnau, ki Ōtamaoa, ki Waokonamu, ki Ngākauroa, me Te Waea. Ka oti te mahi i te whenua, ka whakatūria e rāua tētehi whare. I muri mai ka nuku rāua ki wāhi kē ki te tīmata ake anō ki te whakawātea i te whenua, ki te whakatū whare anō hoki. Kotahi noa te rūma o ia whare, o ia whare, ā, i waho kē hoki te wāhi tunu kai, me te wāhi horohoroi.
Taka rawa mai ki te tekau tau atu i 1880 kua riro kē i a Maata te nuinga o ngā mahi e kawea ana e tōna pāpā, nō te mea, i taua wā, kua tata haere kē te mutunga o ōna rā. Pau ana te nui o te hāora i a Maata i te Kōti Whenua Māori e whakapūmau ana i ōna whenua iwi. E hia kē nei ngā āhua o tōna īngoa i rēhitatia e ia ki runga ki ngā tiwhikete taitara o te whenua. Hei tautāwhi i āna kerēme, whakaīngoatia tonutia ana e ia ōna mātua me ōna tūpuna, riro noa ake ana i a ia ō rātau pānga. Kāti, tukua ana e ia te nuinga o ngā whenua i whiwhi ia ki ngā mema noa o tōna iwi. Nā konā i paku iti ai te whiwhinga o ōna ake uri i ērā atu o te hunga nāna i āwhina. Kātahi te wahine rongonui mō te atawhai ko Maata.
Tata pau katoa ana te whānau Rangiheuea i te hūnga o Tarawera i te tau 1886. Tokitokia ana a Maata e te hinapōuri, hoki atu ana ia ki Tarawera ki te āwhina i ērā o ōna whanaunga e ora tonu ana. Nō te tau i muri mai ka mate tōna pāpā, ka riro i a Maata tōna tūranga rangatira. Ka tuakana nei a Maata ki te whānau Rangiheuea, ka riro ko tana tungāne, ko Te Make Rangiheuea hei waha kōrero mōna. Ngangahau ana a Maata ki ngā mahi a ōna iwi e rua. He nui tonu ngā hui i haerea e rāua ko Te Make, ko te take he mahi whakanoho i a Tūhourangi ki Ngāpuna, ki Te Whakarewarewa, ki Moehau (Coromandel) me ētehi atu wāhi hoki. Kore rawa he wāhi o ngā whenua i takohatia mai e iwi kē i kerēmetia e Maata mōna. Nō te tau 1894 i whakatūria e Ngāti Tūohonoa, he hapū nō Tūhourangi, he komiti hei whakahaere i ngā whenua mō te iwi; he mema a Maata nō taua komiti, ā, kia mau tonu ai te mana whenua o te iwi, matatū tonu ana tana kōkiri i te kāwanatanga.
He wahine piri pono a Maata ki te Hāhi Ringatū a Te Kooti. Nō te whakatūranga ake i te poropiti rā, i a Rua Kēnana i tāna nei ohunga ki muri tonu ake i te whare nui o Te Pahīpoto, i kaha ia kia kore ai ia e whai. Piri tonu ngā taha e rua o te whānau o Maata ki a Te Kooti; he tokomaha tonu rātau i haereere i tana taha, ā, kia kore ia e mau i ngā pirihimana mau pū, hunaia tonutia ana a Te Kooti e rātau. Nā Maata i tū tonu ai te karakia a te Hāhi Ringatū ki Ruataupare, ā, tautāwhitia ana rātau e ngā pononga a Te Kooti kei ngā whaitua o waho kē atu e noho mai ana. Ko tētehi mea anō i tohea e ia, ko te mau tonu ki te tikanga iwi ki te whakatū i te whare mate, hei wāhi tīraha ake mō te tūpāpaku ki runga ki te marae.
He pukumahi haere tonu te mahi a Maata i te marae o Kōkōhīnau. I te wā o te whakahounga o Ruataupare i te tau 1926, nā Maata i whakahaere te haringa mai o ngā rākau mā runga wākena. I te paunga o āna moni, kia oti ai te mahi, hokona atu ana e ia tētehi poraka whenua i Te Teko i te taha tonu o te huarahi wāra tuauru (Western Drain Road). Kotahi tau i mua i tōna matenga ka oti i a ia ngā whakahounga i a Ruataupare, oti atu hoki te wharekai te whakatū. Ka mutu ake tēnei, tāna mahi whakamutunga, tāna i koha ai ki Te Pahīpoto.
Nō te 27 o Hune 1929 i hinga ai a Maata ki Te Teko. He mea whakatakoto a ia i Iratūmoana. I mua i tana nehunga i Kōkōhīnau ka mauria ake a ia ki te mahau o Ruataupare, takoto ai. Moe ake nei rāua, mau tonu te whakangākau a Te Hāroto ki tana hoa; nō muri i te matenga o Maata, i wahangū ai a Te Hāroto, ā, noho ake ana i te noho a te moke. Nō te 20 o Noema 1932 ka mate ia, nehua tonutia ana i te taha o tana wahine. Nō te marama o Āperira 1988 i tū ai te hui a te whānau o ngā uri o Maata ki Kōkōhīnau, ki te whakanui i tō rātau whanaungatanga.