In Māori tradition Haki Te Kura, daughter of Taieri chief Te Whiriroa, leapt off a cliff at Taieri Mouth at night. She hoped to be united with her clandestine lover Korokōwhiti in a canoe beneath, but landed on rocks and was killed. When her family found her body they mistakenly thought she had been murdered by a rival group, and sent a party to avenge her death. The spot is known to Ngāi Tahu as Te Rereka a Haki Te Kura (the leap of Haki Te Kura).