This is the statue you could see on the rock in the last picture, and it commemorates Wairaka. She came with her father Torora, their family and a cargo of kumera, to this harbour in the large ocean going waka (canoe) Mataatua, about 800 years ago. By that time, there had been Maori settlers here for about 200 years, who had settled in a pa just inland (about where the town centre is now). Torora and the men went ashore to greet the local leaders, leaving the women in the canoe.
While the parleying was going on, the tide changed and the waka began to drift out to sea. Wairaka called out 'E! Kia whakatane au i ahau', which means 'let me act the part of a man.' She grabbed the steering paddle, which was forbidden (tapu) for women at that time, and brought the boat safely to shore. Thus the settlement got its name.