Awapuni Lagoon was an important source of sustenance for Rongowhakaata iwi. According to early Māori Land Court records it provided a rich source of plant life, wild life and seafood. The edges of the lagoon provided a ready supply of flax and raupo for building materials and shelter for bird life such as duck and Pukeko. The lagoon was an ideal location to take advantage of the Kahawai, Kanae (mullet), Inanga (white bait), Patiki (flounder), Kakahi, Pipi and other species found here in great quantities.

The settlement of Rongowhakaata people around Awapuni Lagoon occurred prior to Captain Cook’s arrival in New Zealand in 1769 following a major battle between the hapū, Ngāti Maru and Ngāti Kaipoho, over fishing rights at the mouth of the lagoon. So severe were the consequences of this battle that it caused Ngāti Maru to migrate to Waiapu on the East Coast for some time. When Ngāti Maru returned and settled peacefully with Ngāti Kaipoho they were given lands surrounding the lagoon.

During Captain Cook’s short stay in Turanganui-a-Kiwa, he directed his boats to the southern end of Poverty Bay where they saw a long sandy beach with a lagoon behind a sandbar. There were houses and canoes on it but they were unable to land there because of the high pounding surf. Beyond the lagoon John Gore (Lieutenant on the Endeavour) described ‘a fine country being well wooded with fine Tall Trees and in all probability well inhabited from the number of smoakes we saw there’.

Māori Land Court evidence also indicates the Awapuni Lagoon area was well populated. There were twelve kāinga recorded around the lagoon. These were:
 

• Te Roro o Kahururu

• Paerau

• Te Kati

• Pokiongawaka

• Tapere

• Wairau

• Whakawhitira

• Rohuru

• Tahawai

• Poho-o-Tamaaonau

• Pepeke

• Paokahu

The kāinga around Awapuni Lagoon were destroyed by the Karauria Flood in 1876. This caused many of the hapū of Rongowhakaata living around the lagoon to move. During the 1920s the Crown determined that as the lagoon was an arm of the sea (which it was at the time), it was therefore Crown land. This led to a series of events detailed in the timeline detailed here

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During the Native Land Court Hearings of the 1880s, Anaru Matete of Ngāti Maru described the location of the mouth of Awapuni Lagoon being situated at the extreme north of the Paokahu block. He also described many of the waka built and used by Ngāti Maru on the shores of Awapuni. This included names such as:
 

• Whakawhitira

• Te Umu-a-Maui 

• Te Tuke-o-te-Marangai

• Pukahu

• Te Umu-a-Tapuhere

• Paokahu

Paokahu was also the name of the pā located on the eastern shores of Awapuni Lagoon. It was named after Ruapani’s great-grandson, Kahunoke, one of the ancestors used to determine title in the Awapuni block. Paokahu was used as a place of refuge against the possible invasion of the Waikato tribes. The pā is said to have stretched over a mile along the sand hills of Kopututea. The area is where Rongowhakaata the ancestor is said to have been buried and holds special significance for Rongowhakaata iwi.